PHILADELPHIA — “Oh my God, the federal government wants a list of all the Jewish students.”
That is how American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten described her initial reaction to the federal government’s antisemitism investigation at the University of Pennsylvania during a panel Tuesday.
“The fear that went through my spine,” Weingarten said, was “very primal for me.”
But her description went beyond what the public record says the government sought.
The EEOC investigation was launched over allegations that Penn had engaged in a pattern or practice of harassment against Jewish employees. According to the federal court handling the dispute, the agency subpoenaed contact information for employee members of Jewish-related organizations on campus and employees in Penn’s Jewish Studies Program.
The EEOC withdrew the subpoena in July, and Penn said none of the disputed contact information was disclosed.
Weingarten’s characterization that the government sought a list of “all the Jewish students” set the tone for her remarks that would move from fear over the Penn investigation to repeated warnings about “authoritarianism,” sharp criticism of the Trump administration and, eventually, voting.
A Real Antisemitism Problem — and a Fight Over How to Investigate It
Weingarten was appearing at a Penn event specifically convened to revisit that fight.
The university titled the panel “EEOC v. University of Pennsylvania: Unsettled Questions about Religious Protections, Privacy, and American Democracy Today,” saying participants would examine the controversial subpoena and its implications for antisemitism, privacy, higher education and civil liberties.
And the federal investigation did not emerge in a vacuum.
Penn had experienced documented incidents of antisemitism.
In September 2023, an individual entered Penn Hillel shouting antisemitic obscenities, and a swastika was discovered in another campus building.
That November, Penn said staff members received “vile, disturbing antisemitic emails” threatening violence against members of the Jewish community and specifically naming Penn Hillel and Lauder College House. Penn Police alerted the FBI. Days later, antisemitic messages were projected onto university buildings.
So the dispute at the center of Tuesday’s panel involved allegations of antisemitism involving Penn employees, and whether the federal government went too far in the information it demanded while investigating them.
Weingarten, however, framed the government’s actions in much broader terms.
“My rights as a Jewish lesbian,” she said, “are going to be far more protected in a democracy than they are in an authoritarian project.”
Four References to “Authoritarianism”
Over roughly 15 minutes, Weingarten invoked “authoritarian,” “authoritarianism” or “authoritarian backsliding” four times.
She spoke first about an “authoritarian project,” then “any kind of authoritarian project.”
Later came “beating authoritarianism” and “this kind of authoritarian backsliding.”
And she explicitly connected that argument to the Trump administration.
“There are endless attacks on freedom of speech and freedom of association,” Weingarten said. “We see this in virtually everything that the Trump administration is doing.”
Weingarten said she did not believe the government’s actions at Penn had “anything to do” with protecting Jewish students or faculty. Instead, she argued, the administration was using Jewish people and antisemitism as an excuse to attack higher education.
She also twice raised the Israel-Palestinian conflict, saying people did not need to share the same positions “on Gaza, on Israel” or “Israel-Palestine” to oppose the government’s actions.
While discussing campus safety, Weingarten broadened her message further.
“We have to keep Jewish students safe,” she said. “We have to keep Muslim students safe. We have to keep every student safe. We have to keep white boys safe. We have to keep trans kids safe.”
Weingarten’s Message: Fear “Authoritarianism” — Then Vote
Then, near the end of her remarks, Weingarten turned explicitly to elections.
“The vehicle for democracy beating authoritarianism, the vehicle is voting,” she said.
She continued by calling for a focus on “voting for people who deeply believe in the principles of democracy and the principles of freedom and the principles of opportunity.”
The comments come as the union Weingarten leads is openly mobilizing ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
AFT says it now represents 1.875 million members nationwide, including teachers, higher-education employees, healthcare workers and government employees. The union also explicitly lists “political activism” among the ways it advances its mission.
At AFT’s national convention in July, the union reported that Weingarten urged its 1.875 million members to “get out the vote” ahead of the midterms.
That context makes remarks delivered during a university panel that most rank-and-file workers were unlikely to hear relevant beyond Penn.
Why Union Members Should Pay Attention
The antisemitism Penn experienced was documented and serious. The university took extraordinary steps in response, including involving the FBI.
The privacy and constitutional questions surrounding the EEOC subpoena were serious as well.
But precision matters in a dispute this sensitive.
Weingarten began by saying the federal government wanted “a list of all the Jewish students.” The public court record instead describes an employment discrimination investigation involving Jewish employees and a subpoena seeking information about certain employees connected to Jewish organizations and programs.
She described her reaction as “primal” fear.
She invoked authoritarianism four times.
She broadly attacked the Trump administration’s approach.
And she finished by telling the audience that “the real vehicle is voting.”
For the 1.875 million workers represented by AFT, the remarks offer a window into how their national union president is describing major public controversies and how she is connecting those controversies to the politics of 2026.
Editor’s Note: Americans for Fair Treatment covers the activities, spending and public positions of government unions and their leaders as part of its work to help public employees understand their rights and make informed decisions about union membership and representation. AFFT’s mission includes educating workers about union membership, dues and political causes and advocating for constitutional freedom in the workplace.