A Democratic senator in Pennsylvania and his likely GOP challenger both blasted UPenn’s president for her response to antisemitism on campus.
Republican candidate Dave McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, West Point graduate, Gulf War combat veteran and Treasury Department official in former President George W. Bush’s administration, called on the University of Pennsylvania’s board of trustees to immediately remove President Liz Magill following her testimony before the House Education and Workforce Committee. At the hearing, House GOP Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., pressed Magill, and the presidents of Harvard and MIT, on whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated the Ivy League school’s code of conduct on bullying or harassment, but their unclear responses drew swift backlash.
“For weeks, I’ve watched President Magill fail to respond appropriately as antisemitic incidents mounted on her campus. Yesterday, Magill was repeatedly asked if calling for the genocide of Jews violates Penn’s rules or code of conduct, and she repeatedly failed to answer affirmatively,” McCormick said in a statement shared on X Wednesday.
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee about antisemitism on college campuses since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war on Dec. 5, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“This is completely unacceptable from the leader of one of America’s top universities. I today call on Penn’s board of trustees to immediately removed President Magill and replace her with a leader who understands that calling for genocide against Jews is wrong, and it must be combated,” he said. “Based on President Magill’s performance in the Congress yesterday, she lacks the depth, understanding and awareness of how antisemitism is real and how it must be fought. She has failed the students of Penn, its alumni and our state. This is a scary time for the Jewish community, and every person in a position of power must unequivocally support them and put a stop to antisemitism at every opportunity.”
Republican candidate Dave McCormick is running a second U.S. Senate bid in Pennsylvania, aiming to oust three-term Democrat Sen. Bob Casey. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
McCormick is running to unseat Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who also condemned Magill’s remarks.
“President Magill’s comments yesterday were offensive, but equally offensive was what she didn’t say. The right to free speech is fundamental, but calling for the genocide of Jews is antisemitic and harassment, full stop,” Casey wrote on X. The senator stopped short of calling for Magill to resign or be removed.
When asked if Casey also supports Magill’s ouster, a spokesperson for the Democratic senator told Fox News Digital, “Like Governor Shapiro, Senator Casey wants UPenn’s board to meet and determine whether President Magill’s comments align with the university’s values.”
Magill, meanwhile, attempted to walk back her rhetoric in a video statement shared Wednesday.
“There was a moment during yesterday’s congressional hearing on antisemitism when I was asked if a call for the genocide of Jewish people on our campus would violate our policies. In that moment, I was focused on our university’s long-standing policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution, which says that speech alone is not punishable,” Magill said on camera. “I was not focused on, but I should have been, on 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.”
U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., is running for a fourth term in 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“A call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening, deeply so. It is intentionally meant to terrify 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,” she added.