As a result of violent attacks against three visibly Jewish Pitt students and a eruption of antisemitism in our city, leadership at the University of Pittsburgh asked me to co-chair a working group on antisemitism. It was an honor to be asked, but this is not work I want to do. I'd rather be out building bridges. After this announcement, our local Antifa chapter started attacking me on social media. Cowards also left vile antisemitic hatred on the steps of my house. My 10-year old daughter and 7-year old son found this washer. My daughter picked it up and then told her little brother to run inside because, "It's not safe to play outside." This all happened last month. I live steps away from Tree of Life. The Pittsburgh Police and university police detectives are all working on this. I'm deeply concerned about the rhetoric I see here among colleagues - even among professors I thought knew better. I respect your freedom of speech, but when you employ vitriol and blood libelous language to talk about Israel, Zionism, "Zionists," and the Jewish community, you normalize this kind of hatred. You have become the face of the new antisemitism. I'm not scared of these cowards--and you should not be either. But I thought it is important that you are aware of the depths of this hatred. They will not stop our work.
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