UPenn ‘lost its way’ in response to campus anti-Semitism, says Gov. Shapiro

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday that some universities were “willing to abdicate” their responsibility to protect Jewish students on campus, singling out the University of Pennsylvania for having “lost its way” and “working to get back “to a better place.

Shapiro, a Democrat, made the comments in conversation with American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch at an event celebrating the 80th anniversary of the organization’s Philadelphia-South Jersey chapter. The governor’s comments came in response to a question from Deutch about how colleges and universities had responded to the wave of campus anti-Semitism since Oct. 7.

“Universities have a moral and legal responsibility to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to this country to keep all students safe on campus,” Shapiro said. “For some universities, I think they were willing to give up that responsibility, otherwise it got a little bit out of balance. Some universities were willing to accept a little bit of hate over here, but no hate over here, and that’s not OK.”

“While I realize there’s a lot of gray area when it comes to figuring out exactly where that line is, I think it’s important that everyone adheres to these basic principles,” Shapiro added. “And there are a lot of colleges and universities here in Pennsylvania that are … I honestly think Penn lost its way. They’re working to come back. There’s some important work happening under their interim president. I think ​​they are moving in the right direction there, and so are many other universities.”

The Democratic governor noted, “that a lot of what we’re seeing on campus really didn’t have a lot to do with the students, but had a lot to do with some faculty. And I think it was important that university leaders keep the faculty as well responsible so that they teach actual facts and that they do not encourage students to break the rules and that we have order and discipline on campus.”

Shapiro told the audience at the Bellevue Hotel that there is “no nuance” when it comes to anti-Semitism, but acknowledged that there is “far more of a gray area” when it comes to criticism of Israel or US Middle East policy.

“It’s important that we have two separate conversations: one about anti-Semitism and the other about Israel,” the Pennsylvania governor said. “Anti-Semitism, hatred, bigotry in all its forms, it’s not okay, and anyone in a position of public trust, everyone has a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity, to speak out against it. It doesn’t matter who shares those feelings , if they’re members of your own party, if they’re people you might otherwise agree with on another issue, we have a responsibility to speak out against that.”

“When it comes to the issue of Israel, foreign policy and Middle East policy, it’s a much more gray area,” he added. “I think it’s important to continue speaking out in support of Israel. And I think it is also acceptable if you want to respectfully criticize a policy that comes from the Israeli government. There’s a difference there.”

Deutch then asked Shapiro if he was emotionally affected by the “No Genocide Josh” movement that emerged over the summer and urged Vice President Kamala Harris against selecting Shapiro as her running mate over his support for Israel. Shapiro responded that while he was not personally hurt by the effort or other anti-Semitic attacks, he was emotionally affected by the reactions of other American Jews.

“I’m not offended or upset by the attacks that people make against me or the anti-Semitic attacks against me. What I do get upset about, what I care about is how it makes other people feel and whether it makes them pull back or maybe not do something they wanted to do or go somewhere they were supposed to go, it’s unsettling and I try to spend as much time as I can , along with people, that are affected by it and try to make sure that they have the strength to continue to move forward,” explained Shapiro.

“On that, I felt a responsibility to try to lift them up and empower them and let them know that they should be proud of who they are and proud of who I am and kind of help them remove the noise,” he said.

Shapiro argued that “there is no one party that has a clean record on” anti-Semitism, adding that it was important to make sure that people who “promote these hateful words, they are condemned.”

“I am a proud Democrat and I want to make sure that the Democratic Party continues to stand with Israel and I will continue to do my part to raise my voice to make sure that it does,” Shapiro said . “I deplore the fact that in recent years the issue of Israel has become a weapon in our political system. I think that Israel is far safer and far stronger when the relationship that elected officials in America have (with it) is on a truly bipartisan or nonpartisan basis.”

speaks to Jewish insider on the sidelines of the event, Shapiro answered in the affirmative when asked if he was sure Zionists have a place in the Democratic Party.

“I’m (sure) or I wouldn’t be a Democrat. I’m proud to be a Democrat and I think we have to tell the truth. There’s anti-Semitism on the left and there’s anti-Semitism on the right,” Shapiro told JI. “It’s critically important for leaders to speak and act with moral clarity and speak out, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it’s within your own party. So that is why I will continue to speak out against anti-Semitism. I will continue to try to educate others and I will continue to be a strong advocate.”

Shapiro noted that “neither party is immune to” anti-Semitism in their ranks.

“I also think it’s true that American Jews care about a lot of things. They care about Israel, they care about health care policy, they care about foreign policy, they care about tax policy,” he said. “I think what remains clear is that the vast, vast majority of American Jews vote for the Democrats. That doesn’t mean there aren’t issues that need to be resolved within the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.”