Antisemitism probe at University of Pennsylvania intensifies as court seeks records on Jewish employees

A federal judge has ordered the University of Pennsylvania to provide records related to Jewish employees to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as part of an investigation into alleged antisemitic discrimination, while limiting the scope of disclosure.

According to Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Gerald Pappert said employees may decline to participate in the investigation, but the commission must be allowed to contact them directly. “The agency needs the opportunity to talk to them directly to learn if they have evidence of discrimination,” Pappert said, AP reports.

Limits on subpoena and compliance deadline

The judge largely upheld an administrative subpoena issued by the commission. However, he ruled that the university is not required to disclose any employee’s affiliation with Jewish-related organisations. The court also said the university does not need to provide information about three specific groups and set a May 1 deadline for compliance.

University response and planned appeal

A university spokesperson said in a statement that the institution is committed to addressing antisemitism and discrimination. The university said it plans to appeal the order. “While we acknowledge the important role of the EEOC to investigate discrimination, we also have an obligation to protect the rights of our employees,” the statement said, according to AP. It added that creating lists of Jewish faculty and staff and sharing personal contact details raises privacy and First Amendment concerns. The university also said it does not maintain employee records based on religion.

According to AP, a former federal official said it is not unusual for investigators to request information about employees of a particular religion to identify potential victims and witnesses in discrimination cases.

Judge criticises Holocaust comparisons

In his ruling, Pappert criticised comparisons made by the university and other parties involved in the case. He said they had escalated the dispute by likening the investigation to the Holocaust and the Nazis’ compilation of lists of Jews. The judge called such comparisons inappropriate.

Pappert also said that the commission no longer seeks details about employees’ affiliations with specific Jewish organisations on campus.

Exemption for Jewish organisations

The court excluded three organisations from the scope of the subpoena: MEOR, Penn Hillel and Chabad Lubavitch House. Leaders of these groups said in court filings that they operate independently of the university.

“The privacy of persons making use of Chabad at Penn’s services and facilities is vital to Chabad at Penn’s operations,” Rabbi Menachem Schmidt said in a January declaration.

Incidents that prompted investigation

The investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was prompted in part by incidents on campus. These included antisemitic slurs directed at a Jewish student centre, property damage, a swastika painted on an academic building and graffiti outside a fraternity house.

The inquiry has also examined campus protests linked to the war in Gaza and the university’s response to those events.

EEOC’s position

In a November filing, the commission said the university’s workplace environment included widespread antisemitism. It told the court that identifying individuals who may have witnessed or experienced such conditions is necessary to determine whether the work environment was hostile.

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