The Brandeis Center is delighted to announce that it has successfully resolved campus anti-Semitism concerns that it had raised with the University of California at Davis.  In a press release to be issued later this morning, the Center will laud UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi for her leadership in responding to a November 2012 incident on the Davis campus that the Center had brought to light.  In particular, the Center is pleased with the steps that Katehi has promised to protect Davis students at any future anti-Israel rallies or other controversial events.

The November 2012 incident occurred after approximately forty protestors occupied a university administrative building late last year. When three Jewish students entered the occupied building, they were met with hostile behavior, including intimidation, bullying, and verbal harassment. The protestors reportedly began pounding their fists, getting into the Jewish students’ faces, and making menacing physical gestures, all while shouting expletives directed toward the students. The Jewish students told Brandeis Center lawyers that they had found the entire incident to be “incredibly upsetting.”

The steps taken by Chancellor Katehi and the UC Davis administration, after conducting an independent investigation into information provided by the Brandeis Center, include important measures to prevent harassment during potentially controversial protests, including those directed against Israel. These steps, which UC Davis shared with the Brandeis Center, include the following, among others:

1. At least one administrator will be present at the protest to monitor the event and to intervene when necessary to ensure that everyone is safe;

2. The campus engagement team will be present to help resolve any disagreements and to facilitate dialogue;

3. Aggie Hosts will be present to serve as security when appropriate; and

4. Police will be nearby for law enforcement.

“These are important steps,” LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus commented, “and they demonstrate the university’s commitment to preventing a recurrence of the November incident.” Beyond these measures, the Davis administration also agreed to assemble a committee specifically dedicated to revising the information given to protestors.

Marcus praised Chancellor Katehi and her staff, “We are very impressed with Chancellor Katehi’s leadership, as well as with the professionalism of her legal staff. I have spoken with Chancellor Katehi and am pleased with her commitment to ensuring a safe environment for all Davis students, including Jewish students and students of Israeli background, and I also appreciate the dedication of the university counsel’s office to protecting the civil rights of all Davis students.”

In addition to praising UC Davis administration, the Brandeis Center also thanked the Amcha Initiative and Tammi Rossman-Benjamin for conducting additional investigative work which helped to bring the November 2012 incident to light.