Trump Antisemitism Inquiry Demanding List of Jews at Penn Heads to Court

Source: New York Times

March 10, 2026Updated 10:40 a.m. ET


Jacob Naimark, a law student at the University of Pennsylvania, has worried ever since he learned that Trump administration investigators had demanded that his school turn over the names of many Jewish people on campus. “It was disturbing,” said Mr. Naimark, a co-president of the school’s Jewish Law Students Association, adding: “We know very well the history of governments assembling lists of Jews does not end well.”

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Philadelphia is considering whether the government’s tactics went too far.

The government has argued it was investigating harassment and other potential episodes of antisemitism on campus, including some related to campus protests over the war in Gaza. But the request upset many Jewish faculty and students, and Penn has refused to comply, calling the Trump administration’s demands unconstitutional and “disconcerting.” Some say the campaign to force the university to give information about Jewish people makes them feel less safe, in part because it recalls the methods of Nazi-era Germany.

The two sides are meeting in court after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked a judge, Gerald J. Pappert, to enforce a subpoena requiring Penn to turn over the information. Mr. Naimark’s group is among those that have joined the case opposing the government.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/trump-penn-list-of-jews-subpoena.html