I asked you 17 times! You spoke your truth': Congresswoman Elise Stefanik blasts Harvard president's apology for saying calls for 'genocide of Jews' only constitute harassment 'depending on the context'

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has hit back at Harvard President Claudine Gay's apology for her controversial congressional testimony on antisemitism. 

Gay told the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Tuesday that calls for a 'genocide of Jews' on Harvard's campus would only constitute harassment 'depending on the context.' 

In an interview with the prestigious college's student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, Gay apologized for the remarks and said she became caught up in 'policies and procedures'. 

In response to the apology Republican congresswoman Stefanik wrote on X 'No, Dr. Gay. You were given an opportunity to speak your truth. And you did.

'Not once. Not twice Not 5x. Not 10x I asked you 17x(!!!) in the hearing about whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates code of conduct.'  

Adding: 'You spoke your truth under oath 17x. And the world heard it.'

The Committee's hearing saw testimony from Gay and the president's of MIT, Sally Kornblut, and Upenn, Elizabeth Magill, on the rise of antisemitism on their campuses since Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. 

During a heated exchange Stefanik asked Gay: 'At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard's rules of bullying and harassment?' Stefanik asked.

'It can be, depending on the context,' Gay responded.

The remarks triggered immediate backlash and led 74 members of congress to call for Gay, and the other testifying presidents, to resign. 

'Given this moment of crisis, we demand that your boards immediately remove each of these presidents from their positions and that you provide an actionable plan to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students, teachers, and faculty are safe on your campuses,' the letter led by Stefanik reads. 

Adding: 'Anything less than these steps will be seen as your endorsement of what Presidents Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth said to Congress and an act of complicity in their antisemitic posture'. 

The leadership of Harvard Hillel have also said they do not trust Gay to protect Jewish students at the University.

Writing for DailyMail.com Stefanik said: 'This congressional hearing should never have been complicated or controversial. Yet in failing to stand up for American Jews, we can only assume that these three presidents are apathetic to the egregious antisemitism they couldn't condemn.

'In the days following the hearing, millions have joined my call for them to be fired.'

Adding: 'If Harvard, MIT, and UPenn want to restore any shred of legitimacy, these institutions must find their moral clarity.

'That starts with the immediate dismissal of these three pathetic presidents.

'The world is watching and waiting.'