Lehigh University was among the Pennsylvania schools that received a letter from Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman, urging them to continue efforts to protect Jewish students on campus amid rising incidents of antisemitism on college campuses.
The letters were sent to the Pennsylvania universities with the largest Jewish student populations: Penn State, Temple, Pittsburgh, University of Pennsylvania and Lehigh.
“We commend the recent steps taken at Pennsylvania universities to enforce codes of conduct, disband illegal encampments, and suspend student groups that have repeatedly targeted and harassed Jewish students,” the letters state.
Although the letters do not call out any specific school, they state that “Pennsylvania campuses have been no exception to the alarming rise of antisemitic harassment and violence” and cite Hillel International, which found that the 2024-25 school year saw “record-high antisemitic incidents, including assaults, vandalism, obstruction of shared campus spaces, and illegal encampments.”
“Most disturbingly, Jewish students are one again hiding their Judaism,” the senators wrote. “It is incumbent on all of us — especially our nation’s universities — to ensure vibrant Jewish life is not compromised or driving into the shadows.”
The full text of the letters can be found here. The Morning Call has reached out Lehigh University for comment.
Lehigh entered into an agreement with federal authorities in January after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights investigated reports of antisemitism on campus during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
“Over the next several months, the university will comply with the terms of the agreement through policy and procedure review, training across campus, and climate assessments. The safety and wellbeing of our campus community is our top priority and we remain committed to an equitable environment free from hate and discrimination of any kind,” a statement from the university said after the agreement was released.
Lehigh, Lafayette College and Muhlenberg College also received warning letters from the U.S. Department of Education in March when the department threatened “potential enforcement actions” against 60 colleges and universities due to alleged failures to protect Jewish students.
This is a developing story.
