5 colleges facing accusations of anti-Semitism on campus after Hamas attack

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Friday, October 27, 2023

Jon Huntsman prepares to testify before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his nomination to be ambassador to Russia on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on September 19, 2017. | NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

University of Pennsylvania

Former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr. informed the University of Pennsylvania that his foundation will no longer donate to the school, citing its "silence" in the face of anti-Semitism and adherence to "moral relativism."

Huntsman graduated from the school in 1987, and in an email earlier this month to university President Liz Magill, he claimed that the academic institution was "almost unrecognizable."

"The University's silence in the face of reprehensible and historic Hamas evil against the people of Israel (when the only response should be outright condemnation) is a new low," Huntsman wrote in an email first obtained by the student newspaper The Daily Pennsylvanian.

The alumnus stated that the Huntsman Foundation "will close its checkbook on all future giving to Penn — something that has been a source of enormous pride for now three generations of graduates." He added that his siblings have joined him in what he referred to as a "rebuke."

Earlier this month, university board member Vahan Gureghian resigned, citing an "embrace of anti-semitism" at the university and "a failure to stand for justice and complete negligence in the defense of our students' wellbeing."

Last month, UPenn hosted the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, a controversial event that featured speakers who have a history of making anti-Semitic comments. Magill later issued a statement expressing regret at the school's response to concerns about the event, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported.

"The University did not, and emphatically does not, endorse these speakers or their views," Magill wrote. "While we did communicate, we should have moved faster to share our position strongly and more broadly with the Penn community."

In a statement this month given to The Christian Post, Magill said, "Alumni are important members of the Penn community. I hear their anger, pain, and frustration and am taking action to make clear that I stand, and Penn stands, emphatically against the terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel and against antisemitism."

"As a University, we support and encourage the free exchange of ideas, along with a commitment to the safety and security of our community and the values we share and work to advance. Penn has a moral responsibility to combat antisemitism and to educate our community to recognize and reject hate in all its forms. I've said we should have communicated faster and more broadly about where we stand, but let there be no doubt that we are steadfast in our beliefs."