State lawmaker proposing crackdown on antisemitism at Pennsylvania universities

PITTSBURGH — Since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, antisemitism is being seen more and more.

“The Jewish Federation’s National Security Administration reported the single greatest month in terms of antisemitic incidents since they started tracking 10 years ago,” Adam Hertzman with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh said.

Pennsylvania is not immune. The University of Pennsylvania’s president is facing major controversy after she failed to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews as explicitly against campus harassment and bullying codes.

“Antisemitism is rising on college campuses, it’s something we need to deal with very strongly,” Hertzman said.

That move led to her resignation and a change at the state level.

“Look these universities should be a place of discussion and ideas, but it has to be respectful, it has to be civil, it can’t be calls for violence or demonstrations that make other students feel unwanted,” Rep. Rob Mercuri said. Mercuri represents portions of Allegheny County.

Mercuri is one of the sponsors of a group of bills to combat antisemitism in higher education specifically for state-funded universities.

“This package would require transparency on the Holocaust and it would tie funding to the ability of boards of directors and leadership of these universities that are state-funded to declare that conduct as unacceptable,” Mercuri said.

Plus deem an awareness day for antisemitism on these campuses as another education tool.

“This really isn’t a threat of pulling the plug on funding, this is just to say as taxpayers we need to make sure these universities have the right policies in place,” Mercuri said.

Education is the key when it comes to combatting antisemitism for the Jewish Federation.

“It’s important for people to understand that you can criticize other governments and that doesn’t have to be antisemitic,” Hertzman said.

As for the package of bills, the State House is only in session this week so lawmakers are trying to push it to a vote before the end of the week.

PennWest University gave Channel 11 the following statement:

“While the package of bills is not yet available to read and as state-owned universities we do not comment on legislation, the Board of Governors for PASSHE passed a Statement of Affirmation in 2021 articulating that our universities are welcoming places where human dignity is never compromised and that all students and employees must treat one another with respect. As such, we believe that antisemitism is reprehensible.”

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