DV Journal

University of Pennsylvania officials announced a new Office of Religious and Ethnic Inclusion to deal with antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus. It was one of the changes called for by the university’s Task Force on Antisemitism and its Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community.

The announcement comes in the wake of anger over anti-Israel protests on the Penn campus in the months after the Hamas Oct. 7 terror attack. It has been home to some of the nation’s most high-profile, pro-Palestinian protests, including an encampment of anti-Israel activists.

And former Penn president Liz Magill’s testimony before Congress about the school’s mishandling of anti-Jewish actions on campus that was so inept, she was forced to resign.

For Jewish students and their allies, creating the new office is an important step.

“We commend the University of Pennsylvania for the establishment of an Office of Religious and Ethnic Inclusion to address antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus,” said Michael Balaban, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

While a permanent head of the office will be appointed after a search, Majid Alsayegh and Steve Ginsburg were appointed co-leaders.

Ginsburg, a former executive with the Anti-Defamation League, has experience countering bias and extremism. Alsayegh, who grew up in Iraq, serves on the national Muslim Jewish Advisory Council, a bipartisan group of business, political and religious leaders, interim Penn President J. Larry Jameson said when he announced the appointments.  Majid is also chair of the board of the Dialogue Institute, which engages religious leaders in discussions.

Balaban praised that move as well.

“Steve Ginsburg and Majid Alsayegh are exceptional individuals, and with the University choosing them to lead this effort, we are hopeful that Penn will become a place where the Jewish community and Jewish expression can thrive.

“As we approach the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7 and campus protests continue to devolve into student harassment and intimidation, this office will be an important resource for ensuring that all students feel safe and protected on campus,” Balaban said.

Many of the school’s Jewish students say they feel unsafe, and some of them filed a federal lawsuit against the Ivy League university.

In July, Jewish students testified before the Pennsylvania Senate about how they’ve been treated on campuses, including at Penn.

“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,” Penn student Benjamin Messafi told the senators.

“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.

The American Jewish Committee’s Center for Education Advocacy also praised Penn’s actions.

“At a time when antisemitism and other forms of religious and ethnic hatred have roiled many college and university campuses, it is essential to explore new ways to promote constructive dialogue and ensure a safe, supportive environment for all students and faculty,” the organization said in a statement to DVJournal. “We welcome this move by Penn. By using this office as the sole point of contact to investigate religious and ethnic discrimination, the Penn community will now be in a better position to know who will be held accountable to ensure any complaints are promptly investigated and resolved.”

But Rav Shai Cherry, the rabbi at Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park, urged supporters of Jewish students to withhold judgment until they see results.

“Combatting antisemitism is a good idea. Who would argue otherwise?” Cherry said. “But no one will be able to reasonably assess the efficacy of Penn’s initiative until we see guidelines and evidence of how they treat specific incidents and complaints.

“What happened at Columbia University was a dismissal of Jewish students’ sense of being under threat. Such a summary dismissal is an abdication of the university’s responsibility. On the other hand, a feeling of being under threat is not sufficient justification, in itself, to take disciplinary action. There needs to be a third party to evaluate the details and circumstances of the situation. Let’s hope that Penn’s new office serves as a model for the rest of the academic world.”

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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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A federal judge denied a request for an injunction against the University of Pennsylvania that would have prevented Penn from giving Congress information about a Palestinian literary festival held at the university.

A group of professors and students called Penn Faculty for Justice in Palestine sued Penn to stop it from complying with a request for documents from a U.S. House of Representatives committee. Lawyers for Penn filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit for lack of standing.

Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg, chief judge for the Southeastern District of Pennsylvania, dismissed the group’s lawsuit on June 24.

Lead plaintiffs Huda Fakhreddine, a professor of Arabic literature who organized the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, and Eve Troutt Powell, who teaches Middle Eastern history,  did not respond to requests for comment.

Penn spokesman Ron Ozio said the university does not comment on litigation.

Jewish leaders had asked Penn to distance itself from the Palestine Writes Festival, which began Sept. 22, 2023, and overlapped Yom Kippur. It was held near Hillel, where Jewish students would worship. They also objected to listed speakers, some of whom were known antisemites, including Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame, who supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and compared Israel to Nazi Germany. Another presenter listed was Marc Lamont Hill, who was fired from CNN after using the phrase “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” often viewed as a call for the destruction of Israel and the Jews who live there.

The festival preceded the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the ensuing protests at Penn that culminated with a tent encampment.

Former Penn President Liz Magill testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee, and her remarks saying calls for Jewish genocide are allowed “in context” led to her eventual resignation.

In his opinion, Goldberg noted the House committee sent Penn a letter expressing “grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Penn’s response to antisemitism on its campus.”

“The letter consists of a narrative of events and a document request. It mentions the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, which it states included ‘antisemitic speakers,’ and criticizes Fakhreddine by name for her statements about Israel.”

Part of the House request regarded “disciplinary … processes,” Palestine Writes Literature Festival, and various Penn-affiliated organizations and events. The letter is not a subpoena and does not legally compel Penn to produce documents. Nonetheless, Penn has indicated it will honor the Committee’s request.”

Further, the plaintiffs argued that if Penn gives the documents to the House committee, “it will “threaten” them with “a renewed and continued barrage of death and rape threats and hate speech” and could expose “members of [Penn Faculty for Justice in Palestine] who have not previously been doxxed.”

Goldberg added, “Plaintiffs thus seek an order prohibiting Penn from complying with the House Committee’s request. The plaintiffs’ complaint does not identify the documents or information they believe Penn will produce. In particular, plaintiffs do not allege whether documents Penn plans to produce would include their personal contact information such as home addresses.”

The judge found the plaintiffs did not have standing because the documents the House requested were not “defamatory” and did not have private details like their home address.

“The fact that plaintiffs were harassed before is not enough; plaintiffs need to show that Penn’s documents would contribute to that harassment,” the judge wrote.

However, he said he would allow them to refile their case if they can “in good faith” allege facts supporting their standing or right to file it.

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In the early morning on Friday, police in riot gear showed up on the University of Pennsylvania campus, gave pro-Palestinian protesters two minutes to leave their tent encampment, then began making arrests.

University officials had asked protesters to leave for days as pressure from students, alums, professors, and others in the Penn community grew. Last week, more than 3,000 people signed a petition asking Penn officials to remove the protesters.

On Thursday, Gov. Josh Shapiro, who had served as state attorney general before running for governor, spoke out strongly against the protest.

He called the encampment “unstable” and “untenable.”

“It is past time for the university to act to address this, to disband the encampment,” said Shapiro. “And to restore order and safety on campus. Universities need to work with their own police departments or within the framework of their local police departments in order to make sure students are safe on campus.”

Shapiro’s remarks apparently gave Penn officials the impetus they needed after more than two weeks to move in and break up the encampment.

The protestors demanded information on the university’s investments and that it divest from any companies doing business with Israel.

For about two weeks, Bala Cynwyd resident Beth Samberg and friends have been going to the encampment at 4 a.m. with air horns to wake up the protesters.  There is an encampment at her son’s university, but it is too far away for her to try to intervene, so she’s been going to Penn.

Samberg, who is “proudly Jewish,” said her son, 19, feels threatened by the pro-Palestinian protesters. “We brought him home a week early because of the encampment,” she said. “The [university] administration would not guarantee the safety of the Jewish kids.”

“I am not there to engage or escalate,” said Samberg about her early morning visits to the former Penn encampment. “I am only there to irritate.”

Now that the encampment is cleared, Samberg fears the protesters will return to Penn since she doesn’t have any confidence that progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner will charge them. But if they do, she will continue to wake them up at 4 a.m.

“And at the encampment itself, there were more non-Penn affiliated individuals than Penn students, she added.

A spokesperson for Krasner said his office is not involved.

“They were given Civil Violation Notices (CVNs) by Philly police and released,” said Krasner spokesman Dustin Slaughter.

Penn’s interim president, J. Larry Jameson, issued this statement, which says in part, “This decision is viewpoint neutral and affirmed by our policies. There are times when our abiding commitment to open expression requires balancing free speech with our responsibility to safety, security, and continuing the operations of the University. This is one of those times and why we have acted. Open expression and peaceful protest are welcome on our campus, but vandalism, trespassing, disruption, and threatening language and actions are not.”

The Jewish Federation of Philadelphia issued a statement saying it “commends the University of Pennsylvania for taking decisive action to disband the pro-Palestinian encampment on University of Pennsylvania’s campus this morning. While free speech and critical thinking are essential tenets both on and off college campuses, it had become increasingly clear over the past two weeks that the encampment fostered an atmosphere of intimidation and harassment, particularly towards Jews on campus.

“At a time when antisemitism is at an all-time high, institutions of higher education have a responsibility to ensure that the safety and well-being of Jewish students and faculty is protected. We thank Governor Shapiro, Mayor Parker, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the University of Pennsylvania Police Department for their help in resolving this issue so campus safety and inclusion can be prioritized.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) told Fox News anti-Israel activists should protest Hamas instead.

“It’s actually working against peace in Gaza, and Hamas is convinced that they’ve won the PR war and they keep seeing all these kinds of protests across the nation on these campuses. And it’s not helpful, but it’s actually — it works against peace, I think,” Fetterman said.

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) did not immediately respond when asked to comment.

Casey’s Republican opponent Dave McCormick, who told DVJournal that he opposed the university encampments, posted to social media Friday, “Good. The encampment should have been disbanded weeks ago.”

The Philadelphia Antidefamation League posted to X, “Now is the time for policy breakers to be held accountable. As we’ve said, we support and defend free speech; but free speech is not a free license to violate time, place and manner restrictions, harass peers, interfere with the education rights of other students on campus.”

Manuel Bonder, a spokesman for Shapiro, told DVJournal, “As Gov. Shapiro has made clear multiple times, all Pennsylvanians have a right to peacefully protest and make their voices heard. The governor has also made clear that universities have a legal responsibility to keep their students safe and free from discrimination.

“Unfortunately, the situation at Penn reached an untenable point – and as the university stated publicly, the encampment was in violation of university policy, campus was being disrupted, and threatening, discriminatory speech and behavior were increasing. After Penn’s weeks-long efforts to engage protestors were met with further escalation, today, the University of Pennsylvania’s leadership made the right decision to dismantle the encampment.

“We thank the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department, and University of Pennsylvania Police Department for their professional work to resolve the situation quickly and peacefully,” Bonder added.

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As a pro-Palestinian encampment and protest at the University of Pennsylvania continues, Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick is calling on the university to put an end to the illegal demonstration.

More than 3,200 students, faculty, and staff signed a petition telling the university to disband the encampment. School administrators have ordered the it closed. Protesters defied those orders.

McCormick, who visited the Penn campus last week, told DVJournal in a podcast interview, “What we’re seeing on these campuses is the explicit antisemitism, explicit anti-Americanism, an environment that’s intimidating to other students.”

“It’s standing in the way of the fundamental purpose of the universities, which is to create an environment where people can learn,” said McCormick. “It’s the threat of violence and violence has occurred in a number of places. So, I’m a strong proponent of free speech and the First Amendment. I’m a soldier. I went to war to make sure that American values would prevail. But what’s happening on those campuses goes far beyond that. It’s created an environment of hatred and bigotry that’s unacceptable.

“And these encampments are in direct violation of university policy,” said McCormick. “And so you walk through this, and it’s heartbreaking.”

“Many of the people are not students, they’re from outside,” he added. “Agitators, Antifa and others. But you do see kids on these campuses. They don’t know the difference between right and wrong. They don’t know the difference between good and evil. And you say, ‘My, God. How could that happen?’ on the campuses of some of our greatest universities and then you see that congressional testimony of those three college presidents, and you say, ‘That’s how it happened.’”

Asked about the double standard of how some people accept protesters’ antisemitism when they would not accept bigotry toward other minority groups, McCormick said, “If you had taken that congressional testimony and put African American or LGBTQ or anything instead of Jewish students, those university presidents could have never even conceived of giving the testimony they gave.

“And I think it almost emanates from a basic Marxist ideology that’s defining the world as the oppressed and the oppressors. We see this across university campuses,” he said.

McCormick noted the campus “jihad” is “not just against Israel and Jewish students. It’s directed at all of us. And so this is a big fight. It’s a big fight of ideas. It’s the big fight of hatred. And we have to embrace the fight. We have to get in the fight with leaders who are not going to mince words. And are going to be clear on the moral imperative and have the courage to speak out truthfully on it.”

“You can’t have it both ways,” McCormick said. “You can’t say you’re against antisemitism and endorse an antisemite like [U.S. Rep.] Summer Lee (D-Pa.),” he said. “You have to show leadership, and sadly, [Sen.] Bob Casey and so many others have failed.”

Casey’s silence is in stark contrast with his fellow Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman, who’s been an outspoken advocate for Israel’s right to self defense and an unapologetic critic of the protesters.

Fetterman said the protests were “working against peace in the Middle East” and reiterated his backing for the U.S. sending aid to the country.

“If you’re going to protest on these campuses, or now what, they’re going all across America as well, too. I really want to, can’t forget, that the situation right now could end right now, if Hamas just surrendered,” Fetterman said.

Penn senior Eyal Yakoby showed McCormick around campus and also helped to deliver the petition demanding an end to the encampment to university administrators. Yakoby also spoke at Congress prior to the college presidents’ ill-fated testimony.

“The community of Penn stands with the law and with Jameson’s words last Friday to clear the encampment. We do not stand with hate or bigotry of any kind,” he said Friday.

Far-left Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner visited the Penn pro-Palestinian encampment Wednesday and said, “The First Amendment comes from here. This is Philadelphia, we don’t have to do stupid like they did at Columbia,” Krasner told Penn’s student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian. “What we should be doing here is upholding our tradition of being a welcoming, inviting city, where people say things, even if other people don’t like them.”

Despite Krasner’s remarks, the Philadelphia police stand ready to help the University of Pennsylvania police if called.

“The Philadelphia Police Department remains committed to facilitating safe demonstrations while ensuring the safety and upholding the First Amendment rights of all who live, work or visit our city,” a spokesperson told DVJournal. “In line with this commitment, the Philadelphia Police Department maintains a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Pennsylvania Police Department to ensure effective cooperation in situations requiring a police response. As per the MOU, the PPD will provide assistance to the UPPD as needed. However, for tactical purposes, we do not publicly discuss specific planning or engagement strategies related to ongoing situations.

Our response will be based on the specific circumstances of each situation.”

A Penn spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

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One side chanted, “Rape is not resistance.” The other side responded, “Intifada, the revolution.”

And with that, the debate over U.S. support for Israel and the Jewish nation’s right to exist was laid out on the University of Pennsylvania campus Sunday.

The anti-Israel protests there began Thursday, complete with tents similar to those used by pro-Palestine activists from Cambridge, Mass., to the University of Southern California. In the Delaware Valley, protest encampments have reportedly sprouted at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges.

On Friday, UPenn’s interim university President Larry Jameson, told protesters to pack up their tents and leave. The administration also told organizations planning a provocative Passover seder as part of their anti-Israel protest not to hold the event.

But on Sunday, the tents were still up, and the seder went on as planned as the Palestinian activists continued to ignore the administration and disrupt the campus.

In his statement Friday, Jameson took a tough line, declaring that while the university supports peaceful protest, “the encampment itself violates the university’s facilities policies. The harassing and intimidating comments and actions by some of the protesters, which were reported and documented by many in our community, violate Penn’s open expression guidelines and state and federal law, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. All members of our community deserve to access our facilities without fear of harassment or being subjected to discriminatory comments or threats.”

“We will not allow any actions that harass, threaten, or intimidate others,” Jameson added. “We have also said that the safety of our community is paramount, and we will live up to our commitment.”

That commitment remained unfulfilled late Sunday night as the protest continued.

Sunday afternoon, a group of 200 or so supporters of Israel, led by medical school professor Benjamin Abella, gathered in front of the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

(CREDIT: Professor Benjamin Abella via Twitter)

“We hereby implore the university to take action,” Abella said. “Words are not enough.” Among the signs they waved were “No Hamas, No KKK.”

A group of pro-Israel supporters marched toward the pro-Palestine encampment as campus cops looked on. That was when they exchanged chants.

Eyal Yakoby, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania who testified before Congress about the recent wave of antisemitism, believes the university is ignoring the protesters’ threats of violence.

“While people dismiss the violent nature of these protests, chanting globalize the intifada literally is a call to violence. A university’s core mission is to educate students. When protests are blasting air horns in the middle of the school day, how are students supposed to focus? Penn, along with other universities, needs to decide whether their mission is to educate or to be ground-zero for violent protests.”

Andrew Goretsky, the Philadelphia Regional Director of the Antidefamation League, said, “What we are seeing at Penn and on campuses across the country are not peaceful protests. They are efforts to harass, intimidate, and interfere with the operation of the university — depriving students of their education. The Penn administration needs to make it abundantly clear that anyone interfering with classes or harassing or threatening students will be subject to campus discipline or, where appropriate, face legal consequences.”

Police had arrested nearly 900 pro-Palestinian protesters at campuses across the U.S. as of Sunday evening. The disorder has become so problematic that the University of Southern California (USC) has canceled its graduation ceremony.

Jamie Walker, a Jewish parent from Bucks County, said, “It’s absolutely terrifying that these protests are happening at these universities. As a Jewish parent, I am scared to send my kids to college. It’s blatant antisemitism taking place. All of these young adults are actively supporting terrorist organizations. They are overwhelmingly uninformed about the groups they are supporting.”

“It’s scary to think that universities in Pennsylvania are allowing this to occur,” said Walker. “What’s even scarier is these young adults are the future leaders of America. Colleges need to rethink their curriculum. They are failing society.”

Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate and Republican Dave McCormick decried the campus protests at a campaign event Thursday.

“How can it be that our children on the best campuses at the best colleges in our country don’t understand the difference between right and wrong? Can’t see the difference between good and evil? How can that be? And then you watch those three college presidents testify? And you say, ‘Oh, that’s how it happened.’ The lack of leadership. The lack of moral clarity.”

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) did not reply when asked to comment.

However, some Philadelphia Democrats are defending the protesters.

State Reps. Tarik Khan, Rick Krajewski, and Chris Rabb joined Philadelphia state Sen. Nikil Saval and city councilors Kendra Brooks, Nicolas O’Rourke, Jamie Gauthier and other activists issued a statement  saying they support the “peaceful protest.”

“We are grateful for the students’ leadership and urge our universities and our city to hear their call,” they said.

Critics of the campus protests and their antisemitic and anti-American messaging say the issue is bigger than the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Noting that a communist newspaper was distributed at the Penn protest and protesters carried a hammer and sickle communist flag, Yakoby tweeted, “This is what was distributed at the UPenn demonstration today. This is not just a Jewish problem. It is an American problem, a freedom problem.”

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For college senior Elisheva Asiag, campus antisemitism limited the graduate schools she’s applying to for her master’s in social work.

Asiag, 22, will graduate from Tuoro College this June with a degree in psychology.

“When I was looking into schools, my advisor (said) the University of Pennsylvania has a really good social work program and also NYU,” said Asiag. So I was thinking of applying to those places, but then all this stuff happened.”

The Montgomery County resident watched three university presidents being questioned by Congress and decided she did not want to go to Penn.

In that December hearing, former Penn President Liz Magill said calling for Jewish genocide is allowed “in context.” Her performance before Congress led to Magill’s resignation.

Asiag’s research also led her away from New York University.

“They didn’t defend the (Jewish) students, and then all the protests were going on, and things were happening to Jewish students on campus,” said Asiag. She thought, “I don’t have to put myself through that if I can go to a different place, that’s also good.”

She applied to Tuoro’s graduate social work program and the Wurweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University.

This week, the Antidefamation League (ADL) released a campus antisemitism report card for various colleges. Penn was graded “D,” Drexel “B,” and Swarthmore College “F.” The report card helps parents and students decide where to go to college.

The ADL used 21 criteria in three groups: administrative action and policies, incidents on campus and Jewish student life. Groups of 160 students per campus and “stakeholders,” such as Hillel and Chabad directors, were surveyed.

The report card warns that just because a school receives an “A” or “B” does not mean there is no antisemitism problem. It means the school complies with existing laws. Schools with “C” or “D” may support Jewish students but have a lower grade due to the severity or frequency of incidents.

ADL also reported Tuesday that there was a 140 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in 2023, with a “massive spike” after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel and subsequent war.

In 2023, there were 8,873 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism around the U.S., according to the ADL. Pennsylvania ranked sixth place among the states, with 86 acts of antisemitic vandalism and 303 incidents of harassment. Slightly more than a third of the vandalism included swastikas. Philadelphia had the most incidents, followed by Montgomery County and Chester County.

“The level of antisemitic activity has reached levels that I have never seen before,” said Andrew Goretsky, ADL Philadelphia’s regional director. “It is particularly concerning that in Pennsylvania, we documented five assaults in 2023, all perpetrated against schoolchildren. This does not include over 300 incidents of harassment. Jewish children and adults are being targeted simply for being Jews. When antisemitism is left unchecked, it paves the way for broader waves of intolerance, putting other communities at risk. It is imperative to identify and confront antisemitic incidents as the despicable acts of hatred they are, affirming that such behavior is utterly unacceptable.”

Asiag has not experienced an antisemitic incident directly, but the last six and a half months since the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza have her on edge.  Posters of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas that were placed on her dorm walls in New York have been repeatedly torn down. She thought about buying a hostage dog tag necklace but is concerned it would “put a target on my back” as she takes public transit in New York City.

“I thought we were more progressive, in today’s generation, and that people would be more accepting,” said Asiag. “But when something happens to us, you see that people don’t really care about Jewish people and just turn on you in two seconds.”

“Bam, your whole world gets turned upside down.”

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Antisemitic cartoons drawn by a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania have re-opened the debate over the Ivy League school’s reputation as an enclave of anti-Jewish hate.

“Penn Lecturer Is Behind Grotesque Anti-Semitic Cartoons” is the headline at the Washington Free Beacon, which links to the work of Dwayne Booth. According to the news site, Booth “joined Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication as an adjunct faculty member in 2015 and teaches two classes at the Ivy League institution, publishes political cartoons under the pen name ‘Mr. Fish.'”

Booth’s work includes antisemitic tropes such as Zionists drinking the blood of Gazans, and a Nazi flag featuring the Star of David.

“Dwayne Booth’s cartoon dangerously invokes the classic antisemitic propaganda of the blood libel,” said Michael Balaban, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. “At a time when antisemitism is on the rise across the country, these cartoons only serve to demonize and isolate the Jewish community, minimizing the legitimate threat of antisemitism. We call on the University of Pennsylvania to address Booth’s tenure to show that perpetuating antisemitic tropes should never be tolerated.”

Eyal Yakoby, a senior majoring in political science and modern Middle East studies, said, “Penn’s ambivalence has emboldened bad actors to behave however they please. The prevailing atmosphere at Penn is inhospitable. This is directly influenced by employees of the university or agents of the university, such as this lecturer. These ‘educators,’ if you can call them that, prove to the rest of the community that they can act with impunity, no matter how vile or unlawful their actions are, resulting in a climate where anyone feels unrestricted in their actions.”

Yakoby, one of the Jewish students suing Penn, added, “Stories like this should show how (the lawsuit) is even more necessary now than ever. It was not only [former UPenn President Liz] Magill. It is a systemic problem at Penn.”

Magill was forced to resign after her widely-criticized testimony before Congress during a hearing on rising antisemitism on U.S. college campuses. She was unable to answer whether calling for “the genocide of Jews” was a violation of Penn’s policies covering campus speech.

A group of wealthy donors also announced publicly that they would no longer support the university, and alums also issued scathing condemnations.

Jewish students who were subjected to harassment and antisemitism on campus filed a lawsuit demanding their tuition be refunded.  The issues began before the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas against Israel when Penn hosted a Palestinian Writes Literature festival that featured noted antisemites like Roger Waters and Marc Lamont Hill, who was fired from CNN for using the phrase “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” which equates with the destruction of Israel and all who live there. The festival was held just before Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

The federal Department of Education filed and then dropped a civil rights complaint against the Ivy League school, saying the charges were the same as those in the students’ lawsuit.

Penn Interim President J. Larry issued a statement:  “I will not, and should not, respond to every event on our campus, but I want it understood that these political cartoons, posted on a personal website, were not taught in the classroom and do not reflect the views of the University of Pennsylvania or me, personally. I find them reprehensible, with antisemitic symbols, and incongruent with our efforts to fight hate. They disrespect the feelings and experiences of many people in our community and around the world, particularly those only a generation removed from the Holocaust. And, for me, it is painful to see the suffering and tragic loss of life of noncombatants in Israel and Gaza be fodder for satire.

At Penn, we have a bedrock commitment to open expression and academic freedom, principles that were unanimously reaffirmed last week by our Faculty Senate Executive Committee. We also have a responsibility to challenge what we find offensive, and to do so acknowledging the right and ability of members of our community to express their views, however loathsome we find them.”

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My husband and I took our first cruise over the holidays to celebrate our 50th anniversary. The trip, aboard a Royal Caribbean vessel, left northern New Jersey for the Bahamas and circled back.

The voyage featured extremely attentive crew members and plentiful diversions, pools to swim or soak in, and onshore excursions beckoned if onboard amusements weren’t enough.  We even found a television in one of the ship’s “pubs,” where we watched the Eagles play.

As I sat on a deck chair and looked out at the Atlantic Ocean– at that moment, the sea was a dark shade of blue with choppy waves with no other ships, dolphins, birds or signs of life in sight.

I thought of my late father, who, as a young man living in landlocked Des Moines, Iowa, decided he wanted to see the world and joined the Navy. The blue Atlantic and paler sky must have looked the same to him as to me.

When his ship stopped in Philadelphia, he met my mother, a nursing student at the University of Pennsylvania, who came to a U.S.O. dance with a girlfriend.  They danced and said they fell in love with each other at first sight (although out of vanity, neither wore their glasses to the dance).

After he proposed, Mom told him she’d marry him only if he promised to continue his college education and become either a doctor or a lawyer.  He must have been really smitten because he agreed to study law.

He was still in the Navy when I came along. I did not meet Dad until I was 8 months old because he was serving off the coast of Italy on the U.S.S. Worcester.

Dad lived to be 83 when an aggressive strain of prostate cancer took his life. He grew up poor during the Depression and secured a good life for our family through hard work and determination. He retired early, leaving the snowy north for central Florida and frequent golf games.

A few weeks after my dad’s 2016 death, as I was grieving, I dreamed of a large, gray Navy ship.  And in the dream, I heard his voice say, “Don’t worry about me. I’m on the upper deck.”

On the deck of the cruise ship that was filled with families since schools were on winter break, I thought about how lucky I am, fortunate that my parents even met at that long ago U.S.O. dance, that I’m happily married with my children grown, a grandparent and living out my childhood dream of writing.

If I could speak to my father, I’d say, “I’m on the upper deck, too, Dad.”

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The fallout from campus antisemitism that claimed the job of former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill is far from over, as evidenced by the ouster of Harvard’s Dr. Claudine Gay.

Gay resigned as president of Harvard University on Tuesday (though she will keep her $900,000 annual paycheck as a tenured professor), less than a month after Magill was forced out at Penn. Both Gay and Magill, along with Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth, received heavy criticism over their performance during a congressional hearing on antisemitism on their campuses. None of the three would say that “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated their schools’ code of conduct. Gay infamously claimed it depended on the “context.”

Major donors to all three schools either reduced their contributions or cut them off entirely in response.

Magill stepped down without much drama, publicly accepting her fate. Not so with Gay, the first Black woman to serve as Harvard’s president. She claimed to be a victim of racism-fueled, trumped-up charges of plagiarism.

“It has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor—two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am—and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus,” she said in her resignation statement. “These last weeks have helped make clear the work we need to do to build that future—to combat bias and hate in all its forms, to create a learning environment in which we respect each other’s dignity and treat one another with compassion…”

In fact, Gay’s minimal academic output — only a handful of published papers during her career — was riddled with nearly 50 examples of either “inadequate citations,” as her Harvard defenders called it, or outright plagiarism. “In a 2001 article, Gay lifts nearly half a page of material verbatim from another scholar, David Canon, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin,” the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Now, some members of the Jewish community are concerned that the plagiarism issue will take the spotlight off what they see as the far more serious problem of antisemitism on America’s elite college campuses.

“The problems at Harvard have been years, if not decades, in the making,” Jeremy Burton, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, told Jewish Insider. “Whatever your opinion about Gay’s decision to step aside and how that came about, we would be doing ourselves a disservice if we pretend that this in any way moves us closer to resolving the root problems with the campus environment at Harvard.”

Many members of Congress agree. Magill and Gay’s responses to the “genocide of Jews” questions inspired a bipartisan House resolution heaping scorn on antisemitism on university campuses. That resolution easily passed 303 to 126 last month. However, none of the “yes” votes came from local Democratic Reps. Madeleine Dean, Chrissy Houlahan, or Mary Gay Scanlon.

Scanlon and Dean voted “no,” while Houlahan voted “present.”

Bucks County Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick voted “yes.”

Penn has emerged with a reputation as one of the most antisemitism-friendly campuses in the U.S., and its problems are far from over.

Penn is being sued in federal court by two Jewish students who claim it has become an “incubation lab for virulent anti-Jewish hatred, harassment and discrimination.” That includes claiming pro-Palestinian protesters called one student “a dirty Jew” and said, “You know what you’ve done wrong.” The suit also accuses Penn faculty of “deliberate and targeted harassment” of Jewish students.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives killed a bill last month that would have funded Penn’s veterinary school.

House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) sent a letter to Penn leadership explaining that Magill’s resignation and a new antisemitism task force are great starts, but there’s more to be done.

“The task force’s initial report will be due in February, and the final report will be issued in May,” he wrote. “That time frame does nothing to bring about immediate change. It will not help students currently enrolled in the university experiencing this abhorrent form of hate, and it will be too late for students currently deciding whether to attend Penn.”

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