While testifying before Congress on Tuesday, Liz Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, sidestepped questions when asked if calling for the genocide of Jewish people was harassment, insisting it required on context.
In the days following the testimony, political leaders, alumni, students, school donors, and Jewish groups called for Magill to resign.
Magill, who testified before the House Education Committee alongside the presidents of Harvard and MIT, has since decided to step down from her position amidst the public backlash.
“I write to share that President Liz Magill has voluntarily tendered her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania,” Board of Trustees Chair Scott Bok said in an email to university alumni on Saturday. “She will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law.”
Magill offered her thanks to the community in her notice of resignation.
“It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution,” Magill said. “It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions.”
The testimony from university presidents comes as Congress continues to focus on the increase in antisemitism in the U.S. as the war between Israel and Hamas continues.
During the hearing, Magill and her peers were asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) if “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated the three schools’ code of conduct on bullying and harassment.
In response to Stefanik, Magill insisted it wasn’t a yes or no question.
“It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman,” Magill said.
“It’s a context-dependent decision? That’s your testimony today? Calling for the genocide of Jews is depending upon the context? That is not bullying or harassment?” Stefanik asked. “This is the easiest question to answer ‘Yes,’ Ms. Magill.”
After the testimony went viral online, Magill posted a video to social media, clarifying her statement during the hearing but not offering an apology.
“I was not focused on – but I should have been – 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. It’s evil. Plain and simple,” Magill said in a video posted on X. “I want to be clear: A call for genocide of Jewish people … would be harassment or intimidation.”
However, a bipartisan group of 74 lawmakers had already called for the removal of all three presidents, saying that their “responses to questions aimed at addressing the growing trend of antisemitism on college and university campuses were abhorrent.”
“Given this moment of crisis, we demand that your boards immediately remove each of these presidents from their positions and that you provide an actionable plan to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students, teachers, and faculty are safe on your campuses,” the lawmakers wrote.
The second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, offered his thoughts during a White House Hanukkah event days after the testimony.
“Presidents of most elite universities unable to denounce calling for genocide of Jews as antisemitic...When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or identity… that is antisemitism, and it must be condemned. And condemned unequivocally and without context,” Emhoff said.