Recent Incidents Impacting Jewish Students

Sunday, October 13, 2024

In conjunction with the first anniversary of the horrific October 7 attack, and through Yom Kippur, our campus experienced several aggressive anti-Israel demonstrations by students and community members, and a number of our Jewish students at Penn State experienced hateful, antisemitic incidents. 

Criticism of the actions or policies of any country or government are protected free speech, and appropriately so. However, these critiques cannot veer into intimidation or attacks on Jewish students that create a hostile environment on campus. The incidents included physically intimidating behavior directed at Jewish students, as well as abhorrent threats made against them online. 

Penn State Hillel is deeply concerned by these incidents, including malicious social media activity, aimed at doxing Jewish students, which can compromise their physical safety, among other things. We condemn these attempts to publicly intimidate students and members of our Jewish community. Nor do we support hate or hurtful language directed at any people. There must be no place at Penn State for antisemitism, doxing or hate of any kind. 

We are thankful no Jewish student has been injured or physically harmed. But these attempts to intimidate students in the wake of October 7 and during the holiest days on the Jewish calendar serve only to divide our community. The incidents have been reported to law enforcement and Penn State. Penn State Hillel is actively supporting and engaged with Jewish students, as well as with the University’s senior administration and its student affairs office, local law enforcement, Hillel International, and the Philadelphia office of ADL, among others, to help ensure incidents are reported, law enforcement remains vigilant, and that our students have the emotional, safety, and community support they need.

For more information, please contact hillel@psu.edu