UPenn has been a harbor of anti-Jewish hatred for years, with the most recent Palestine Writes Literature Festival spreading virulent comments against the Jewish student community with no repercussions issued by the administration. The outbreak of the war on October 7 exacerbated antisemitism to a point where it could no longer be ignored.

In 2024, two Jewish students launched a formal lawsuit against the university for a potential violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by failing to protect Jewish students from hatred and harassment. As professors continued to unabashedly perpetuate antisemitic rhetoric and actions on campus with little consequence, the same ongoing lawsuit expanded to include Lauder Fellow Noah Rubin.

Most recently, a pro-Palestine encampment operated on campus for over two weeks as students took over Fisher Bennet Hall, now named Refaat Alareer Hall. The Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) equivalent then tried to take over a building with barricades, zip ties, and barbed wire. Thankfully, they were stopped by the police, but the individuals arrested in both of these instances have been let go by the city.

There has been a dramatic increase in the collaboration between Jewish organizations on campus since I came to UPenn three years ago. There have been internal reports shared amongst the Jewish student community; there are 300 members alone in the Jewish Response at Penn group chat. Student leaders such as myself and others relay this information to officials in the government, the F.B.I., etc.

Everything has been performative so far; there are no real changes to date.

In December 2023, now-former UPenn President Liz Magill was one of three university presidents to testify before Congress regarding the skyrocket of anti-Jewish hatred on their respective campuses. Famously, when asked if calling for the ‘genocide of the Jewish people’ was a violation of the UPenn Code of Conduct’s policy on bullying and harassment, Magill vaguely replied, “It is a context-dependent decision.”

The national outrage over her inability to take responsibility led to her resignation, although she remains a tenured law professor at the university. The United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce soon after requested that the university submit documentation of its response to the ongoing antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and anti-Israel efforts on campus since October 7^th.

I have seen WJC's social media posts shared widely on social media, which I appreciate. Also, I have enjoyed interacting with Jewish leaders who are doing all sorts of meaningful things through my project.