January 25, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce has demanded that the University of Pennsylvania produce all documents relating to the school's responses to antisemitic incidents on campus by Feb. 7.
The U.S. House committee investigation into the University of Pennsylvania has taken its next step, ordering Penn to produce documents relating to antisemitic behavior on campus.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, signed a 14-page letter addressed to Penn board of trustees Chair Ramanan Raghavendran and interim President Larry Jameson expressing "grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Penn's response to antisemitism on campus."
The letter describes an "environment of pervasive antisemitism" on Penn's campus, both before and in the wake of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, still has concerns despite the resignation of President Liz Magill, writing that Penn has "institutional failures regarding antisemitism."
Foxx's letter cites multiple incidents at Penn, including the Palestine Writes Literature Festival in Sept. 2023, several cases of vandalism and harassment, anti-Israel statements from Penn faculty and a reported drop in Penn's Jewish undergraduate population between 2013 and 2023.
The letter details the language used by speakers, faculty members and students involved in each instance. It characterizes phrases such as "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "From West Philly to Palestine, occupation is a crime" as hateful phrases.
Writing that "mere warnings" from Penn about antisemitic incidents were insufficient, the committee asked Penn to submit 25 items by Feb. 7. The items include all reports of antisemitic acts or incidents since 2021, documents showing any disciplinary processes to allegations of discrimination, communications relating to funding for pro-Palestinian organizations and meeting minutes from the university's task force on antisemitism.
A Penn spokesperson said the university received the request from the committee and will respond after a complete review.
The University of Pennsylvania was on a list of schools under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for alleged acts of discrimination on campus. The Department of Education has since removed Penn from the list, as an ongoing lawsuit against Penn contains the same allegations. Temple University and Drexel University remain on the list.
