Professor Watchlist

Political Science Professor Anne Norton was featured on the StopAntisemitism Twitter account after the announcement of her Norton’s new course called “Why Palestine Matters to America.”

Shocking new low at UPenn – Anne Norton is set to teach a class on “Why Palestine Matters to America.”

The same Anne Norton that claims Jews play the victim card and calls for physical violence – “kneecap then”.

Why has this barbaric antisemite not been fired by UPenn? https://t.co/vv3qZjAGam pic.twitter.com/7SUPvu3acR

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 12, 2024

In October, the Twitter account belonging to Eyal Yakoby republished a post liked by Norton that said, “Playing the victim is what Jews are best at.”

Norton was featured in an article by Yakoby wherein he discussed Norton and other UPenn professors who used their personal social media accounts to promote “hatred for the Jewish people.” In particular, Norton was quoted telling her audience “Please don’t amplify” allegedly speaking about the Hamas’ massacre of 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023. The violent terrorist attack included rape, kidnapping, slaughtering infants, and burning victims alive.

Norton also made headlines in May 2024 when the media arm of Stop Antisemitism published a profile revealing her leftist views on Israel. Additionally, Norton was named in a 2023 article by the New York Post that said top donors were divesting from the university due to her outspoken antisemitic views. The Post said:

“Investors…confirmed to the Post they are in talks with UPenn to cut ties with Norton following a string of controversial posts and tweets, including endorsing a post claiming Jewish people are best at ‘playing the victim.’ The [donors] have sponsored Norton through [her] President’s Distinguished Professorship since 2018.” 

As of publication, the University of Pennsylvania has neither released a statement denouncing Norton’s views. 

Please send tips and updates on Anne Norton to Watchlists@tpusa.com. 

Published – November 19, 2024
_________________

Anne Norton is the Stacey and Henry Jackson President’s Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. According to her university profile, Norton’s research interests include “identity and history, gender and race, colonialism and post-colonialism, and tradition and revolution.”

Professor Norton has been outspoken about her support for the student-led Fossil Free Penn club. In November 2019, she signed an open letter supporting the group after the club interrupted a Board of Trustees meeting and demanded a town hall meeting with leadership about fossil fuel divestment.

The letter reads:

“While not all of us agree on every tactic the students may employ, we as faculty urge our colleagues and University administrators to hear them out, engage them constructively, and take much bolder action.”

It continues:

“Further, we believe that Penn should join the list of universities that have divested from fossil fuels, signaling an institutional commitment to the goals set forth by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in October 2018.” 

In April 2022, Norton signed another letter in support of Fossil Free Penn — the activist group had camped out for six days on campus to urge the university “to take a leadership role in stabilizing the world’s climate.” The letter says: “We believe that student activists are right to call for Penn to do more and we support their peaceful protest.”

In June 2021, Professor Norton signed a “statement of concern” titled “The Threats to American Democracy and the Need for National Voting and Election Administration Standards.” The letter was circulated by New America, a liberal think tank, and signed by professors from across the country. The statement says:

“State legislatures have advanced initiatives that curtail voting methods now preferred by Democratic-leaning constituencies, such as early voting and mail voting. Republican lawmakers have openly talked about ensuring the “purity” and “quality” of the vote, echoing arguments widely used across the Jim Crow South as reasons for restricting the Black vote.” 

The letter acknowledges it is “always far better for major democracy reforms to be bipartisan,” but argues that in the “current hyper-polarized political context such broad bipartisan support is sadly lacking.” The statement ends with a call to action:

“We urge members of Congress to do whatever is necessary – including suspending the filibuster – in order to pass national voting and election administration standards that both guarantee the vote to all Americans equally, and prevent state legislatures from manipulating the rules in order to manufacture the result they want.”

Published – December 13, 2022