‘Absolutely Shameful’: Gov. Shapiro Blasts Penn’s President As She Defends Herself Over Anti-Semitism Hearing Comments

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) tore into U Penn President Elizabeth Magill in an interview with Jewish Insider published Wednesday evening. Shapiro spoke about Magill’s appearance during a congressional hearing on anti-Semitism Tuesday and slammed Magill’s refusal to label on-campus calls for Jewish genocide “harassment.”

While being grilled by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) during the hearing, Magill repeatedly said U Penn does not punish students for speech unless it “turns into conduct” – saying that whether or not calling for Jewish genocide is harassment is a “context-dependent decision.”

Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch, former Rep. Ted Deutch’s (D-FL) daughter, asked Shapiro about the exchange.

“The simple answer is yes, that violates our policy,” Shapiro said of what he believes Magill’s answer to Stefanik’s question should have been.

“Leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity, and Liz Magill failed to meet that simple test. That was an unacceptable statement from the president of Penn. Frankly, I thought her comments were absolutely shameful. It should not be hard to condemn genocide,” added the popular Democrat.

Deutch also reported that Shapiro has called for Penn’s board to “meet soon” on the topic and decide whether or not Magill’s comments “represent the views and values of the University of Pennsylvania.”

“I’ve made concrete recommendations to them on the kind of steps that I thought they needed to take to make sure that all students feel safe on their campus. They have seemingly failed every step of the way to take concrete action to make sure all students feel safe on campus. And then the testimony yesterday took it to the next level,” he added, noting he had spoken to Magill several times since the October 7th terror attack on Israel.

Magill went into damage control mode following her testimony and released a video walking back her statement before the committee.

“There was a moment during yesterday’s congressional hearing on anti-Semitism when I was asked if a call for the genocide of Jewish people on our campus would violate our policies,” Magill said in a video released Wednesday evening.

“In that moment, I was focused on our university’s long-standing policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution. Which say that speech alone is not punishable. I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate. It’s evil. Plain and simple. I want to be clear. A call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening – deeply so,” Magill continued, adding:

It is intentionally meant to terrify a people who have been subjected to pogroms and hatred for centuries and were the victims of mass genocide in the Holocaust. In my view, it would be harassment or intimidation. For decades under multiple pan presidents and consistent with most universities, Penn’s policies have been guided by the Constitution and the law.

In today’s world where we are seeing signs of hate proliferating across our campus and our world in a way not seen in years, these policies need to be clarified and evaluated. Penn must initiate a serious and careful look at our policies. And Provost Jackson and I will immediately convene a process to do so. As president, I’m committed to a safe, secure and supportive environment so all members of our community can thrive. We can and we will get this right. Thank you.

Watch the full clip above.