
University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) President Elizabeth Magill told International Legal Forum CEO Arsen Ostrovsky on Friday that the university is committed to “speaking out against antisemitism in all forms.”
Ostrovsky had sent the university a letter in September arguing that because UPenn, a private institution, receives federal funds, hosting the Palestine Writes Literature Festival is “not only a gross affront to the Jewish students and community on campus, it would also run contrary to UPenn’s mission of inclusion, respect and diversity, and be in breach of your federal legal obligations under the Civil Rights Act.” Ostrovsky had written that the festival, which was held at the university from September 22-24, featured “speakers which have expressed highly inflammatory, racist and antisemitic views.” Susan Abulhawa, the executive director of the festival, has denied allegations that any of the festival’s speakers were antisemitic.
Magill wrote in an email to Ostrovsky, which was obtained by the Journal: “Please know that Penn is committed more than ever to being a community where the dignity and worth of Jewish people and those of all faiths and backgrounds thrive. It is critically important, at this moment especially, for Penn to reaffirm our commitment to speaking out against antisemitism in all forms.” Magill pointed Ostrovsky to a September 22 statement from the university “that provided an overview of our continued response as well as details on our ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism on Penn’s campus and beyond.” These efforts included the university working with Penn Hillel, reviewing their policies on external groups holding events on campus and “reviewing and building upon our existing training and education programs to ensure we are including antisemitism awareness as part of our equity and inclusion programs for faculty, students, and staff and, in conducting this education, referring to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.”
“These actions and commitments, in addition to others described in the September 22nd message, reflect our deeply held institutional values and align with the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism,” Magill told Ostrovsky.
Ostrovsky told the Journal, “The International Legal Forum is happy to see that, following our campaign and that of many in the Jewish community, the University of Pennsylvania has agreed to undertake a review of the events that led to the antisemitic ‘Palestine Writes’ hate festival on campus, and implement a number of steps in response, including adding antisemitism awareness training, reviewing the process by which external groups can reserve space and host events on campus, and importantly, will also refer to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism for guidance. Although it should never have come to this in the first instance, we hope that UPenn, and other universities, will learn from the mistakes that led to the holding of this event and listen to the concerns of the Jewish community, to ensure similar occurrences do not repeat. There can be zero tolerance for such hate and incitement against Jewish students.”
Abulhawa told The Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday that the university’s response to the event was due “to racist pressures because that’s the side of power and donor money” and that the university didn’t provide “a single moment or statement of care for Penn’s Palestinian students who have been marginalized and maligned and subjected to violent propaganda year after year, and now during the festival through direct and specific incitement against them.”