Pitt’s Working Group on Antisemitism readies for fall semester

Those hoping the University of Pittsburgh’s Working Group on Antisemitism had already provided the school’s administration with recommendations to improve campus safety for Jewish students might be disappointed.

Announced in December 2024, the working group was created to replace an ad hoc committee on antisemitism proposed during a Nov. 16 faculty assembly meeting, which met immediate push back from the university’s Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Advocacy Committee.

At that time, Jennifer Murtazashvili, director of the university’s Center for Governance and Markets, who was selected as co-chair of the ad hoc committee, was announced as the co-chair of the working group. Her position was later changed to vice chair when Kathleen Blee, the former dean of Pitt’s Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, was announced as the new chair at a March 20 Senate Council meeting.

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While some might have expected visible signs of the group’s work as students arrived on campus for the fall semester, Blee said that was never the intention.

“We convened at the end of the spring semester and we had several meetings then. We had several meetings over the summer and now, starting with the fall semester, we’ll be meeting even more intensively,” she said.

The working group, she said, includes students who weren’t available during the summer, but now that campus life is back in full swing, the intention is to “double our efforts in the fall and spring semesters, once everyone is back in place.”

Blee said she is unable to discuss what the group accomplished over the summer because, like most Pitt committees, the proceedings are confidential.

“But we’re charged by the chancellor with what she wants us to look at, what she wants us to do, and we will be issuing a report at the culmination of our process that will be public,” she said.

Recommendations of the working group will fall under the purview of the Office for Institutional Engagement and Wellbeing, according to Jared Stonesifer, senior director of external communications for the university. He said the Working Group on Antisemitism is engaged in analyzing and addressing antisemitism on campus and in the broader community.

“As part of its work, the committee will evaluate university procedures, programs and support systems aimed at combating antisemitism and explore opportunities to improve their development, implementation and enforcement,” Stonesifer said. “It will consider the impact of off-campus actors and events on the experiences of students, faculty and staff and identify ways for Pitt to collaborate with community organizations and initiatives to foster a safer and more welcoming environment for all.”

Pitt’s porous borders and location across the city’s Oakland neighborhood make it open to off-campus actors not affiliated with the university. In 2024, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel and antisemitic protestors encamped at the Cathedral of Learning, allegedly vandalizing property and attacking law enforcement officers.

Unable to discuss specifics, Blee said the working group is taking what she called a “wide scope.”

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to make recommendations on every possible issue, but we are looking broadly at what all the possible issues that we might want to consider and learn about,” she said.

Stonesifer said the safety and well-being of the university’s students and community members is a priority embedded in everything Pitt does, and the university is concerned about safety “in every sense of the word.”

The safety of Jewish students and the environment on campus has been a concern for many in the community since Hamas’ invasion of Israel on Oct. 7 and the Jewish state’s response. Jewish students have been physically assaulted on and around the university’s campus, antisemitic events have been reported inside the School of Medicine and groups like Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt have created an atmosphere making some Jewish students feel unwelcome.

SJP was suspended earlier this year for what the university said was violations of its policies. SJP is seeking injunctive relief from the suspension at a hearing scheduled on Aug. 28.

In March of this year, the Anti-Defamation League awarded the university a “D” on its Campus Antisemitism Report Card. A month later that grade was revised to a “C.”

Stonesifer said that Pitt has worked closely with Jewish organizations, campus groups and law enforcement at the local, state and federal levels to ensure a coordinated responsive approach to the physical safety of its Jewish community. The university’s police department, he added, continues to provide security escorts for Jewish students, faculty and staff attending religious services and gatherings.

The university, Stonesifer said, also offers support to Chabad at Pitt and Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh. He noted that administrators meet regularly with Jewish students to stay informed about safety concerns and to address specific issues.

Pitt, he said, has shown a strong commitment to battling antisemitism, not only through the working group, but through education and training with groups like the American Jewish Committee and StandWithUs.

As for the addition of the Antisemitism Working Group, Blee said she’s certain it’s “committed to making recommendations that will make positive impacts on campus.” PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.