‘Incredibly chilling’: Advocacy groups raise alarm over Trump’s demand for list of Jewish faculty at Penn

A federal judge ruled this week that the University of Pennsylvania must provide the Trump administration with contact information for Jewish faculty and campus organizations, citing an antisemitism investigation into the university. The Trump administration says the data will help it examine how Penn has handled discrimination complaints, but Jewish advocacy groups have publicly objected to the demand, characterizing it as "incredibly chilling" and expressing concern about how such information could be weaponized. The ruling touches on a longstanding tension between civil rights enforcement and privacy protections, particularly for religious and ethnic communities with historical experience of government targeting. Some Jewish advocates worry the precedent could enable the government to use demographic information to advance broader political agendas rather than genuine civil rights work. The case reflects ongoing disputes over how the Trump administration is pursuing investigations into universities over antisemitism and other discrimination claims.