The Trump Administration Demands Lists of Jews

Yes, it’s true.

The Trump Administration in July 2025 issued a subpoena through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) for lists  and identifying information for employees of Jewish faith or ancestry; names and contact information for people involved with/related to Jewish-affiliated groups and programs; names and contact information of people in the Penn community that had made antisemitic complaints.

According to the EEOC, it was conducting an investigation into antisemitism on the Penn campus including allegations of hostile work environments and antisemitic harassment.  Gathering this information, the U.S. Government would, in practice, be determining who at Penn are Jews and who are not.

In theory, conducting an investigation into antisemitism on campus would be laudable.  But over the last year, this second Trump Administration has made it a top priority to investigate and attack a number of famous universities in order to bend the will of the schools to the Administration’s wishes and, in some cases “extort” hundreds of millions of dollars.

• In February 2025, the U.S. Department of Education established investigations of antisemitism at Columbia, Northwestern, Portland State, University of California Berkeley and University of Minnesota.
• In March 2025, the U.S. Department of Education informed 52 universities they were under investigation for race-based violations and/or diversity, equity and inclusion wrong-doing.
• In May 2025, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights sent letters to 60 universities informing them they were under investigation related to antisemitism. The letters were considered quite unusual given the institutions were publicly named and the list of schools appears to be focused on so-called “elite” schools and prominent universities.

The post-October 7^th protests at universities across America definitely were antisemitic and vile.  However, antisemitic protests are not illegal in America assuming the antisemitism is limited to speech.  When there are threats of violence or calls-to-action for violence, such protests become illegal.

Which brings us back to the U.S. Government demanding lists of Jews from Penn.

After the initial subpoena, Penn provided some documentation but refused to produce lists that would identify people in its community as being Jewish and/or connected to Jewish organizations.  The school cited privacy and safety concerns.

The U.S. Government, through the EEOC, then filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Penn to provide the information the Government demanded.  After the lawsuit, hundreds of Penn staff, students and faculty made statements and signed petitions supporting the University’s decision to not provide the Government with lists of Jews.

Just last week, a federal judge issued an order directing Penn to “show cause” why the EEOC’s subpoena should not be enforced.  Following this, several Penn-affiliated groups and some national organizations filed motions to “intervene in the lawsuit” as defendants alongside Penn.  The groups included the American Academy of Jewish Research (AAJR), the Jewish Law Students Association of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (JLSA)  and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).

On January 20, Penn submitted a formal court filing arguing that there was no justification for revealing personal religious affiliations and provision of the list would violate constitutional protections for individuals.  Days later, 150 Jewish Penn faculty members filed an amicus brief backing the University’s position.  Their brief focused on protecting safety of individuals and protecting freedom of expression.

On February 9, a judge granted the motion for the Penn-affiliated groups to “intervene as defendants” in the case.  The EEOC was given until February 13 to file a response. Oral arguments are scheduled for March 10, 2026.

I share the story details because it’s a fascinating question as to what lengths the United States government can go to gather information on alleged antisemitic activity at schools.  Naturally, what follows is the question: “To what lengths can the U.S. government go to monitor, track and, in theory, stop antisemitism?”

“In theory” — because the Trump Administration has dabbled in antisemitism way too much for me to be convinced they have good intentions.   Consider JD Vance’s deliberate omission of Jews as the victims and the Nazis as the perpetrators of the Holocaust in his Holocaust Remembrance Day message.  Look at Trump saying Jews who vote for Democrats “hate Israel.”  Don’t forget Trump opining there are “very fine people on both sides” after the white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville yelling “Blood and Soil” and “Jews will not replace us.”

In October 2025, Vice President Vance refused to condemn the contents of a Telegram chat among young Republican groups across the country that included hateful statements that were antisemitic, racist, homophobic and violent.  The chats included jokes about gas chambers and praise for Hitler.  Vance, when asked, referred to the chats as “things kids do.”  Yet, they were adults.

In 2022, Trump also hosted dinner for renowned Holocaust denier and Nazi wanna-be Nick Fuentes at Mar-A-Lago and said in 2024 “If I don’t win, the Jews are to blame.”  Fuentes infamously compared the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust to “cookies baking in an oven.”

In 2025, Trump’s golf club in New Jersey hosted a dinner for Hale-Cusanelli.  Mr. Cusanelli, an alum of the January 6 insurrection, also is a Nazi sympathizer.  Weirdly, he has posed for photographs dressed like Hitler.  He also said “Hitler should have finished the job.”  Trump also said, when talking about the-then upcoming presidential election, “And I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”

Unfortunately, there are many more incidents of Trump and Trump Administration officials making antisemitic remarks.  Too many for my comfort, anyway.

All that being said, some questions to consider:

• Do we really want the Trump Administration able to possess lists of Jews from Penn and other schools?
• Do we trust the Trump Administration – with its slander of Jews and proximity to certified Nazi-lovers and Jew-haters — to not misuse lists of Jews?
• Why does the Trump Administration attempt to use tactics that remind Jews (and others) of what the Nazis did? Is there no other way to tackle the alleged problems?

And perhaps most important, whether you are Jewish or not,…

Are you ok with this?