Earlier this month, I testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on the subject of antisemitism on campus. This was the eighth such hearing the Republican-led committee has held in two years. The first, as many will recall, featured the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT—and ultimately led to the presidents of Harvard and Penn losing their jobs. The committee is still at it. But like a reality-television show that has gone on far too long, the hearings, never particularly edifying, are now dominated by tired tropes. The moment it became clear that the hearings had jumped the shark came when Representative Rick Allen (R-GA) offered a biblical exegesis:

“Jerusalem is the center of the universe. A lot of people think Washington is, but, uh, that’s where it’s gonna happen. Uh, and of course, uh, you know, for those who are familiar with the, the Bible, a book of, uh, of, uh, the word of God, uh, uh, Genesis 12:3 states, ‘I’ll bless those who bless you,’ talking about Israel and whoever curses you, I’ll, I’ll curse.… In fact, in John 4:22, Jesus said, salvation, even for Gentiles will come through the Jews. And so, Dr. Paul, you know, this is a serious, serious issue we’re talking about. In fact, it has eternal consequences.”

By “Dr. Paul,” he apparently meant the president of DePaul University, Robert Manuel. Dr. Manuel had been called, along with the presidents of Haverford College and California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, to testify about, in the committees’ words antisemitism “beyond the Ivy League.” I was invited by the Democrats to provide some legal perspective.

More bread, less circus, please.