Jewish students attending Pennsylvania colleges shared harrowing testimony before a state Senate committee Thursday about being called “pigs” and “Nazis” on campus and being forced to evacuate a Jewish community center after a bomb threat.
Now, those students worry the threats and harassment may continue into the fall semester at the University of Pennsylvania, Pitt, and other Keystone State campuses.
“Hate of any kind has no place on our college campuses,” said Education Committee Chair Sen. David Argall (R-Carbon). “It’s possible to disagree over foreign policy, but that does not ever justify discrimination against Jewish students. It does not justify the harassment of Jewish students. And it certainly does not justify calls for the destruction of the Jewish people.”
Some students wanted to testify but were fearful of retaliation, Argall said. And every college administrator invited to participate in the hearing declined to do so.
“Signs called Zionists ‘pigs,’ reminiscent of how Jews were called ‘schwein’ in Germany,” Alon Leshem, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, said of the protests on her campus.
“Jewish students were told that Israelis should ‘go back to Europe,’ a sentiment ironically shared by European nations that once said, ‘go back to the land of Israel.’ Prominent campers wrote about Zionists, saying, ‘Know the threat and isolate it,’ and—in response to the self-immolation outside the Israeli embassy, wrote—'[this incident], and the deliberate U.S.-backed Israeli immolation of thousands of Palestinian babies, require nothing short of an American uprising.’
“Pictures of students who held hostage posters were circulated, and those students were mocked and ridiculed for daring to advocate for the return of those taken on Oct. 7, like my family member, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who is still being held in Gaza,” Leshem said.
University of Pennsylvania student Benjamin Messafi spoke about the protests at Penn in April.
“Myself and other students wearing kippahs were called ‘Nazis’ and ‘child killers,’” he said. “Chants of ‘Al Qassam make us proud’ (Al Qassam refers to the military wing of Hamas). Protestors telling me, ‘Hamas should do it again’ while we were displaying footage of the Oct. 7 massacre, and clapping when the video displayed a woman being raped. Again, clapping when a woman was shown being raped.
“Having to evacuate Hillel, the only safe spot for Jews on campus, because there was an active bomb threat on the building. Classroom buildings and libraries being blocked and occupied by non-student protestors during finals week,” he added.
“While we sang a song for peace towards the encampment, we heard ‘globalize the intifada’ back, advocating for the international implementation of the suicide bombings that once tormented Israel. And this harassment did not stop at Jewish students. American flags that were placed on Penn’s college green were removed and desecrated and replaced by flags representing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization,” Messafi said.
Penn State Hillel student president Mackenzie Borine said antisemitic incidents gradually escalated on campus after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Some students banged on the Hillel building windows and graffitied elevators in the apartment building attached. However, she credited the university administration for taking steps to keep Jewish students safe.
Penn State did not have a pro-Palestinian encampment. In the Delaware Valley, Swarthmore College had an encampment and Haverford College was the site of vocal protests that also spilled off-campus to the Suburban Square shopping area. Jewish students were also harassed at Temple University and the Department of Education opened an investigation.
Andrew Goretsky, regional director of the Antidefamation League (AFL) in Philadelphia, said, “Every year since 1979, ADL has released an audit of antisemitic incidents in the United States. We rely on our organizational partners, law enforcement, and our constituents to report hate they witness or experience.”
“Each incident is vetted by ADL staff, and many are left off our report because we deem them not to be antisemitic,” Goretsky said. “Our most recent audit in 2023 broke records, soaring to 8,973 incidents of assault, harassment, and vandalism across the country. This is a 140 percent increase from 2022, another record-setting year. Just over 5,200 antisemitic incidents – nearly 60 percent of 2023’s tally – were recorded in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel.
“In 2023, Pennsylvania ranked sixth in the United States for the most antisemitic incidents. Our state saw 394 incidents, which include five assault cases. Out of Pennsylvania’s 86 vandalism incidents, one-third of them featured a swastika. The vast majority of incidents – 303 – were categorized as harassment. Whether in the workplace or walking through campus, Jews were labeled as ‘Zionists’ and ‘oppressors,’ shunned from activities, and discriminated against because of their identity.”
The Stand with Israel Act, which would prevent Pennsylvania colleges and universities from boycotting or divesting from Israel, passed the Senate 41 to 7. It awaits action in the House.
“It’s deeply troubling to hear that blatant antisemitism was allowed to fester on campuses here in Pennsylvania,” said Argall. “Let me be absolutely clear: Action must be taken to prevent this from happening here again.”
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