September 18-19, 2017

University of St. Thomas School of Law and University of Minnesota Law School

LDB’s Director of Legal Initiatives, Aviva Vogelstein, will meet with and speak to students at the LDB chapters at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and University of Minnesota Law School, on September 18 and September 19, respectively. Her talks will focus on fighting anti-Semitism through the law, including the “new” anti-Semitism – anti-Semitism masked as anti-Israelism – on college and university campuses. Vogelstein graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, magna cum laude, with a BA in American History, and from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2013. During law school, Aviva served as Notes Editor for Cardozo’s Journal of Conflict Resolution, one of the world’s preeminent legal journals of arbitration, negotiation and mediation, and was a fellow in Cardozo’s Bet Tzedek Legal Services Clinic. Since joining the Brandeis Center in 2014, Aviva’s work has focused on combating the resurgence of anti-Semitism on American university campuses through legal and public policy approaches, and growing LDB’s law student chapter initiative. Aviva currently speaks and presents to a wide variety of audiences at law schools, high schools, synagogues, and community organizations.

The Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia will welcome LDB’s Human rights expert Kenneth L. Marcus to its lunchtime discussion series in Fairfax, Virginia, where he will discuss his book on “The Definition of Anti-Semitism.” Marcus has been at the forefront of recent efforts to fight anti-Semitism, racism, and other forms of bigotry. In this lecture,

he will draw on his own background as a constitutional lawyer, public interest advocate, government official, professor, and author.

On Thursday, September 14, LDB President & General Counsel Kenneth L. Marcus will address the LDB Law Student Chapter at Cornell University on the topic of, “Making Dollars or Making Change: Big Law, Human Rights, and Becoming a Purposeful Lawyer.” Marcus will describe his career path and discuss his current work in the area of civil rights law. Marcus is the author of The Definition of Anti-Semitism (Oxford University Press: 2015) and Jewish Identity and Civil Rights in America (Cambridge University Press: 2010).

Marcus founded the Brandeis Center in 2011 to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism in American higher education. During his public service career, Marcus served as Staff Director at the United States Commission on Civil Rights and was delegated the authority of Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights and Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Shortly before his departure from the Civil Rights Commission, the Wall Street Journal observed that “the Commission has rarely been better managed,” and that it “deserves a medal for good governance.”

Before entering public service, Mr. Marcus was a litigation partner in two major law firms, where he conducted complex commercial and constitutional litigation. He has published widely in academic journals as well as in more popular venues such as The Jerusalem Post, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, and The Christian Science Monitor. Mr. Marcus is a graduate of Williams College, magna cum laude, and the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

On Tuesday, September 12, 2017, the LDB chapter at UC Berkeley School of Law will host Professor Abraham Bell, to speak on Terrorism and the Law. Professor Bell teaches at the University of San Diego School of Law Bar Ilan University, and teaches and writes in the areas of property, copyright, international law, and economic analysis of law. Prof. Bell clerked for Justice Mishael Cheshin of the Supreme Court of Israel and for the High Court of Justice Department within the Israeli State Attorney’s office, and he is a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces. A highly sought-after expert on international law and the Arab-Israeli conflict, he has advised officials on four continents. His published articles on the subject include Palestine, Uti Possidetis Juris and the Borders of Israel (with Eugene Kontorovich); A Critique of the Goldstone Report and its Treatment of International Humanitarian Law; and The Mythical Post-2005 Israeli Occupation of the Gaza Strip (with Dov Shefi).

LDB’s Kenneth L. Marcus will visit the North Carolina Hillel to address “Human Rights and Anti-Semitism in the Current Climate.” This event, to be held in the Genome Science Building at UNC-Chapel Hill, is hosted by NC Hillel and cosponsored by: Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, Carolina Center for Public Service, Campus Ministers Association, Campus Y, UNC Curriculum in Global Studies, UNC Curriculum in Peace, War & Defense, UNC Department of Political Science, UNC Department of Religious Studies, UNC Department of Sociology, UNC Diversity and Inclusion, UNC Global, UNC Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life, Parr Center for Ethics, UNC Philosophy, Politics & Economics Program, UNC Public Policy, UNC School of Government, UNC School of Law, the Jewish Federation of Durham-Chapel Hill and the Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary.

In a major victory for free speech on American campuses, the University of California Irvine has placed their chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine on probation for a two-year period.

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In the wake of recent events in Charlottesville and on UVA’s campus, Eric Fusfield, Deputy Director of the B’nai B’rith Center for Human Rights and Public Policy and Director of Legislative Affairs for B’nai B’rith International, will speak at the UVA School on Law on the topic of Global Anti-Semitism, Law, and Policy. Mr. Fusfield is responsible for B’nai B’rith’s policy advocacy and government relations, including formulating and promoting B’nai B’rith’s agenda on Capitol Hill and representing the agency before Congress, the Executive branch, foreign governments, and international organizations, and helps oversee B’nai B’rith’s public policy operations in Washington, New York, Brussels, and its other offices abroad.

Edward Kunz
Brandeis Blog
September 6, 2017

Following years of disruptive behavior by the University of California at Irvine (UCI)’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), UCI announced last week that it has sanctioned SJP “with disciplinary probation for two academic years.” The university’s action follows steadfast action by several organizations that have spoken up for UCI’s Jewish and pro-Israel students, including the Louis D. Brandeis Center, StandWithUs (SWU), Students Supporting Israel (SSI), and the AMCHA Initiative.

This probation follows SJP’s May disruption of an on-campus discussion sponsored by UCI’s chapter of SSI. The May 10 SSI event featured five Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservists, appearing on behalf of “Reservists on Duty,” a group of Israeli reservists who attend campus meetings to discuss IDF policy. The SSI meeting was interrupted repeatedly by shouting, chanting, and other verbal disruption by the students affiliated with SJP. Several of the interruptions featured profanity, including the SJP members repeatedly screaming “F-you” at the IDF reservists. Videos of the exchanges were captured by Gary Fouse, a retired UCI instructor who has done much to chronicle anti-Israel and anti-Jewish activity on that campus over the years.

In two strongly-worded letters sent in May and July, the Louis D. Brandeis Center, together with SWU and SSI, chronicled the abuses suffered by the students, and urged UCI to rectify the situation. The May letter insisted that “more must be done … to prevent SJP from engaging in this type of discriminatory and disruptive behavior again against Jewish and pro-Israel students.” LDB, SWU, and SSI reminded UCI of their obligations under federal law, as well as the UC Regent’s “Statement of Principles Against Intolerance,” which announced that “Anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at the University of California.” The Brandeis Center also signed onto a letter organized by the AMCHA Initiative, signed by a total of 53 groups, urging further action.

After UCI Chancellor Gillman and Vice Provost Haynes acknowledged the severity of the disruption and professed concern for the safety and security of all students, LDB, SWU, and SSI sent a second letter in July outlining violations of the California Penal Code and UCI Policy and urging the UCI administration to take forceful disciplinary action. “It is unfortunate that UCI needed to be reminded of its legal obligations in this way,” LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus commented, “But we are glad that UCI is now signaling that it will protect its students from such outrages in the future. This new action is deserving of praise.”

This was not LDB’s first involvement with UCI. In May 2016, SJP and their affiliates disrupted another SSI event, featuring the screening of the film “Beneath The Helmet.” This incident led to a six-month “warning” period for SJP. UCI Jewish student Eliana Kopley was chased and intimidated during the course of this disruption, and forced to hide in a kitchen under the protection of UCI staff. The Brandeis Center represented Kopley during the aftermath of this incident, working with Hillel International and other organizations. UCI rejected SJP’s First Amendment claims and found that SJP was responsible for violation of the UCI Code of Conduct’s provision prohibiting “Obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, or other University activities.” SJP was issued a formal written warning (which lasted until March 29, 2017), and was required to host a program that would educate about the behavior demonstrated during the incident. This was a first step in securing further university action against groups like SJP.

Earlier, in February 2010, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren was speaking on UCI’s campus about U.S.-Israeli relations. Members of the Muslim Student Union (MSU) of UCI interrupted the meeting, shouted down the Israeli ambassador. An investigation into the incidents detailed a plan by MSU to “send the speaker a message and to develop a game plan to disrupt Oren’s speech.” This incident led to the suspension of the Muslim Student Union student group in its entirety, along with a required 50 hours of community service for the members involved. Several UCI students, referred to as the “Irvine 11,” had criminal charges brought against them.

Since 2010, however, UCI has responded to continuing harassment of Jewish students only when pushed to do so by the Brandeis Center and other groups that are concerned about the welfare of University of California students. In addition to the Brandeis Center, StandWithUs, SSI, and the AMCHA Initiative, these groups have included Hillel International, Hasbara Fellowships, CAMERA on Campus, and the Zionist Organization of America.

While the disciplinary probation at UCI will send a message that SJP’s disruptive and uncivil activities will not be tolerated, it demonstrates a troubling trend of administrators refusing to take strong action against students violating their own policies until pushed to do so.

UCI has, at the very least, taken action under pressure that will send a strong message to other university administrations and SJP chapters nationwide. UCI has signaled that the misbehavior of groups like SJP will not go unpunished, and that the party responsible has been named and denounced for their actions. The actions taken by UCI also help amplify recent actions taken elsewhere in response to SJP chapters. Other examples of similar actions taken by other universities include both Northeastern University’s 2014 suspension of their SJP chapter, and Fordham University’s refusal to recognize SJP on their campus this past January. Hopefully, with the examples of UCI, Fordham, and Northeastern, other universities may soon find it easier to address student conduct code violations by anti-Israel extremist groups. Every action taken by these universities, is a step towards allowing academic and scholarly freedom for every student and student group on American campuses.

Original Article

Danielle Ziri
Jerusalem Post
September 3, 2017

The University of California, Irvine, has sanctioned its local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine with disciplinary probation for two academic years for disrupting an event held by a pro-Israel student group on campus the evening of May 10, 2017.

That day, the Students Supporting Israel organization held a discussion in conjunction with the Israeli group Reservists on Duty, which aims to “expose and counter” the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement.

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Five IDF reservists flew in from Israel for the occasion and spoke to students in attendance.

As the questions and answers portion of the session begun, a group of some 30 pro-Palestinian students from SJP entered the room, begun debating with the panelists and eventually decided to disrupt the event chanting slogans such as “Israel, Israel what you say? How many people did you kill today?” and “Free Palestine.”

The disruption was documented with a phone video shot by someone in attendance. The protest went on for several minutes until SJP members left the room, still chanting.

“As soon as we heard about what happened at UC Irvine, the SSI national team got together and started brainstorming what we can do best,” Ilan Sinelnikov, the original founder of Students Supporting Israel who now oversees the group’s chapters on campuses across the US, told The Jerusalem Post. “We decided that the best way would be to apply massive pressure on the university, not only from within but also from the outside.”

The effort was coordinated between SSI and Reservists on Duty with the help of several other organizations who pitched in, including Stand With Us, Hasbara Fellowships, the Louis D. Brandeis Center, Hillel International, Amcha Initiative, the Zionist Organization of America, Hasbara Fellowships and CAMERA.

“People were calling the university […] dozens hundreds of people asking about the solution to the case,” Sinelnikov said. “It was a whole great team effort from many, many people and I believe justice was finally done. We are very satisfied with the result of the university’s investigation.”

After interviewing witnesses, reviewing videos and analyzing other information relating to the event, the UC Irvine Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct determined that Students for Justice in Palestine’s disruption was in violation of university policy. As a result, SJP was sanctioned with disciplinary probation for two academic years, ending June 16, 2019.

During this time, the organization must abide by UCI’s standards of conduct, meet with the dean of students six times a year to discuss free speech issues, and consult with a representative of the dean’s office before hosting or cohosting any campus event.

Should they perform further violations of university policy, SJP could be suspended or have their status as a campus organization revoked.

“UCI welcomes all opinions and encourages a free exchange of ideas – in fact, we defend free speech as one of our bedrock principles as a public university,” the university wrote in a statement. “Yet, we must protect everyone’s right to express themselves without disruption.

This concept is clearly articulated in our policies and campus messaging. We will hold firm in enforcing it.”

According to the university, SJP leaders were notified of the decision on August 22, 2017, and filed an appeal on August 31, 2017. The appeal process is expected to take several weeks.

“The Dean of Students or his designee will consider the appeal and make a final decision, which can be to affirm, modify or reverse the sanction,” the statement detailed.

“The outcome of the appeal is final.”

Ilan Sinelnikov told the Post he is not worried about the appeal’s outcome. “No matter what, this whole process they are in is already a win for us,” he said.

In its official statement, SSI wrote that “SJP is finally being held accountable for their actions.”

“The times when SJP could do whatever they want on campus are behind us,” they added.

“This is a great win for the students at the SSI chapter at UCI, who showed the entire university community that no one can intimidate Zionist, Jewish, or pro-Israel students.”

“Let’s keep moving forward together, we will win on every campus!” the statement concluded.

“It is important that students see and understand what SJP really is, a group aimed at silencing the other side on a regular basis,” Reservists on Duty CEO Amit Deri said. “The character of their activities threatens the principal of free speech in America.”

Reservists on Duty will continue to reach every campus that invites them to speak in order to promote dialogue, refute the lies and empower students and Jewish campus organizations, he said.

Original Article

Edward Kunz
Brandeis Blog
August 21, 2017

“With the advent of the Internet, antisemitic messages are disseminated more quickly and widely than ever before, and often go unchallenged,” opens a new report from the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (ISCA) based out of Indiana University. The report, “Best Practices to Combat Antisemitism on Social Media,” was prepared for the U.S. Department of State as part of an effort between Indiana University and the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs. The study, conducted in spring of 2017, utilized the same definition of anti-Semitism used by the U.S. State Department. The study saw the ISCA send out a survey to non-governmental organizations, who have worked against anti-Semitism, 17 of which took the time to respond. The NGOs represented were from more than ten different countries. The second part of the report revolved around searching social media platforms for anti-Semitic posts, with a particular focus on Twitter, then analyzed the background of the repeat offenders.

The study reports that, based on the surveys conducted, “traditional” or “classic” anti-Semitism is the most prevalent form of anti-Semitism found on social media platforms. Stereotypes include the idea that Jews control the financial world, media and Hollywood, and are engaged in an attempt to destroy traditional or nationality-centered societies. Many of the organizations that were surveyed also noted a rise in “what can be termed as the new antisemitism” directed against Israel, which attempts to portray Israelis or Zionists as the “new Nazis.” The study’s analysis of Twitter messages also revealed that the most influential disseminators of anti-Semitic messages are white nationalist individuals, many who “self-identified or [are] clearly affiliated [with the] alt-right.” The study further documented the patterns in anti-Semitic terminology, and discovered that the three most active posters of the term “Holohoax,” used to indicate a belief the holocaust is a fabrication, garnered between 4,884 and 18,265 followers. These numbers display the large pool of supporters that gather around these anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists.

The study credits NGOs around the world with being at the “forefront of flagging anti-Semitic content” online, but points to the “vast quantity of anti-Semitic messages and accounts” as an obstacle to erasing this form of bigotry from social media. Another stated obstacle is the reluctance of social media platforms to block content or users for “ideological and financial reasons,” many of which revolve around issues of “free speech.” In European nations, governments increasingly pressure internet service providers and social media platforms to remove hateful content. In the case of the United States, however, this is rarely the case. Few NGOs are engaged in counter speech, or the stating of counter narratives by questioning and rejecting anti-Semitic logic, as it is believed that these counter narratives have difficulty reaching the “target audiences” and not granting anti-Semitic messages more of a platform than if they were never challenged in the first place.

The study enumerates various best practices that these NGOs have found in every approach to fighting against anti-Semitism. The study contends that one of the biggest challenges facing groups fighting anti-Semitism, as stated by all NGOs surveyed, is simply making more people aware of the “presence and destructive potential of online antisemitism.” The reports concludes that while not all anti-Semitic content can be removed, there are various means by which NGOs and those who support them can turn the tide against anti-Semitism online. The major recommendations of the study include the closing of influential anti-Semitic accounts, intensified international cooperation between different NGOs, lawmakers, and IT companies, and the forming of more effective alliances between various NGOs who combat hate speech that takes all forms. The report, however, stresses that alliances between groups that fight hate speech may not be helpful “for combating antisemitism in the form of anti-Zionist antisemities,” and that alliances with “organizations that combat Islamist terrorism” might be more effective in that avenue. The report does not conclude optimistically, but that is the reality of online based anti-Semitism.

The advent of the digital age brought about the ability for hate groups to become hyper-connected, the emergence of our rapid-fire, individual, social media outlets led to an even larger boom in anti-Semitism, as these websites and services provide any individual with a platform and access to a large audience. NGOs, like the Louis D. Brandeis Center, must continue to lead the fight against all forms of anti-Semitism, and not tire in the relentless fight against this persistent form of bigotry.

Original Article