DePaul president Robert Manuel was the latest local university president called to Washington to testify on allegations of antisemitism at their schools. Why it matters: Students at DePaul have joined campuses across the country since 2023 in calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war and urging university leadership to divest from any financial attachments in Israel.

University president Robert Manuel faced three hours of heated questions, while a civil rights lawyer compared a Washington hearing Wednesday to a long-discredited anti-communism campaign from the Cold War era.

DePaul University’s President Robert Manuel testified before the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee Wednesday morning, apologizing for any harm caused to Jewish students, faculty and staff since the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Oct.