Sen. Casey addresses campus antisemitism at Pittsburgh campaign event

Sen. Bob Casey held a campaign event on public safety and protecting democracy Sunday morning with about 25 in attendance, after which he addressed and condemned antisemitism on college campuses.

Casey, who is seeking re-election, and other speakers attacked Republican Senate candidate David McCormick’s record on public safety and his ties to the Jan. 6 insurrection. The event is the first of two back-to-back campaign events in Pittsburgh, with another event scheduled to occur on Monday morning. In a press question and answer session following the speaking portion of the event, Casey addressed recent public safety concerns on Pitt’s campus. 

After the event, Casey was asked about the antisemitic hate crime recently reported in South Oakland. 

“I’m the leader of the antisemitism legislation in the Senate, which would do one thing, fundamentally — give us a definition of antisemitism to provide a foundation so that when these campus investigations take place, there’s a standard against which to judge misconduct,” Casey said.

Casey said the government needs to fund the Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Education to “provide them the resources they need.” According to Casey, they need to hire hundreds of investigators to look into antisemitism and determine whether a campus has a “hostile environment,” in which case a sanction will be levied against that college or university.

“If you want to track down antisemitism on college campuses, as I want to do, you have to fund those who are doing the investigation,” Casey said. “We can make that office a viable investigative agency to make determinations about these incidents of antisemitism. We should categorically condemn antisemitism.” 

The Pitt News asked Casey about public safety concerns on college campuses as protests are expected to ramp up nearing the election.

“We want to continue to protect someone’s First Amendment rights, but no protester has a right to disrupt a campus so that the other students can’t get to class or have the benefit of a full, robust education,” Casey said. “No student has a right to engage in violence. No student has a right to engage in antisemitic activity or make antisemitic statements or categorically condemn people that are different than them.”

Casey said in order to strike the difficult balance between protecting First Amendment rights and the rights of other students to have an education, campuses must have “tough rules about where protests can take place” within the bounds of the Constitution.

“If there is activity on a campus which rises to the level of creating a hostile environment for a Jewish student, or rises to the level of creating a hostile environment for a Black student, or any other kind of vicious discrimination, there has to be a consequence for those who are engaged in that activity, but also for the college, university itself,” Casey said.

The majority of the campaign event focused on Casey’s self-proclaimed commitment to public safety and democracy, a contrast to the way he represents his opponent’s record.

“[The people of Pennsylvania] have the choice to send someone to Washington who’s going to continue to fight for their rights, continue to invest in public safety and continue to invest in and protect our democracy,” Casey said. “And I think by the end of this race, that choice will be very, very clear.”

Casey reaffirmed his support of both the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade, and voting rights. He also mentioned his support for abolishing the filibuster.

“If you want a senator who’s going to go to Washington and vote against the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, you should vote for the other guy, because he will never vote for that bill,” Casey said. “I’ve already voted for it. In fact, I’ve already voted for the rules change that allows us to pass the John Lewis legislation with 51 votes instead of 60.” 

Casey said if voting rights legislation is not passed, “we increase the likelihood of more January 6 in the future of our country.”

California representative and current senate candidate Adam Schiff, who was in the Capitol during the attack and was a member of the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, held similar concerns to Casey.

“This is shaping up like another very close election,” Schiff said. “And we already see in one of America’s great political parties a continuing perpetuation of the line about the last election and what appears to be laying the groundwork to challenge the results of the next election if they lose.”

Harry Dunn, a former Capitol police officer, said he still gets “so upset” talking about his experience on Jan. 6.

“We defended against a mob that harassed and attacked law enforcement that day,” Dunn said. “Meanwhile, Senator Casey’s opponent, Dave McCormick, has associated with those who cross police lines that I and my coworkers attempted to hold.” 

The chair of McCormick’s political action committee, Sam DeMarco, was involved in a fraudulent elector scheme, and his campaign received support from Doug Mastriano, who was linked to the insurrection. Casey and Dunn also referenced an incident where McCormick mismanaged police and fire pension funds in his role as an executive at Bridgewater Associates, criticizing his record on public safety. 

“Pennsylvania law enforcement cannot trust the Connecticut hedge fund CEO who is willing to sell them out to protect his own bottom line,” Dunn said. “He puts profits ahead of police officers, and Pennsylvanians won’t forget that come November.”