EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Confidential UPenn Documents Expose University’s Internal Antisemitism Reporting System
— Launched Weeks After Hosting Controversial Palestine Writes Festival
George News has obtained two PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL University of Pennsylvania documents that reveal how the Ivy League school quietly rolled out a formal antisemitism action plan — including a new campus-wide bias reporting system — in the direct aftermath of hosting a major pro-Palestine literary festival that featured speakers widely criticized for antisemitism.
The documents, both marked “Confidential | Not for Distribution” and never intended for public release, show the university scrambling to address safety concerns and community backlash in fall 2023.
1. The Antisemitism Action Plan Dashboard: “Ensure All Members… Are Aware of the Process for Reporting Acts of Antisemitism or Other Acts of Hate”
The first document is titled “ANTISEMITISM ACTION PLAN DASHBOARD” (last updated November 18, 2023).
Under the “Safety and Security” section, one explicit commitment reads verbatim:
“Ensure all members of the Penn community are aware of the process for reporting acts of antisemitism or other acts of hate; when report occurs, taking action.”
Status: Listed as “Complete / Ongoing”
Most recent action: “President Magill’s November 12 message to the Penn community provided details on Penn’s bias reporting system. Follow up remains ongoing.”
The dashboard also details the formal charging of a University Task Force on Antisemitism on November 16, 2023 (led by Penn Dental Dean Mark Wolff), reviews of event-space reservation policies, and enhanced security measures for Jewish centers. It links to an internal task-force update page:
https://antisemitism-action-plan.upenn.edu/task-force/messages/nov17
This plan was developed as part of a broader push that included education initiatives, student advisory groups, and partnerships with Jewish organizations.
2. The Palestine Writes Literary Festival: The Event That Preceded — and Sparked — the Action Plan
The second leaked document — “Confidential Background Document: Palestine Writes Literature Festival” — provides the university’s own internal talking points on the three-day event held on Penn’s campus September 22-24, 2023.
Key admissions from the confidential memo:
The festival was organized by an independent non-profit group but took place on university grounds and featured 125 speakers.
Programming included book talks, film screenings, and panels focused on Palestinian literature, art, and culture.
Speakers included Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen and Arabic Booker Prize winner Ibrahim Nasrallah — but also individuals who sparked major controversy, such as Roger Waters and Marc Lamont Hill.
While Penn insists “this public event was not organized by the University,” a Penn faculty member in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department helped organize it.
Several official Penn departments and centers sponsored specific sessions (including the Middle East Center, Cinema & Media Studies, Wolf Humanities Center, Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, Kelly Writers House, and Modern Middle Eastern Studies).
Some Penn courses initially listed attendance at the festival as a class requirement (accommodations were later offered after student concerns were raised).
The university provided additional police security to Penn Hillel during the surrounding Jewish holidays.
The document repeatedly notes that “many of the Penn affiliates involved were not aware of the controversial speakers when they agreed to sponsor” and that no university units sponsored the most problematic sessions.
The Timeline Tells the Story
The Palestine Writes festival occurred in late September 2023.
Just weeks later, in mid-November 2023, UPenn’s leadership publicly messaged the community about its bias reporting system and formally launched the Antisemitism Task Force — exactly as captured in these confidential dashboards and background memos.
George News obtained the documents from a source concerned about transparency and accountability at one of America’s most elite universities. They were never meant to see the light of day.
UPenn has not responded to requests for comment on the leaks.
What do you think? Should universities be required to publicly disclose these kinds of internal “confidential” plans — especially when they involve campus safety, event hosting, and the protection of Jewish students? Drop your thoughts below — and subscribe to George News for more exclusive document drops and campus accountability reporting.
Sources (both leaked confidential documents on file):
Antisemitism Action Plan Dashboard (11.19.23)
Background and Talking Points: Palestine Writes Literature Festival 2023
Share this widely. Truth matters.
~GEORGE~