Brandeis Brief: February 2022
We hope your year is off to a good start. This month the Brandeis Center hosted a discussion about combatting anti-Semitism in the workplace with members of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC Commissioners discussed different forms of anti-Semitic discrimination in the workplace and highlighted the “deeply troubling” allegations that the Brandeis Center exposed about Stanford University’s DEI program. Also this month, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case about discrimination in college admissions and LDB’s amicus brief filed in the case was highlighted by national and local media. LDB attorneys wrote about the lessons and impact of the anti-Semitic hostage-taking in Colleyville, Texas on January 15. Read about these and other developments at the Center in this month’s Brief. As always, we thank you for your tax-deductible donations and acknowledge that without you our work could not be done.
The Brandeis Center and EEOC Commissioners discuss anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination in the workplace

Federal Civil Rights Officials Raise Alarm Over “Horrifying Statistics” on Anti-Semitism in Workplace
(JNS)

On January 10, LBD hosted a public webinar featuring two EEOC Commissioners, who discussed ways to combat anti-Jewish discrimination in the workplace amid a nationwide surge of anti-Semitism. The Commissioners approvingly cited LDB’s recent survey of Jewish college students to demonstrate “horrifying statistics” about the rise in anti-Semitism. The Commissioners also described LDB’s allegations against Stanford University in a pending complaint before the EEOC as “deeply troubling” and expressed support for the widespread media attention these claims have gained.

Read the EEOC Commissioner’s Power Point presentation here
Read LDB’s Press Release here
Read news coverage of the webinar here

New York Times and other media outlets highlight LDB’s amicus brief in Supreme Court’s affirmative action case 

The Supreme Court granted certiorari, as LDB urged in its amicus brief, in two cases involving allegations that Harvard and U.N.C.’s admissions policies discriminate against Asian-American and white applicants. The New York Times quoted LDB’s Kenneth L. Marcus and highlighted the “friend of the court” brief filed by LDB and the Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation, which argued that Harvard is discriminating against Asian American applicants today using the same methods the school used to discriminate against Jewish applicants in the 1920s and 1930s. LDB’s brief was also covered by national and local media, including CBS News.

Read the New York Times article here
Watch Kenneth Marcus’ comments on CBS This Morning’s coverage of the Harvard case here
Read LDB’s Press Release here
Read LDB’s amicus brief here
Colleyville Poses An Urgent Question: Will Biden Take Antisemitism Seriously?
Kenneth L. Marcus (Newsweek)LDB Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus discusses the lessons federal policymakers should draw from the recent kidnapping at a synagogue in Colleyville, TX. Marcus highlights the recurring failure of law enforcement and government officials to understand the anti-Semitic motivation behind crimes that target Jews, the consequences of rampant anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories circulating on the internet and on campus, and the urgent need for the Biden administration to address rising anti-Semitism.

Read the article here
Read additional media coverage here
AMP Should Inspire Dialogue Not Inspire Division
Jacob Baime (Times of Israel) The CEO of Israel on Campus Coalition, Jacob Baime, calls on prominent Muslim advocacy groups to reject divisive anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric and instead “embrace the concept of constructive dialogue.” Baime urges these Muslim community organizations to stop separating Zionism from Judaism and to accept the reality, as described by LDB President Alyza Lewin, that Zionism is an integral component of Jewish identity for most Jewish Americans.

 Read the article here
Battling Antisemitism on Campus
(Hadassah Magazine)In this expose about the modern face of anti-Semitism on campus today, LDB President Alyza Lewin and student leaders discuss the increasing pressure felt by Jewish students in progressive circles to hide or shed their Jewish identity in order to avoid anti-Semitism. Lewin describes how LDB uses legal and educational tools to push back against anti-Semitic discrimination and educate administrators about how to recognize and prevent anti-Semitism on campus.

Read the article here
Watch the video here

Campus Anti-Semitism and US Law
(The Times of Israel)

LDB President Alyza Lewin spoke at Congregation Beth Am in Palo Alto, CA about how the Brandeis Center uses Title VI to protect Jewish students from discrimination at colleges and universities nationwide. Lewin explained the importance of recognizing and defining discrimination that targets Jewish students for marginalization and exclusion on campus because of their support for the State of Israel.

Read the article here
Watch Alyza Lewin’s presentation, Is Today’s Campus Climate Safe For Jews, here
Global anti-Semitism reaches nearly all 10 stages of genocide
Kenneth L. Marcus (JNS)In his timely column, Kenneth Marcus, explains why recent anti-Semitic incidents have met several of the “Ten Stages of Genocide.” Marcus urges readers to understand the gathering threat faced by world Jewry today as a call to action in order to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

Read the article here