Mike Pompeo rages at being 'cancelled' by uni while 'rampant antisemitism allowed on campus'
Mike Pompeo rages at 'cancelled' by uni as he claims 'rampant antisemitism' allowed in name of free speech
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Mike Pompeo has slammed a university after he claims that he was 'cancelled' and that it has allowed 'rampant antisemitism'.
The former scratary of state has criticised Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who he said cancelled one of his speeches in 2020.
It comes as MIT president Sally Kornbluth was accused of allowing anti Semitism on campus during a Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Kornbluth drew a distinction between speech and conduct, suggesting that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the college’s rules "if targeted at individuals."
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Speaking on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: "As secretary of state, MIT cancelled my campus speech about the CCP because it “risked offending” Chinese students.
"Now these schools justify rampant antisemitism because of a "commitment" to free speech? These institutions are morally bankrupt."
Pompeo alleges that the university cancelled his planned campus speech in 2020 over concerns he would criticize the university for receiving funding from China.
MIT has denied Pompeo's claims, saying that the decision not to host Pompeo rested on covid-19 restrictions in place at the time.
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Mike Pompeo claims he was 'cancelled' by MIT
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Pompeo claims his office received a call from MIT a couple of weeks before the scheduled speech, stating the university could not accommodate his visit.
He wrote that then-president of MIT, Rafael Reif, "made clear that the risk of offending his Chinese students was too great."
The New York Post reported that China has given more than $1.3 billion to US universities since 2013.
Speaking at the time, Pompeo said: "Americans must know how the Chinese Communist Party is poisoning the well of our higher education institutions for its own ends, and how those actions degrade our freedoms and American national security."
MIT has denied Mike Pompeo's claims
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In recent weeks, the federal government has opened investigations into several universities − including Penn and Harvard − regarding antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates has criticised MIT, along with Harvard and Penn for how they had responded to instances of antisemitism on campuses.
Bates said: "It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country."
"Any statements that advocate for the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and revolting and we should all stand firmly against them, on the side of human dignity and the most basic values that unite us as Americans."