Penn and EEOC set to appear in court over subpoena seeking names of Jewish faculty and students
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Penn in November, saying it had failed to comply with a subpoena seeking information for an investigation into antisemitism.
The University of Pennsylvania and the federal government are poised to square off in court Tuesday over whether the school has to release information for an antisemitism investigation, including the names of employees who could have been exposed to alleged harassment.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Penn in November, saying it had failed to comply with a subpoena seeking information as part of an investigation into antisemitism launched two years earlier in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel.
The commission, which is investigating the school’s treatment of staff, had demanded a list of employees in Penn’s Jewish Studies Program, rosters of members of all Jewish clubs and groups, and names of employees who filed antisemitism complaints.
Penn has refused to provide names, calling the subpoena unconstitutional. It said the request invoked “the frightening and well-documented history of governmental entities that undertook efforts to identify and assemble information regarding persons of Jewish ancestry.”
Tuesday’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in the federal courthouse in Philadelphia before U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, who will hear each side’s arguments about the case.
This is a developing story and will be updated.