GOP lawmakers sink aid to Penn as statehouses watch how universities are handling Israel-Hamas war

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania defeated legislation to send $33.5 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school over criticism that the school has tolerated antisemitism, as statehouses across the U.S. eye how higher ed is handling tensions around the Israel-Hamas war. Annual state aid for Penn’s veterinary school normally draws strong bipartisan support in Pennsylvania’s Legislature and, earlier Wednesday, had won overwhelming approval in the Republican-controlled Senate. Kathy Hochul said the presidents of the state’s public colleges and universities have pledged to her that they will not “tolerate antisemitism or hatred of any kind.” Lawmakers there also introduced legislation to require public colleges and universities to investigate and discipline what it termed “hate and discrimination” related to antisemitism, adopt a policy statement and enroll administrators in sensitivity training on it. But even before Magill’s congressional testimony, Republican lawmakers had held up a vote on Penn’s aid amid weeks of criticism from some donors and alumni over the university’s handling of various perceived acts of antisemitism.