University of Pennsylvania President Resigns Amid Antisemitism Controversy

Washington DC –

The President of the University of Pennsylvania, Liz Magill, has resigned after coming under fire for her stance on antisemitism on campus. Magill was one of three prominent university presidents criticized after they spoke at a Congressional hearing about the rise in antisemitism on campuses after the outbreak of the war. Israel-Hamas.

Reported Reuters, Sunday (10/12/2023), the University of Pennsylvania is a member of the Ivy League, which is the most prestigious association of campuses in the US. The chairman of the university’s board of trustees, Scott Bok, said Magill agreed to remain in office until an interim university president is named. Bok also resigned from his post.

“I write to say that President Liz Magill has voluntarily submitted her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania,” Bok said in an announcement released by the university.

“Magill will remain a permanent faculty member at the university’s law school,” continued Bok.

Apart from Magill, Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth also testified before a US House of Representatives committee on Tuesday. They tried to take action that protects free speech and refused to give a definitive ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to Republican Representative Elise Stefanik’s question about whether calling for genocide against Jews would violate their school’s code of conduct regarding bullying and harassment.

Calls for Magill and Gay in particular to resign increased in the days following the testimony. Magill released a video in which he expressed his regret, Gay apologized on Friday (8/12).

Jewish students, families and alumni have accused the campuses of tolerating antisemitism, especially in statements by pro-Palestinian demonstrators since the Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and killed around 1,200 people. The attack sparked a massive counterattack by Israel which has left more than 17,700 Palestinians dead.

“One down. Two more remaining. This is just the beginning of efforts to address the rot of antisemitism that has destroyed America’s most ‘prestigious’ institution of higher education,” Stefanik said on the social media site X following the announcement of Magill’s resignation.

Antisemitism and Islamophobia have risen sharply in the United States and other countries since October. The Anti-Defamation League said antisemitic incidents in the United States increased by around 400% in the two weeks following Hamas attacks on Israel.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said this week that in the two months after the war began, incidents motivated by Islamophobia and bias against Palestinians and Arabs increased by 172% compared to the same period last year.

Eyal Yakoby, a University of Pennsylvania student who sued the school alleging an inadequate response to antisemitism, said in CNN that Magill’s resignation is one step towards broader change at the university.

“This is something that myself and many alumni and fellow students, parents have been working on for some time, (but) this is just the first domino in a culture for many leaders including Chairman Bok that allowed this to happen,” said Yakoby.

Also see ‘Netanyahu Appreciates US Use of Veto to Block Ceasefire in Gaza’:

(haf/imk)

2023-12-10 06:15:30
#President #University #Pennsylvania #Resigns #Criticism #Antisemitism