At a hearing on Dec. 5 before the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce, Penn President Liz Magill testified alongside three other higher education leaders on the topic of “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism.”
In her oral testimony, Magill said: “Antisemitism—an old, viral, and pernicious evil—has been steadily rising in our society and these world events have dramatically accelerated that surge. Few places have proven immune, including Philadelphia and campuses like ours. This is unacceptable. We are combating this hate on our campus with immediate and comprehensive action.”
For more than four hours, the witnesses answered questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, with some exchanges turning contentious. Magill, along with President Claudine Gay of Harvard University and President Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were criticized for their respective responses to a particular question, of which Magill addressed in a video message released on Dec. 6.
“There was a moment during yesterday’s congressional hearing on antisemitism when I was asked if a call for the genocide of Jewish people on our campus would violate our policies,” Magill said. “In that moment, I was focused on our University’s longstanding policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution, which say that speech alone is not punishable. I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate. It’s evil—plain and simple.”
She continued, in her message, to note that a call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening, and deeply so. “It is intentionally meant to terrify a people who have been subjected to pogroms and hatred for centuries and were the victims of mass genocide in the Holocaust,” Magill said. “In my view, it would be harassment or intimidation.”
Magill added that with the current signs of hate proliferating Penn’s campus and the world, it is time to reevaluate the University’s policies, and noted that she and Provost John L. Jackson Jr. would convene a process to do so.
“As President, I’m committed to a safe, secure, and supportive environment so all members of our community can thrive,” Magill said. “We can and we will get this right.”
In her testimony on Dec. 5, Magill, as she’s done before, condemned the “abhorrent and brutal” terror attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, and addressed the pain, sorrow, and fear that has since extended to Penn’s campus. She also answered questions about free speech and academic freedom, campus safety, and specific actions the University has taken, including the creation of Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism, among other topics.
Magill noted how Penn would not be what it is without its strong Jewish community—past, present, and future.
“I am proud of this tradition, and deeply troubled when members of our Jewish community share that their sense of belonging has been shaken,” Magill said. “Under my leadership, we will never, ever shrink from our moral responsibility to combat antisemitism and educate all to recognize and reject hate. We will remain vigilant.”
