Gottheimer slams far-left streamer Hasan Piker's influence on Democrats
Representative Josh Gottheimer joins to discuss the growing divide within the Democratic Party over far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. As Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed distances himself from Piker, Gottheimer and other prominent Democrats condemn the streamer's controversial remarks.
Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., are launching a congressional coalition to target antisemitism at institutions of higher education.
The Combating Antisemitism on College Campuses Caucus will provide a bipartisan avenue for lawmakers to "coordinate oversight of how" schools of higher learning react to antisemitism, according to press releases issued by the lawmakers' offices.
The caucus will "press institutions to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff, and to enforce their own anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies," "advance and track federal legislation targeting campus antisemitism and BDS-driven discrimination," and "spotlight schools that are getting it right and share best practices across campuses nationwide," the releases note.
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Rep. Elise Stefanik and Rep. Josh Gottheimer. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
While Gottheimer is a Jewish Democrat and Stefanik is a Catholic Republican, both lawmakers are concerned about the problem of antisemitism.
"Since October 7th, Jewish students on too many campuses have been harassed, intimidated, and made to feel like strangers in their own school," Gottheimer said, referring to the 2023 attack by Hamas terrorists in Israel.
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Rep. Elise Stefanik speaks at Faith and Freedom Coalitionâs Road to Majority Conference in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2026. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
"That’s why Elise and I are teaming up to launch this caucus to hold universities accountable, back up the schools getting it right, like Vanderbilt, and make sure every Jewish kid can have a college experience without fear of discrimination or violence," he noted.
Stefanik, the author of the book "Poisoned Ivies," noted that she has "been proud to be the leader in Congress on combatting antisemitism and anti-Americanism at our colleges and universities."
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Gottheimer "has been a leading partner and legislator with whom I have worked on this critical issue," Stefanik noted. "We are committed to saving American higher education for the next generation."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Vanderbilt University noted, "At a time when universities across the country are navigating difficult questions about free expression, campus safety and antisemitism, Vanderbilt is demonstrating how higher education can embrace open inquiry while building a community where all students feel safe, respected and able to thrive. Chancellor Daniel Diermeier explored these challenges with Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and leaders from several other universities on Sept. 8 at a special event hosted on Vanderbilt University's campus."
"The event explored how universities can uphold academic freedom while confronting antisemitism and other forces that can undermine students’ ability to participate fully in campus life. At Vanderbilt, that approach rests on the idea that intellectual openness and a strong campus community are not competing objectives. Universities fulfill their educational mission when they create space for students to encounter ideas they disagree with, participate in substantive debate and challenge one another while knowing that threats, harassment and discrimination have no place in the university community," the school's statement continued.
The university's statement added, "As Chancellor Diermeier said during the event: ‘Our job at a university is not to settle debates, but to encourage them. We need to be platforms where ideas are discussed and where our students fundamentally learn how to think for themselves. Our job is never to teach them what to think; our job is to teach them how to think.’"
Fox News' Kelly Phares contributed to this report.
