Pennsylvania Sens. Dave McCormick (R) and John Fetterman (D) are uniting across the aisle to send a clear message to five of the state’s most well-respected universities: the safety of Jewish students needs to be taken seriously.
In late August, the two senators published letters to Lehigh University, Penn State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh and Temple University that make clear that each has a duty to protect students of all creeds. McCormick and Fetterman said they “commend” recent steps taken by Pennsylvania universities to curb antisemitism — without naming said universities — but also note that there is a long way to go to help Jewish students everywhere feel safe.
Sen. John Fetterman. (Photo courtesy of the United States Senate)
“Pennsylvania campuses have been no exception to the alarming rise of antisemitic harassment and violence. Chabad houses have been vandalized, entrances to Hillel buildings have been targeted and Jewish students have been assaulted,” the letter reads.
“As the 2025–2026 academic year begins, we encourage you to work with your campus’ Jewish institutions and ensure all students, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or shared ancestry, are safe and able to fully participate in campus life.”
This comes as Hillel International reports that antisemitic incidents on college campuses have exploded in the last few years. In 2021-22, the total was 225. The next three years saw 289, 1,853 and 2,334, respectively.
“Since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and its collaborators committed the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Jewish students have faced unprecedented hostility on university campuses,” McCormick and Fetterman wrote.
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, colleges that receive federal funding must maintain a safe learning environment for all.
Sen. Dave McCormick. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Sen. David McCormick)
McCormick, who was elected last November, told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in an interview last fall that he planned to take a hardline stance on antisemitism on campus if elected.
“We need to fire all the weak [university leaders],” he said at the time. “If leaders on college campuses can’t tame antisemitism and ensure that Jewish students can not only practice their faith, but actually go to school without the threat of violence, they should be fired.”
He is also a fan of President Donald Trump’s harsher stance on relations with Iran, a nation Israel was engaged in war with earlier this summer.
“We need to strangle Iran and put in sanctions,” he said in the fall.
Fetterman has been similarly committed to Israel. He told JNS in March that he “[refuses] to turn [his] back on Israel.”
He said that he will not go the way of far-left Democrats who have been critical of the world’s only Jewish state and its campaign in Gaza. The far right has also been critical of Israel, something that McCormick does not echo.
“I stand with Israel,” he said in a press release in June after Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
Earlier this year, the Anti-Defamation League graded universities on how they deal with antisemitism on campus. Drexel University, Haverford College, Muhlenberg College and Temple University were not included in the first version of the ADL’s annual review. Drexel scored a B in its first year of review by the ADL, with Haverford registering an F, Muhlenberg earning a B and Temple getting a C. Lehigh University, which initially received a D earlier this year, had its ranking revised in April to a C, the same grade it was given last year.
Swarthmore College, which received a D last year, got another D this year. Penn State University’s main campus in University Park and the University of Pennsylvania improved their scores from last year. Penn State went from a C to a B, and Penn went from a D to a C.
The senators said that Jewish students simply deserve what most other students already have: the feeling of safety.
“No student should feel like they must risk their safety to exercise their First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and freely practice their religion,” the letter reads. “No campus institution should have to curtail its services to cover security expenses.”