Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, believes that the University of Pennsylvania has “lost its way” in its handling of campus antisemitism. 

Mr. Shapiro shared his comments during a conversation with the president of the American Jewish Committee, Ted Deutch, at an event celebrating the 80th anniversary of the organization’s Philadelphia branch. 

Mr. Deutch, who assumed the role as chief operating officer of the Jewish advocacy group in 2022, asked Mr. Shapiro about campus antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’s attack on October 7. 

To which the governor responded: “Universities have a moral and a legal responsibility to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to this country to keep all students safe on campus,” Mr. Shapiro said. “For some universities, I think they were willing to forgo that responsibility, or it got a little bit out of balance. Some universities were willing to accept a little bit of hate over here, but no hate over here, and that’s not okay.” 

He added that there are “many colleges and universities here in Pennsylvania” — such as the University of Pennsylvania — that have “lost [their] way.” 

“They are working to get back,” Mr. Shapiro noted. “There’s some important work there happening under their interim president. I think they are moving in the right direction there, and many other universities are as well.”

The former president of UPenn, Liz Magill, resigned from her post after a disastrous testimony before Congress regarding antisemitism on college campuses. She, along with the presidents of Harvard and MIT, were unable to say that calling for the genocide of Jews at their respective universities violated their rules on harrassment. The school is currently facing a lawsuit from two Jewish students who claim that the university failed to sufficiently respond to campus antisemitism. 

Mr. Shapiro, for his part, became the target of anti-Israel activists over the summer when he was reportedly in the running for being the Democratic vice presidential nominee. The Pennsylvania governor, whose views on Israel were on par with the other VP candidates, but who also is Jewish, was the subject of a smear campaign called  “No Genocide Josh.” 

While he described the antisemitic attacks against him as “upsetting,” he redoubled his commitment to supporting his fellow American Jews and helping to “lift them up and strengthen them, and let them know that they should be proud of who they are and proud of who I am.” 

During a conversation with Jewish Insider on the sidelines of the event, Mr. Shapiro affirmed his view that Zionists still have a place in the Democratic party. “I am [confident], otherwise I wouldn’t be a Democrat. I’m proud to be a Democrat, and I think we have to speak the truth. There is antisemitism on the left, and there is antisemitism on the right,” Mr. Shapiro said. 

He emphasized that it’s “critically important” for leaders “to speak and act with moral clarity and speak out against” antisemitism  “even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it’s within your own party,” he told Jewish Insider. “So that’s why I’ll continue to speak out against antisemitism. I’ll continue to try and educate others, and I’ll continue to be a strong advocate.”