Judge Orders Penn to Share Jewish Student Data in Trump Subpoena

Judge Pappert, of the Philadelphia Federal District Court, ruled that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is within its constitutional rights to collect the information. The university, which has been fighting this subpoena since last summer, must turn over the requested information by May 1. The subpoena includes lists of Jewish students, faculty, and organizations, as well as their contact information, as part of a discrimination investigation. The judge argued that the charge of discrimination is valid and dismissed concerns about safety, rejecting comparisons to the Third Reich.

The university, while required to provide the information, is not obligated to include employees' affiliation with specific Jewish organizations. The Trump administration has gone after several universities over accusations of antisemitism, from Ivy League institutions like Penn and Harvard to state schools like the University of California. The EEOC has not issued a comment on the judge's decision. This ruling could give the federal government more tools for antisemitism investigations into other educational institutions.

The University of Pennsylvania has been at odds with the Trump administration since last summer, even after reaching a deal to restore federal funding that had been cut due to its previous policies regarding transgender athletes. The administration has targeted numerous universities with accusations of antisemitism, from Ivy League institutions like Penn and Harvard, to state schools like the University of California. Judge Pappert's ruling is a significant step in the EEOC's investigation.

The EEOC stated that it would not comment on the ruling. The judge also dismissed concerns that sharing this information with the government could endanger people, and rejected comparisons to the Third Reich. Pappert wrote that the subpoena was narrowly tailored to Jewish individuals on campus who could have witnessed or experienced antisemitism in the workplace.

Judge Pappert wrote that the subpoena was tailored to Jewish individuals on campus who might have seen or experienced antisemitism in the workplace. The court's decision could give the federal government more tools to investigate antisemitism at other schools. However, some critics accuse the administration of using antisemitism as a pretext to target universities with which it disagrees.

The judge dismissed concerns about safety and rejected comparisons to the Third Reich. In his ruling, Pappert wrote: «Comparing the EEOC’s investigation into antisemitism at Penn with Nazi Germany is counterproductive, as counsel attempted to backtrack from such analogies». The Hill has reached out to the University of Pennsylvania for comment.