At least three investigations concerning alleged antisemitism on Temple’s campus are still ongoing since they were first reported several months ago, with one being conducted by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and two by Temple and Philadelphia Police.
The DOE investigation comes after pro-Palestine protesters chanted “Intifada revolution,” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The use of phrase “from the river to the sea” was accused of being antisemitic, with the belief that it “supports the expulsion, and even genocide, of Israel’s Jewish inhabitants,” according to the complaint.
PPD and TUPD’s investigations are based on alleged criminal acts, concerning two different incidents of vandalism where “Free Palestine” and “Israel [equals] genocide” was written on two separate occasions.
“While incidents like this are deeply unsettling, they will not impact the collective resolve of our community to support Jewish life at Temple University and to respond decisively to antisemitism,” wrote President John Fry in a statement on Nov. 4.
The DOE investigates harassment complaints based on ethnic stereotypes or other ancestral characteristics through the OCR division. This includes incidents like usage of slurs and targeted harassment dependent on Jewish ethnicity and ancestry and comes after a year of on-campus protests. Temple is required to comply with DOE guidelines or face possible repercussions in court.
“One of the patterns we’re seeing, especially after Oct. 7, is a tendency to conflate all Jews with the State of Israel,” said Lila Berman, a professor of American Jewish history. “That is, in many ways, treating Jews as if they as a group are all uniform and engaged in the behavior of the government of the State of Israel. And it seems, if not discriminatory, then certainly unfair and misplaced.
The Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism, believes anti-Zionism, the opposition to the state of Israel, is antisemitic as it “invokes anti-Jewish tropes” and is used to “punish Jews” who feel a connection to Israel, as well as accuses anti-Zionists of believing that Zionism is Nazism.
However, some Jewish people do not agree with the actions of Israel or don’t believe that Israel is an essential or important part of being Jewish. More than four out of 10 Jewish people in the United States said they personally do not feel an emotional attachment to Israel, according to a 2021 survey by Pew Research Center.
The OCR is investigating alleged harassment of Jewish students at Temple after Campus Reform filed a claim in January. Campus Reform is a journalism project from the Leadership Institute, which defines itself as a “conservative watchdog” for the higher education system that “exposes leftist bias and abuse” on college campuses.
The OCR did not comment about the investigation but confirmed to The Temple News that it is still ongoing.
“It’s important to think about why outside groups would be trying to capitalize on this,” Berman said. “[They] use it in a sense, to me, to undermine some of the protections and the capacity of a university to allow for free inquiry, protest and political disagreement.”
The most recent collaborative investigation between TUPD and PPD is looking into vandalism incidents at Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. The fraternity reported the vandalism, which read “Israel [equals] genocide,” to law enforcement on Nov. 3.
“The thing for DPS is we investigate incidents and criminal behavior,” said Jennifer Griffin, vice president of public safety. “We’re looking at it, like is it a hate crime or is it graffiti? Those are the types of things [we look at] when we’re investigating.”
TUPD increased patrols in areas that “might be targeted or threatened with violence or graffiti,” Griffin said.
“I hope [antisemitism on campus] dies down,” said Rafael Friedlander, a senior architecture major and a Jewish student. “I sincerely hope people can understand that it is possible to be anti-Israel without being anti-Zionist, and it is possible to be anti-Zionist without being antisemitic.”
Former Temple President Richard Englert condemned a protest that ended outside the Edward Rosen Hillel Center for Jewish Life in August. The protest started at Charles Library, but traveled to the Hillel Center where protestors chanted outside, arguing against birthright trips to Israel.
The second university investigation comes after a May 6 incident at AEPi involving vandalism and trespassing. The words “Free Palestine” were found spray painted on the rooftop after some fraternity members went to take photos for their first formal, said Fogel, the fraternity’s.
TUPD does not expect to make any arrests or conclude the investigation due to a lack of evidence, Griffin said.
“In general I’ve appreciated Temple’s approach, and I also think that I support the students who, if they feel like the institution is not protecting their right to protest, to be free of hostility and harassment, those students should feel like this is their institution, and in a civil and peaceful way, they should bring that to the attention of the institution and continue to engage with it to do better,” Berman said.
Be the first to comment