UPenn board of trustees holds emergency meeting amid calls for president to resign over antisemitism hearing

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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.

The University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting on Thursday after the school's president faced backlash over her comments on antisemitism during a congressional hearing.

According to the school's newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian, the meeting began at 9 a.m. and ended sometime in the afternoon. University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill was still in her position by the end of the meeting, according to the report.

A planned Board of Trustees Budget & Finance Committee Executive Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday was canceled, online records show.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the University of Pennsylvania for comment.

UPENN PRESIDENT ATTEMPTS TO WALK BACK CONGRESSIONAL HEARING TESTIMONY RHETORIC: 'PATHETIC PR CLEAN UP'

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 05: Liz Magill, President of University of Pennsylvania, testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on December 05, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Committee held a hearing to investigate antisemitism on college campuses. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

During a congressional hearing on antisemitism on Tuesday, Magill was asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., 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.

"It can be harassment," the University of Pennsylvania president responded.

HARVARD, MIT AND UPENN PRESIDENTS PRESSED ON 'RACE-BASED IDEOLOGY OF THE RADICAL LEFT' AT ANTISEMITISM HEARING

Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania, during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. (Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

She 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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From left, Harvard President Claudine Gay, left, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) President Sally Kornbluth listen during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 in Washington.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Her initial remarks were criticized by Democratic Pennsylvania Governor 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.