'Vile' Antisemitic Messages Projected Onto UPenn Buildings

PHILADELPHIA, PA — University of Pennsylvania officials have promised swift action after antisemitic messages were projected onto several campus buildings this week, just days after several university staff members received emails threatening violence against the college's Jewish community.

Additionally, at least one group has filed a civil rights complaint against the college accusing officials of failing to keep Jewish students safe, according to a report.

In a statement released Thursday, UPenn president Elizabeth Magill said the "vile" messages were displayed Wednesday night on buildings including Penn Commons, Huntsman Hall and Irvine Auditorium.

Social media accounts reviewed by the New York Post showed that many of the messages contained anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian statements, including "Zionism is racism" and "Penn funds Palestinian genocide."

Magill said police were immediately notified, and an investigation into the messages is underway.

"These reprehensible messages are an assault on our values and cause pain and fear for our Jewish community," Magill said in a statement. "Penn has a long and rich history of robust debate about complicated issues of the day. Projecting hateful messages on our campus is not debate, it is cowardice, and it has no place at Penn."

The messages came just two days after Magill said "a small number" of Penn staff members received "vile, disturbing antisemitic emails" threatening violence against the school's Jewish community.

The emails specifically named Penn Hillel and Lauder College House, Magill said, and targeted the individual recipients.

The emails prompted authorities to conduct safety sweeps of both buildings but found no credible threat, Magill said.

A joint investigation involving Penn's Division of Public Safety and the FBI is underway.

"Penn Public Safety is working urgently with the FBI to identify the individual or individuals who are responsible for these hateful, threatening emails and to ensure they are apprehended and punished to the fullest extent of the law," Magill said.

Following the second incident this week, the Brandeis Center told the Post it was filing a complaint against UPenn with the Office of Civil Rights, part of the U.S. Department of Education.

The complaint obtained by the Post claims, "Penn has allowed its campus to become a hostile environment for its Jewish students as well as a magnet for anti-Semites."

Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center also claimed many colleges and universities have "failed to keep Jewish students safe and are in clear violation of well-established federal civil rights law," the Post reported.

Magill came under fire by federal lawmakers earlier this year when 20 members of Congress sent a letter to Penn, condemning the school for its "shocking lack of a prompt and unequivocal condemnation" following Hamas' attack on Israel.

The letter was sent after wealthy donors and alums accused the college of failing to condemn antisemitism and hate following the attack.