UPenn president walks back campus antisemitism Congressional testimony comments: 'It would be harassment or intimidation'
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill shared on X a message following backlash from her statements on anti-Semitic speech on campus.
Members of the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees have reportedly asked President Liz Magill to resign if she cannot effectively function in her role following backlash over her comments on antisemitism during Tuesday's congressional hearing.
A source at Thursday's emergency board of trustees meeting told the Daily Pennsylvanian that somewhere between six and eight members on the board told Magill that she should think "long and hard" over whether she can effectively function as president of the university.
However, the source said that the board of trustees didn't explicitly call for Magill to resign, according to the report.
"If the answer is you can't [function], we need to know that, and you ought to resign," the trustees told Magill, according to the outlet's source.
Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania, listens during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The outlet reported that a board of trustees meeting is scheduled for Sunday. Board of Trustees Chair Scott Bok also extended the length of a previously scheduled meeting on Dec. 14 from one to two hours.
Fox News Digital reached out to the University of Pennsylvania for comment.
Magill's comments during a Tuesday congressional hearing on antisemitism sparked fierce backlash after she gave a non-answer to New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik's question asking if "calling for the genocide of Jews violate[s] Penn’s rules or code of conduct? Yes or no?"
"If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment. Yes," Magill responded, later adding, "It is a context-dependent decision."
"This is unacceptable. Ms. Magill, I’m gonna give you one more opportunity for the world to see your answer. Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s code of conduct when it comes to bullying and harassment? Yes or no?" Stefanik then asked.
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
"It can be harassment," the University of Pennsylvania president responded.
Magill would later walk back her comments in a video posted to X on Wednesday evening.
"There was a moment during yesterday's congressional hearing on antisemitism when I was asked if a call for the genocide of Jewish people on our campus would violate our policies. In that moment, I was focused on our university's long-standing policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution, which says that speech alone is not punishable," Magill said. "I was not focused on, but I should have been, on the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate."
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Harvard University President Dr. Claudine Gay, left, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, Dr. Pamela Nadell, Professor of History and Jewish Studies at American University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Dr. Sally Kornbluth, testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Her initial remarks were criticized by Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who told Jewish Insider that Magill's comments were "unacceptable," adding the comments show that the university is under "failed leadership."
Fox News Digital's Hannah Grossman, Danielle Wallace and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
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