Judge dismisses lawsuit accusing University of Pennsylvania of enabling anti-Semitism on campus
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from Jewish students alleging the University of Pennsylvania failed to address anti-Semitism, stating the claims lacked sufficient evidence.
While the judge noted the plaintiffs accused the university only of tolerating differing viewpoints, he allowed them the chance to amend and refile the complaint.
A federal judge has dismissed an anti-Semitism lawsuit filed by Jewish students against the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).
The students filed the original lawsuit on December 5, according to Jewish News Syndicate. Judge Mitchell Goldberg dismissed the complaint on June 2.
“After review of Plaintiffs’ amended complaint, I find that it fails to sufficiently allege the facts necessary to plausibly state viable claims under Title VI, the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, and for breach of contract,” Judge Goldberg wrote in his opinion dismissing the lawsuit.
Though the judge dismissed the Jewish students’ suit, he granted them another opportunity to amend and resubmit the complaint. Goldberg wrote that the plaintiffs did not present instances in their complaint where “Penn or its administration has itself taken any actions” that “could be interpreted as antisemitic with the intention of causing harm to the Plaintiffs.”
“At worst, Plaintiffs accuse Penn of tolerating and permitting the expression of viewpoints which differ from their own,” Goldberg continued.
The plaintiffs in the case included 2024 UPenn graduate Eyal Yakoby, UPenn students Jordan Davis and Noah Rubin, and the non-profit organization Students Against Antisemitism, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
The UPenn administration had twice moved to dismiss the students’ lawsuit. In May, Yakoby defended the complaint, writing, “I have seen and heard first-hand reports of individuals in the encampment, including students, committing acts of violence, intimidating and harassing Jewish students and faculty members, and inciting others to do the same.”
Campus Reform has reported about the activity of anti-Israel groups on UPenn’s campus, including the school’s Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) organization falsely accusing Israel of perpetrating a bombing in Lebanon that it did not commit.
Last November, a fraternity at UPenn’s Wharton School of Business parodied a poster that displayed the faces of Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas.
Previously, anti-Israel demonstrators had graffitied signs at the school with pro-Hamas messaging. Multiple signs read, “SINWAR LIVES,” referring to Yahya Sinwar, who was formerly the head of Hamas.
Another message contained an upside-down triangle, which the Anti-Defamation League has noted “can signify support for violent Palestinian resistance against Israel.”
“The symbol first appeared in propaganda videos promoted by the al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, which showed footage of Hamas terrorists attacking Israeli military targets indicated with an inverted red triangle,” ADL explained.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Pennsylvania and Students Against Antisemitism for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
