Jewish students at the University of Pennsylvania say the resignations of President Liz Magill and Chairman Scott Bok are not enough to make them feel safe following a series of antisemitic incidents, arguing that further “change” at the school is needed.
“There’s a realization that a step is over,” junior Akiva Berkowitz told USA Today outside Steinhardt Hall, home to the school’s Hillel club. “But the process is not and I don’t want people to think this is the end.”
The student reacted to the resignations of Magill and Bok on Saturday, adding: “A lot still needs to happen. There is still a lot to change.”
Sophomore Jack Cohen said despite Magill and Bok’s resignation, “It’s not comfortable here” and demanded that more be done.
“At the end of the day, we want to see more change,” he said. “We want to feel more supported.
“‘Change’ is the key word – change for the better.”
Jewish students at the Ivy League institution have previously called out school officials for doing nothing when they experienced several antisemitic incidents.
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned on Saturday, following her poor testimony before Congress. Getty Images
In September, a month before Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel, a pro-Palestinian student group organized a weekend literature festival on campus that it billed as an event to “explore the richness and diversity of Palestinian culture.”
But the event – which featured more than 100 speakers – also hosted several people who have been accused of pushing an antisemitic agenda, including one who called for “death to Israel.”
Following the terrorist attacks in Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have taken over the campus, featuring cries for “intifada” or rebellion, which have also been spray-painted across campus along with “Avenge Gaza.”
A property next to a Jewish fraternity house was also vandalized with the words “Jews R Nazis” in late October.
“The protest was not fun,” Berkowitz said as he left Penn Hillel.
Jewish students at the Ivy League institution have previously called out school officials for doing nothing when they experienced several antisemitic incidents. Penn Free Police
The Maryland native said he wears a yarmulke on campus and has never felt personally threatened, but was shocked by some of the language he heard during pro-Palestinian rallies.
Megan Singleton, a graduate student at the school, also claimed that after the swastika was found at Hillel “nothing was really done.”
He said students felt their concerns and suggestions were ignored by administrators, whose response was “weak.”
“No one wants to go to an institution where they don’t feel safe to practice their faith,” he told USA Today, adding that he was glad to see Magill resign.
Some Jewish students at the university say more needs to be done to make them feel safe. Robert Miller
The university’s president has come under pressure from donors and even from members of the school’s administration to resign after testifying that calling for the genocide of Jews would only violate the university’s code of conduct depending on the “context.”
Shortly after his appearance in Congress, a federal lawsuit was filed accusing the campus of being a hotbed of antisemitism long before the October 7 Hamas attack.
The suit — brought by undergraduates Eyal Yakoby and Jordan Davis — alleges Penn violated federal civil rights law when it decided to selectively enforce its rules to “avoid protecting Jewish students from hate and harassment,” according to Bloomberg Law.
The school also ignored students’ pleas for protection and hired a “rabidly antisemitic professor,” Bloomberg said.
A federal lawsuit alleges the school ignored students’ pleas for protection and hired a “bigoted antisemitic professor.” Robert Miller
“Encouraged by Penn’s years of tolerance and enabling of antisemitism, and willful indifference to the complaints of Jewish students, Penn students and faculty openly support and praise the atrocities of Hamas,” the complaint reads.
Attorneys representing the two students in their lawsuits said Sunday that Magill’s resignation was just the first step in making the school a safer place for students.
“This resignation is the first of many necessary steps toward rebuilding Penn free of antisemitic abuse and harassment,” Marc Kasowitz told USA Today.
“The lawsuits we are bringing on behalf of courageous Penn students will ensure that goal is achieved.”
Pro-Palestinian protests have taken over campuses since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. Robert Miller
Meanwhile, at a rally in support of Israel and the Jewish people at the historic Rodeph Shalom synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro spoke about Magill’s resignation.
He said that since the October 7 Hamas attack, he has seen Pennsylvanians “taking big and small actions” in support of Israel and its Jewish community, including those at universities “where students are raising their voices, where students are making sure they are heard.” them and they hold their leadership accountable.
“The students did that,” said the Jewish governor.
Magill will continue as interim president and will remain on the law school faculty, university officials said.
Jewish leader Julie Platt took over as chair of the board of trustees until a permanent replacement could be found.
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