Pitt’s Antisemitism Working Group begins to take shape
“We’re charged with looking at the state of antisemitism at Pitt more broadly,” she said.
The University of Pittsburgh’s Antisemitism Working Group has a clear focus, according to the group’s new chair, Kathleen Blee.
“It’s going to be a great, forward-looking committee, looking at how to make our campus safe and inclusive, and a place where all of our students can participate in student life fully and participate in education opportunities at the university fully,” she said.
Blee is the former dean of Pitt’s Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences.
Paul Wallach, vice chancellor for health sciences education, and Jennifer Murtazashvili will serve as vice chairs.
Murtazashvili is the founding director of the Center for Governance and Markets and a professor at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. She was named as the co-chair of the working group when it was created in December 2024, and was believed to hold that role until university Chancellor Joan Gabel announced Blee’s appointment during a March 20 Senate Council meeting.
Blee said the change in leadership was due to the addition of Wallach, who will oversee what is commonly referred to as the “upper” campus and includes the medical school. Murtazashvili is now responsible for the “lower,” or non-medical, part of the campus. Blee said she’ll serve as a coordinator.
“It’s a good structure,” she said. “It gives us real breadth across the campus and a real diversity. The rest of the committee also provides a lot of diversity. It’s a good team.”
The remaining members of the group represent a cross section of Jewish life, on and off campus: Victoria Kotlyar, president of Chabad at Pitt; Olivia Shaw, president of Hillel at Pitt; William Carter, former dean of the university’s law school; Rachel Kranson, director of Jewish Studies; Officer Justin Reck from the University of Pittsburgh’s Police Department; Diego Holstein, professor in the Department of History; and, Barton Branstetter, professor of radiology, otolaryngology and biomedical informatics.
Included in the group are ex-officio members Laura Cherner, director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council; Rabbi Danny Schiff, the Federation’s Gefsky Community Scholar; and Kevin Washo, senior vice chancellor for university relations and Gabel’s chief of staff.
Blee said the group hasn’t met yet, but the immediate goal is to frame the state of antisemitism at Pitt in a national and regional context and consider opportunities to partner with community organizations and initiatives to foster an inclusive, safe environment on campus.
Working with community groups is important, she said, given that Pitt’s campus is located in Oakland and has porous borders, which she said is one of the university’s biggest strengths but presents a unique set of challenges.
“Then we’re going to take a good look at our own programs and procedures and support systems for combatting antisemitism,” she said, “and really think through, as a committee, what opportunities there might be to improve the development and implementation of new things, to change our enforcement.”
The goal, Blee said, is to create a model university, something that presents “a big, complicated puzzle” requiring the participation of a diverse group of individuals like those invited to take part in the working group.
There is no timeline for the group to finish its work or a mandated date when the committee will end, she said.
Blee is an expert on far-right extremism and has written several books on hate, including “Inside Organized Racism: Women and Men in the Hate Movement.” And while many campuses are experiencing antisemitism stemming from far-left progressive movements, Blee said Pitt’s working group will explore hate and antisemitism regardless of its source.
“We’re charged with looking at the state of antisemitism at Pitt more broadly,” she said. “We are looking at this as a holistic phenomenon, not parceling it out and only studying one particular kind.”
While there has been a lot of talk since President Donald Trump’s election about antisemitism on college campuses, Blee said politics haven’t entered the sphere of the working group.
“We’re focused on how to improve things at Pitt and not getting involved with national politics,” she said.
The antisemitism working group was created after several Pitt students were physically attacked and anti-Israel protestors allegedly vandalized property and assaulted police officers while illegally encamping on the campus.
Last month, the Antidefamation League gave the university a “D” in its Campus Antisemitism Report Card. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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