‘Incredibly chilling’: Advocacy groups raise alarm over Trump’s demand for list of Jewish faculty at Penn

Jewish groups are raising alarms over a judge’s ruling this week that the University of Pennsylvania must turn over contact information for Jewish faculty and organizations on campus to the Trump administration. 

While the Trump administration says the information will assist in an antisemitism investigation into the university, some Jewish advocates argue the government has used their community to advance attacks and policies against higher education to restrict free speech on campuses.  

Judge Gerald Pappert, appointed by former President Obama, ruled Tuesday that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has the constitutional right to collect the contact information of Jewish faculty from the university and balked at suggestions there was a safety issue with the request.  

“Comparing the EEOC’s investigation into antisemitism at Penn with Nazi Germany is counterproductive, as counsel acknowledged by attempting to backtrack from such analogies,” Pappert wrote.   

The school has until May 1 to turn over the information, but it does not have to include a person’s membership with specific Jewish organizations.  

Members of the Jewish community say they have lost trust in the White House’s intentions over the past year.

“At the top of everyone’s mind is that this administration, no matter what they say, has no plan to prevent or end antisemitism whatsoever. Its policies actively harm Jewish people by using our legitimate fears of antisemitism and our legitimate need for reassurances for safety as a smoke screen to advance unpopular anti-democratic policies exactly like this,” said Eli Williams-Szenes, director of advocacy and political affairs for Bend the Arc Jewish Action. 

Williams-Szenes pointed to policies such as the Trump administration screening foreign students’ social media accounts before approving visas as evidence of its impure motives.

The administration has also arrested and is attempting to deport multiple students who engaged in pro-Palestinian protests or activism since 2024. 

The Trump White House, Williams-Szenes says, is “constantly investigating and creating practical and legal boundaries for students who have anything to say other than exactly what this administration thinks is the only acceptable thing to say about the actions of the state of Israel.” Anyone who disagrees, he added, is characterized as “actively engaged in dangerous antisemitism that poses a threat to their Jewish neighbors, colleagues.”

The administration has made accusations of antisemitism its weapon of choice against colleges and universities, freezing billions of dollars in federal funding that was only later released under judges’ orders or once a particular school agreed to policy changes.

The Department of Justice recently announced new antisemitism lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of California, Los Angeles. 

“To then see the federal government demand lists of members in organizations is incredibly chilling, in part because there’s a very reasonable expectation that there’s nothing good faith about the desire to do that. And so, what that will mean is that people will be less likely to engage in all sorts of membership-based organizations and community spaces that are often critical in order to create institutions in which everyone belongs and is able to find communities,” said Jonathan Feingold, a professor of law at Boston University and a member of Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff.

Some organizations have pointed to the “dark historical resonance” that a “compelled list of Jewish individuals” creates. 

“Subjecting faculty to such disclosures without their consent undermines the very civil rights these investigations seek to uphold,” Penn Hillel said in a statement.  

Penn says it plans to appeal the decision and stressed the school does not even keep the information the Trump administration seeks.  

“While we acknowledge the important role of the EEOC to investigate discrimination, we also have an obligation to protect the rights of our employees,” Penn said in a statement Tuesday. “We continue to believe that requiring Penn to create lists of Jewish faculty and staff, and to provide personal contact information, raises serious privacy and First Amendment concerns. The University does not maintain employee lists by religion.”

The EEOC had no comment on the ruling, but, in November, its leader defended taking the information demand to court.

“The EEOC remains steadfast in its commitment to combatting workplace antisemitism and seeks to identify employees who may have experienced antisemitic harassment. Unfortunately, the employer continues to refuse to identify members of its workforce who may have been subjected to this unlawful conduct,” Chair Andrea Lucas said at the time. “An employer’s obstruction of efforts to identify witnesses and victims undermines the EEOC’s ability to investigate harassment. In such cases, we will seek court intervention to secure full cooperation.”

While some groups are worried the implications this could have for Jewish people on campus, others argue this is a necessary step to hold schools accountable for antisemitism. 

“There is no ‘list of Jews,’ but rather a record of Jewish students and faculty who voluntarily filed Title VI complaints after experiencing antisemitism and discrimination. These individuals came forward through proper channels, and their concerns were ignored or concealed by the University of Pennsylvania. Turning over this information is a necessary step to ensure those complaints are fully investigated and not buried. Accountability requires transparency, and those responsible for how it was handled should be punished accordingly,” said Liora Rez, founder and executive director of StopAntisemitism.