PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Gov. Josh Shapiro joined other political and religious leaders Sunday afternoon at a temple in Philadelphia for a rally against antisemitism, as the FBI reports an uptick in hate crime investigations since Hamas' terror attack on Israel in October.
"I want to ask you to continue to do what you are doing here today. And that is demonstrating pride in who you are," Shapiro said.
The governor spoke alongside religious leaders and elected officials at Rodeph Shalom Synagogue on Broad Street on Sunday afternoon. All condemned acts of hate against Jews on college campuses and in their communities.
"Hate, in whatever form, whether antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, homophobia — it has no place here in Pennsylvania, in a place founded on the promise of William Penn. We will not tolerate it," Shapiro said.
"Let us remember the ancient teachings that Hannakuh offers. If we have the courage to kindle it, even the smallest light can triumph over darkness," said Michael Balaban, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
Sunday's rally came a day after University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and board chairman Scott Bok resigned.
Testifying in a congressional hearing last week, Magill declined to give a direct "yes" or "no" response when asked if a call for Jewish genocide violated the school's code of conduct. She later retracted her statement, but bipartisan pressure pushed her to step down.
Gov. Josh ShapiroNigel Thompson/KYW Newsradio
Eitan Linhart, a sophomore at Penn, discussed his experience with what he called the rise in antisemitism on the school's campus. He cited a Jewish fraternity being defaced with graffiti that read "The Jews are Nazis" and spoke of friends who no longer wear yarmulkes on campus out of fear.
"What surprises me is not the hatred," Linhart said. "What surprises me is the indifference."
An association of Penn professors issued a statement after the resignations saying, in part, that faculty and students opposing the war in Gaza have been misrepresented as calling for genocide.
Shapiro told reporters Sunday he wants to make sure students feel safe on campus, and there's accountability at UPenn for people who spread hate speech.
"This was never simply a personnel matter. I think the real work at the University begins now."
At the rally Sunday, Rabbi Eli Freedman said what's been happening in Israel is having a real effect on the Jewish community in Philadelphia, and has led to a dramatic rise in reports of antisemitism.
FBI Director Christopher Wray, in a Senate Judiciary Meeting last week, reported an increase in hate crime investigations over the past few years — with a 60% increase since Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack.
"Right before arriving this morning, this building was filled with children and families — children and families singing Hanukkah songs, learning Torah and making lifelong friendships built on Jewish values," said Freedman. "This is how we respond to antisemitism."
Freedman told the people assembled for the rally to hold compassion for Palestinians and their suffering, and the need for a two state solution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
