We rightly expect the leaders of great American institutions to be unequivocal in their opposition to hatred and violence, including anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim sentiment, and genocide. Yet the furor caused by the recent Congressional testimony of the presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT – who did not state their positions clearly enough – is nevertheless out of proportion. And it smacks of the sort of rush to condemnatory judgment typical of a political culture that cannot tolerate nuance.