This month, the Brandeis Center demanded that the University of Massachusetts-Boston (UMASS Boston) investigate an event held by Students For Justice in Palestine, where an innocent bystander who was identified as a “Zionist” was spat on, shoved and called a “Nazi” and “pig.” Also in this issue, LDB urges the United States to devise an national strategy to combat anti-Semitism, Scholar-in-Residence Diane Kunz reflects on LDB’s recent survey of Jewish college students, and the Brandeis Center’s Fall-Winter speakers series kicks off with “The Legal Case Against BDS.” Read about all this and more in the November issue of the Brandeis Brief.
Civil-rights group: UMass must act against harassment of “Zionist” journalist by SJP
(Jewish News Syndicate)
The Brandeis Center called on UMASS Boston to condemn and investigate an incident where participants at a rally hosted by the University’s chapter of Student For Justice in Palestine harassed and assaulted a journalist because he was a “Zionist.” In its letter to the University, the Brandeis Center warned that the institution’s inaction and silence about the incident sends a dangerous message that “students and student organizations are free to intimidate, harass, and assault individuals who attend their events, based on such individuals’ perceived support of Israel” and that “the school is a refuge for students (and student organizations) ready to disregard the rights of others and to inflict physical harm on individuals who belong to ‘out’ groups.”
Read the article here
Read LDB’s Press Release here
Read LDB’s Letter to UMASS Boston here
Read more here
Like EU, the US must adopt a strategy to combat anti-Semitism
L. Rachel Lerman and Diane Kunz (Sun Sentinel)
LDB Vice Chair Rachel Lerman and Scholar-in-Residence Diane Kunz discuss the EU’s strategy paper aimed at eliminating anti-Semitism in Europe, both as a positive step and one with shortcomings. The authors urge the US to create its own strategy, adopting the positive elements of the of the EU paper, including its promotion of the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism, while putting greater focus on the growing problem of anti-Zionism.
The worst place for a Jew to be
Diane B. Kunz (Brandeis Blog)
LDB’s Scholar-in-Residence Diane Kunz discusses several recent studies about anti-Semitism, including the Brandeis Center’s poll of openly Jewish college students. Dr. Kunz extrapolates from the survey data the salient lessons to be learned about the precarious situation in which Jewish students on American campuses find themselves.
Jewish On Campus to partner with the World Jewish Congress
(Jerusalem Post)
As demonstrated by the findings of a Brandeis Center survey of Jewish students and a recent SJP event where a “Zionist” was assaulted, the rise of anti-Semitism on campus is increasingly impacting the college experience of Jewish students across the country. In response to this urgent problem, Jewish On Campus and the World Zionist Congress announced their joint partnership to support Jewish students and combat anti-Semitism on campus. This article describes the partnership in light of the Brandeis Center’s survey findings.
Jewish rights groups call out D.C. climate group for its alleged anti-Semitic stance
(Newsweek)After Sunrise Movement D.C. refused to participate in a voting rights rally due to the presence of Zionist groups, leaders of Jewish and civil rights groups, including LDB’s President, Alyza Lewin, publicly condemned such anti-Semitic efforts to shun and exclude Jews from progressive causes on campus and on the national stage.
County Jewish Federation establishes hotline to report anti-Semitism
(Hudson Valley One)
Following a spate of anti-Semitic incidents in Ulster County, NY, the Jewish Federation of Ulster County established a hotline to accept reports of anti-Semitism. The hotline will also provide resources for witnesses of anti-Semitic attacks, such as emotional, logistical and/or legal support services from organizations like the Brandeis Center.
Universities push anti-Israel statements, professors push back
(Forward)The recent flood of anti-Israel statements issued by University departments during the Israel-Gaza conflict raises concerns about the current and future state of academic freedom and free speech on campus. The politicization of academia has impacted Jewish students, who are increasingly feeling uncomfortable expressing their support for Israel and Zionism due to the hostile environment on campus. LDB Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus assesses this problem in a recent article in The Forward.
Yearlong program helps US colleges find and fix overlooked campus anti-Semitism
(Times of Israel)
Hillel International in partnership with the ADL has launched a new educational and training initiative to address anti-Semitism in higher education and improve the campus climate for Jewish students. LDB’s Kenneth Marcus explains why universities need first to accurately define the problem of anti-Semitism before they can change the culture on campus.
A new Jerusalem consulate will again proclaim: Jerusalem is not in Israel
(Newsweek)
LDB President Alyza Lewin and LDB Legal Advisory Board Member Nathan Lewin, who litigated the Zivotofsky “passport case” so that Jerusalem-born American citizens could list “Israel” as their country of birth, explain why the Biden administration’s plan to open a U.S. consulate-general in Jerusalem would reverse U.S. policy recognizing that Jerusalem is in the State of Israel.
LDB Fall/Winter speakers series: The Legal Case Against BDS
Join us on Wednesday, November 3 at 2pm Eastern for the kickoff of our Fall and Winter Speaker Series, “The Legal Case Against BDS,” featuring Harvard Law School Professor Jesse Fried, Director of Scalia Law School’s Center for the Middle East and International Law Eugene Kontorovich and The Lawfare Project’s Benjamin Ryberg.
Jewish rights groups call out D.C. climate group for its alleged anti-Semitic stance
Universities push anti-Israel statements, professors push back
Yearlong program helps US colleges find and fix overlooked campus anti-Semitism
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