Major professors’ group accuses UPenn of ‘discrimination’ for combating campus anti-Semitism
The American Association of University Professors criticized the University of Pennsylvania's anti-Semitism investigations, claiming they threaten academic freedom.
The Brandeis Center filed a legal brief alleging a 'hostile educational environment' for Jewish students at Penn, citing harassment, threats, and vandalism.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is accusing the University of Pennsylvania of going too far in its response to antisemitism, claiming the school’s investigations into alleged misconduct risk silencing open debate and violating academic freedom.
In a letter to university administrators, the AAUP took aim at Penn’s Office of Religious and Ethnic Interests, which launched multiple probes into reports of antisemitic behavior. The group argued that such investigations blur the line between addressing hate and punishing protected expression, warning that they could amount to discrimination themselves.
The organization maintained that Penn’s approach may unintentionally fuel anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias while discouraging faculty and students from engaging in controversial discussions, according to The Algemeiner. It also suggested that applying overly broad definitions of antisemitism could have a chilling effect on academic inquiry.
The AAUP said it will continue tracking Penn’s actions as part of its ongoing push to defend academic freedom on politically charged campuses.
The AAUP’s claims contrast sharply with evidence presented in a recent legal brief from the Brandeis Center, a Jewish legal rights advocacy group. The Oct. 22 brief, filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, accused Penn and a district court of failing to properly address a “hostile educational environment” for Jewish students.
The brief detailed a “relentless pattern of harassment and hostility,” including racist chants praising the slaughter of Jewish civilians at campus rallies, anti-Semitic tropes taught by professors, swastika graffiti, vandalism of Jewish community spaces, and direct threats of violence hurled at Jewish students.
“Without considering these factors—or engaging much at all with Plaintiffs’ detailed allegations of anti-Jewish harassment and hate—the district court cannot have properly assessed the adequacy of Penn’s responses,” the brief stated.
The filing noted that anti-Jewish hate crimes rose 5.8 percent from 2023 to 2024, resulting in the highest recorded number since the FBI began collecting such data. Despite comprising only 2 percent of the U.S. population, Jews were victims of 16 percent of all reported hate crimes and 70 percent of religion-based incidents.
Penn’s struggles with anti-Semitism have drawn repeated attention. In September, U.S. Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick urged five Pennsylvania universities, including Penn, to take stronger action against campus anti-Semitism.
The senators noted that “Jewish students are once again hiding their Judaism” and called on universities to ensure “vibrant Jewish life is not compromised or driven into the shadows.”
In October, Penn rejected the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” following pressure from the faculty senate, which claimed the compact threatened institutional autonomy.
In March, Penn laid off Dwayne Booth, a controversial cartoonist who had drawn several cartoons accused of being anti-Semitic, including one comparing Israel’s actions to the Holocaust and another echoing the anti-Semitic “blood libel” conspiracy theory.
Campus Reform has contacted AAUP and the University of Pennsylvania for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
