By Elan Burman
Kol Habirah

June 7, 2018

Even at a university known for going the extra mile to support Jewish life on campus, the pragmatic concerns of serving several thousand students may sometimes conflict with the needs of a minority, like observant Jewish

students. Such was the case this year, when the University of Maryland, College Park’s graduation occurred over Shabbat and Shavuot. Not wanting students to be precluded from marking this important milestone in their lives, however, the University of Maryland (UMD), Maryland Hillel, and UMD Chabad collaborated to host an “alternate graduation.”

The ceremony took place in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on May 17. Fifty-five graduates and 250 family members gathered for the moving ceremony.

The evening opened with a beautiful rendition of “Hatikvah” and “The Star Spangled Banner” by two graduating seniors, Avi Eisenstein and Daniela Nagar. Alyza Lewin, a prominent attorney, delivered the keynote address. Lewin is renowned for litigating a Supreme Court case concerning the inclusion of “Jerusalem and Israel” on passports of U.S. nationals born in Jerusalem. She has also pursued several cases pertaining to religious freedoms. Lewin charged the students to stand up for injustice and use their voices.

Moshe Klein of Silver Spring, Maryland, spoke on behalf of the graduating class. He spoke of the importance of transcending boundaries of identity and allowing oneself to be challenged intellectually. Klein paid tribute to the University of Maryland, a public institution that enabled him to satiate his universalistic pursuit of knowledge while Maryland Hillel and Chabad simultaneously nurtured his particularistic identity as an observant student. Alyssa Gabay, a graduating senior from Merion Station, Pennsylvania, read a poem.

Rabbi Ari Israel, executive director of Maryland Hillel, and Rabbi Eli Backman of UMD Chabad also addressed the crowd. William Cohen, UMD’s associate provost and dean for undergraduate studies, presented the students with their diplomas. After the ceremony, nearly 200 people gathered at the Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Center for Jewish Life for a festive dinner.

The ceremony was an example of a way in which students can access the best of a public institution while preserving and practicing their individual religious identities. The Jewish community in College Park is testament to the efforts of the university administration and organizations like Hillel and Chabad, which partner to make such experiences possible.

By William Jacobson
Legal Insurrection

Kenneth Marcus has been confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education. In that capacity, he will lead the Civil Rights Office, which was scandalized during the Obama administration, particularly on the issue of campus due process.

The nomination had been opposed on a party-line vote, with Democrats siding with anti-Israel activist groups. See these posts for background:

• Ken Marcus, nominee to head DOE Civil Rights Office, finally to get floor vote
• Kenneth Marcus nomination to head DOE Office for Civil Rights passes Senate HELP Committee
• Action Alert: Anti-Israel Lobby intensifies campaign against nomination of anti-Semitism scholar Ken Marcus
• Trump appoints attorney who combats campus antisemitism to key civil rights post

Extremist anti-Israel groups kept up their opposition right until the vote:

Senator Lamar Alexander, Chair of the HELP Committee, issued this statement in support of the nomination:

Mr. President, if I may say one more thing about the vote that we will be having at 12:30—today the Senate is finally voting to confirm Ken Marcus, a well-qualified nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.

I worked to get a time agreement for this vote because Mr. Marcus did not deserve to be the subject of the Democrats’ unreasonable and unnecessary obstructions and delays. One Senator can do that or two Senators. I want to thank Senator Murray from Washington and the Democratic leader, Senator Schumer, for helping to bring these delays to a conclusion today.

For example, Mr. Marcus was nominated on October 30, 2017, 220 days ago. He has been pending on the floor since our committee approved his nomination on January 18, 140 days ago. To compare, President Obama’s two nominees to these position Russlynn Ali and Catherine Lhamon were confirmed in 45 and 52 days and both were confirmed by a voice vote.

That doesn’t mean every Republican supported these nominees, but it meant we knew students would be better served when the Department of Education had someone in place even if Republicans might disagree with that person. I would remind my colleagues that when President Obama proposed to have John King serve as acting secretary of education for a year, I went to him and said Mr. President, the country is better served and we’re better served if you send the nomination up and let us confirm Mr. King, even though we disagree with him. And the president did that and I made sure he was confirmed within a month.

That’s what should happen when a president makes nominations. So it’s time to confirm Mr. Marcus, give Secretary DeVos and our country an Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. Mr. Marcus has a deep understanding of civil rights law. He founded the Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, served as staff director for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for four years, and has effectively served in this position before when he worked in the Department of Education under President George W. Bush.

He was delegated the authority of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. In that position he was in charge of enforcing civil rights laws such as Title IX reminding schools of their obligations, established in regulation to have in place Title IX coordinators and procedures when there was an alleged Title IX violation.

He enjoys wide support. 68 organizations signed letters supporting his nomination including Hillel International, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world which had this to say, Mr. Marcus, “has been a long time champion for civil rights and for college students. We have worked personally with him on several campuses across the country in response to specific issues of bigotry and discrimination and we have found him to be extremely skilled and knowledgeable in civil rights laws.”

The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Mr. Marcus will lead a very important office—the Office of Civil Rights has the responsibility of ensuring that Title IX and other civil rights laws and the protections they provide to all students are fully enforced.

When Mr. Marcus is confirmed he’ll get to work enforcing those laws so that all students feel safe at school. So I’m glad we’re having this vote today, Madam President. I support the nomination, and I urge my colleagues to support Mr. Marcus as well. I thank the chair and I yield the floor.

The final vote was party line, 50-46 (Not voting: Blumenthal, Coons, Duckworth & McCain)

by Jackson Richman
Washington Examiner
May 30, 2018

A bipartisan bill to combat anti-Semitism was introduced last week in Congress, following statistical analysis showing that Jews are the most targeted religious group for hate crimes annually.

If enacted, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, introduced by Reps. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., Ted Deutch, D-Fla., Doug Collins, R-Ga., and Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., would require the Department of Education to adopt the State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism to determine whether certain incidents potentially violate anti-discrimination laws like Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Bob Casey, D-Penn., introduced a similar version in the upper chamber.

The State Department defines anti-Semitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Examples provided by the Department include, but are not limited to, “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion,” and “Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.”

This is of particular importance as college campuses have become a hotbed for anti-Semitism via the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction, or BDS, movement. 

“According to recent reports, anti-Semitic attacks on college campuses have risen sharply in recent years. Unfortunately, the Department lacks firm guidance on how to define anti-Semitism,” according to a congressional press release by the offices of the bill’s sponsors. “By codifying the definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the U.S. State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, this legislation will enable the DOE to protect students from the most insidious and modern forms of anti-Semitism.”

The release added that the legislation would not infringe on First Amendment or academic freedoms. Rather, “it provides the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights with a guideline for determining whether cases that already rise to the level of actionable discrimination were motivated by anti-Jewish animus.”

According to the AMCHA Initiative, which monitors campus anti-Semitism, there have been 311 such incidents in 2018 – almost half of the number of anti-Semitic incidents on campuses last year. Such incidents in 2018 are set to outpace the number of incidents in 2017. 

“There is no place for anti-Semitism or religious discrimination on our college campuses,” Rep. Roskam said in the press release. “Across the nation, we’re witnessing a significant rise in Jewish students being targeted and harassed for no reason other than their identity.”

“I’ve heard far too many stories from Jewish students of the anti-Semitism they face in schools and on college campuses every day,” Rep. Deutch said. “Jewish students, like students of any religion, should not live in fear of attacks because of their religion. They shouldn’t have to fear wearing Judaic symbols or expressing their support for Israel.”

Deutch added, “As we work to combat all forms of discrimination and hate, Congress must act to protect Jewish students on campus, and this legislation would help the Education Department stem this troubling trend.”

Groups like the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law support the bill, while groups like the American Civil Liberties Union oppose it.

“The spike in anti-Semitic incidents in schools has forced Jewish students to face prejudice on their campuses, swastikas in their dorms and danger on their school grounds,” Alyza Lewin, Chief Operating Officer of the Louis D. Brandeis Center, said. “No student should ever be singled-out or harassed due to their religious beliefs.”

The ACLU, on the other hand, slammed the bill.

“Unfortunately, the proposed bill risks chilling constitutionally protected speech by incorrectly equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism,” executive director Anthony Romero said.

“We worry that the law will lead colleges to suppress speech, especially if the Department of Education launches investigations simply because students have engaged in speech critical of Israel,” he added.

Sen. Scott said the bill is more about clarifying anti-Semitism and less about restricting speech.

“With recent reports showing a significant increase in anti-Semitism on college campuses across America, it is essential that the Department of Education has a clear and concise definition of what constitutes anti-Semitism,” said Scott.

Similar legislation unanimously passed the Senate in 2016, but a vote was not taken in the House of Representatives due to time constraints.

By L. Rachel Lerman
Newsweek

May 31, 2018

Data released in February by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) showed an astounding 57% increase in anti-Semitic incidents across the United States in 2017, including physical assaults, vandalism, and attacks on Jewish institutions.

Every part of the country was affected, with an incident reported in each of the 50 states for the first time in at least a decade. This sharp rise, the ADL observed, was due in part to a significant increase in incidents in schools and on college campuses, which nearly doubled for the second year in a row. The trend persists in 2018.

The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, or AAA, was drafted to help the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recognize anti-Semitic incidents on campus by using the U.S. State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism to evaluate complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

Title VI obligates universities that receive federal funds to prevent peer-to-peer harassment based on race, color, or national origin when the harassment “is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars the victim’s access to an educational opportunity or benefit.” The OCR evaluates reported incidents in part by considering the speech that accompanies them.

Does that mean Title VI limits speech? No. Speech – including hate speech – is protected under the First Amendment. But speech can be used as evidence in investigating Title VI harassment claims  of misconduct, such as assaults, battery and vandalism.

In 2004, the OCR expanded Title VI protection to cover harassment based on membership in religious groups perceived to share ethnic characteristics. Such groups include Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh students, among others.

Since 2004, there have been many well-documented incidents of anti-Semitism, yet the OCR has failed to find a single violation of Title VI. Why is that?

Part of the problem is that the OCR lacks a workable definition of anti-Semitism. Without such a definition, OCR staff are often unable to recognize anti-Semitism when they see it. As a result, university campuses across the United States are becoming increasingly hostile places for Jewish students.

The AAA was drafted to address the problem by providing the OCR with a definition of anti-Semitism—one that has been used by the U.S. State Department for many years and has been endorsed by more than 50 countries as the global gold standard for defining and recognizing anti-Semitism.

The definition reads: “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

The State Department’s definition goes on to list examples of anti-Semitism, including “Anti-Semitism Relative to Israel.”

While the definition makes clear that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as anti-Semitic,” it recognizes that anti-Semitism may be found in efforts to demonize Israel (e.g., by “[u]sing the symbols and images associated with classic anti-Semitism to characterize Israel or Israelis”); to apply a double standard to Israel, or to delegitimize Israel (e.g., by “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, and denying Israel the right to exist.”)

The AAA directs the OCR to consider the State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism in evaluating claims of harassment that are “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars the victim’s access to an educational opportunity or benefit.” That is all.

The AAA was passed by unanimous consent of the Senate on Dec. 1, 2016. Unfortunately, the AAA was immediately attacked by opponents, who argued that it would interfere with free speech by making anti-Israel rhetoric illegal or otherwise punishable on college campuses.

This claim is simply false. The AAA does not regulate campus speech against Israel or any other type of campus speech. Nor could it: Congress cannot pass a law preventing individuals from speaking out against Israel any more than Congress can prohibit criticism of the United States (or any other country).

The AAA underscores this principle by affirmatively stating that the AAA can and must be implemented consistent with the First Amendment.

It is critical, now more than ever, that college and university campuses remain spaces where Jewish students can learn without fear of anti-Semitic assault or harassment. That is their right. The AAA seeks to protect that right consistent with the right of free speech.

In examining whether anti-Semitic activity is “severe, persistent, or pervasive” enough to constitute an actionable hostile environment under Title VI, it is crucial that the OCR be able to recognize anti-Semitism in action. It is time for the AAA to be passed into law.

Rachel L. Lerman is Vice President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, an independent, non-partisan institution for public interest advocacy, research and education that advances civil and human rights.

Cleveland Jewish News

Jewish organizations welcome legislation introduced by group of bipartisan lawmakers on Wednesday that seeks to codify a working definition of anti-Semitism into the American education system.

Titled the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, the bill was introduced by Reps. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Doug Collins (R-Ga.) in the House of Representatives, and Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) in the Senate. It seeks to direct the Department of Education to use the working definition of anti-Semitism that was developed by the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism office in 2010.

A similar bill was unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate in 2016.

“The spike in anti-Semitic incidents in schools has forced Jewish students to face prejudice on their campuses, swastikas in their dorms and danger on their school grounds. No student should ever be singled-out or harassed due to their religious beliefs,” she said. “This bill provides the Department of Education with the guidance it needs to properly identify today’s manifestations of anti-Semitism, particularly those incidents that cross the line from protected anti-Israel expression to blatant anti-Semitic acts.”

According to the FBI’s Hate Crime Report, Jewish hate-crime victims outnumber victims of all other religious groups combined. The problem is most serious in U.S. schools. A Brandeis Center/Trinity College study found that 54 percent of Jewish college students reported experiencing or witnessing anti-Semitism in 2014. And a February ADL report found that anti-Semitic incidents in K-12 schools and on college campuses nearly doubled between 2016 and 2017.

“At a time of rising incidents of anti-Semitism, this legislation addresses a core concern of Jewish and pro-Israel students and parents: When does the expression of anti-Semitism, anti-Israel and anti-Zionist sentiments cross the line from First Amendment-protected free expression to harassing, unlawful, discriminatory conduct?” posed ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

“While most incidents of anti-Semitism on campus are unrelated to anti-Israel activity, the Departments of Education and Justice should have the authority to investigate instances in which anti-Israel activity crosses the line to targeted, unlawful, discriminatory intimidation and harassment of Jewish students,” he added.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean and director of the global social-action agenda for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, stated: “The successful passage of this legislation will give the Department of Education important clarity and guidance to redress anti-Semitic attacks on campus and send a clear message to perpetrators that they will be held accountable for their hate.

Credit: C-SPAN.

JNS News

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB), a Jewish civil- and human-rights group, is urging the U.S. government to confront religious bullying and harassment in schools across the country following an alarming report on the scope of such activity.

Aviva Vogelstein, LDB’s director of legal initiatives, who testified in front of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights earlier this month, told JNS that the government should approach the issue of religious bullying the same way it confronts other forms of harassment.

“No child should be bullied or harassed based on any grounds, including religion. With over 10,000 incidents in federally funded schools, our government needs to prohibit religious harassment—just like it prohibits other forms of harassment. It’s unconscionable that this type of hate has gone unaddressed for this long. We urgently need strong enforcement, better legislation, and more data,” she said.

In her testimony in front of the Civil Rights Commission, Vogelstein told the members that there is on average approximately “30 incidents per school day, 150 incidents per school week, and 602 incidents per school month” of religiously motivated harassment and bullying.

A U.S. Department of Education report released last month, which included statistics on religiously motivated bullying and harassment, found an alarming 10,848 incidents based on religion in 2015-16.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, bullying “is linked to many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use and suicide.” Kids who are bullied can experience negative physical, school and mental-health issues, and kids who bully others can engage in violent and other risky behaviors into adulthood.

The Brandeis Center recommended three steps to combat religiously motivated bullying and harassment. First, Congress must enact legislation to protect students from religious-based harassment. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of “race, color or national origin,” does not protect students from harassment based on religion, absent an ethnic or ancestral component.

Second, the Department of Education should issue clear guidelines as to what is prohibited and what is permitted under Title VI.

Lastly, the Department of Education’s agreement to collect data is important, but the way the data is currently collected is not useful beyond general figures.

“Our government cannot continue to turn a blind eye to religious bullying taking place in our nation’s schools,” said Vogelstein. “Congress and the president must address the longstanding problem of religious hate crimes, harassment and bullying.”

The Jewish Press

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) on Thursday applauded the introduction of bipartisan legislation to help tackle the rising anti-Semitism plaguing US schools.

“The spike in anti-Semitic incidents in schools has forced Jewish students to face prejudice on their campuses, swastikas in their dorms and danger on their school grounds,” Alyza Lewin, LDB’s chief operating officer and director of policy said in a statement.

The bipartisan bill was introduced by Representatives Peter Roskam (R-IL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Doug Collins (R-GA) in the US House of Representatives, and Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Bob Casey (D-PA) in the US Senate. A similar bill was unanimously approved by the US Senate in 2016.

According to the FBI’s Hate Crime Report, Jewish hate crime victims outnumber victims of all other religious groups combined. And the problem is most serious in US schools. A Brandeis Center/Trinity College study found that 54% of Jewish college students reported experiencing or witnessing anti-Semitism in 2014. And a February ADL report found that anti-Semitic incidents in K-12 schools and on college campuses nearly doubled between 2016 and 2017.

In addition, a US Department of Education report, released just last month, which at the urging of the Brandeis Center, for the first time, included statistics on religiously-motivated bullying and harassment in K-12 schools, found an alarming 10,848 incidents based on religion in 2015-2016. Recent incidents motivated by anti-Semitism include: a Jewish boy in Florida who was pinned down while a swastika and a fake concentration camp number were drawn on his arm; in New York, a Jewish boy who was verbally harassed and had hot wax poured on his skin; and in Florida, two Jewish students who were followed by two suspects shouting, “[Expletive] the Jews” and then punched in the face.

Until a dozen years ago, the Department of Education declined jurisdiction in cases involving claims of anti-Semitism since statues only covered such traits as race, color, national origin, sex, age and disability. In 2004, then head of the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and now president of LDB, Kenneth L. Marcus, drafted a policy ensuring that Jewish, Sikh and Muslim students were protected from ethnic and ancestral discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, unlike in policies under which federal authorities investigate civil rights claims such as sexual harassment, this policy did not include a definition of anti-Semitism, leaving authorities ill-equipped to properly recognize anti-Semitism.

The Brandeis Center has been advocating for many years to have Congress address this obstacle, and the legislation, introduced late yesterday, aims to do just that. It provides federal authorizes with a clear and uniform definition to recognize anti-Jewish bigotry. The definition included in the bill is the global “gold standard” used to define anti-Semitism, and is used by the US federal government to assess incidents that occur abroad. It is substantially similar to the definition that has been supported by the 31 governments that are members of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; all 50 countries, except for Russia, that make up the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; and the governments of the United Kingdom, Romania, Austria, Germany and Bulgaria. It has also been adopted by the United Kingdom to use in colleges and universities.

Contrary to misunderstandings about the bill, the legislation does nothing to infringe on First Amendment rights. The bill will not regulate or restrict free speech or academic freedom by any means. It simply provides federal authorities with a definition of anti-Semitism to be used to investigate behaviors that are not protected by the First Amendment, including assault, battery and vandalism.

The Brandeis Center helped pass a similar law recently in South Carolina, and is working with other states to pass legislation to combat rising anti-Semitism in US schools.

The bill is also supported by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Simon Wiesenthal Center and the American Jewish Committee (AJC.)

William Jacobson
Legal Insurrection

Kenneth Marcus is the nominee to lead the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education.

Marcus is uniquely qualified for the position, we wrote when he was nominated in October 2017:

Marcus is extraordinarily qualified for the job, and is an excellent pick for leading the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

He’s got considerable experience on the issues at stake for the OCR, having previously been the staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for four years during the George W. Bush administration and, prior to that post, serving as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights at the DoE.

In terms of the fight against the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement and rising antisemitism on American colleges and universities, Marcus has been a leading voice for years (he’s argued that some efforts to boycott Israel’s academia are “illegal”, antithetical to the “mission and values of academia” and “really thinly veiled anti-Semitism” because only Israel is “singled out for boycott”).

He currently serves as the director of the initiative on antisemitism at the Institute for Jewish Community Research in San Francisco, and was the Lillie and Nathan Ackerman Chair in Equality and Justice in America at the City of New York’s Baruch College (School of Public Affairs).

He’s also written extensively on the topic of antisemitism.

Despite his stellar credentials, Marcus was the target of a vicious smear campaign by a coalition of anti-Israel groups, joined by fellow travelers from progressive “civil rights” groups. We documented this attempt to stop the nomination in our December 2017 post, Action Alert: Anti-Israel Lobby intensifies campaign against nomination of anti-Semitism scholar Ken Marcus:

After Trump announced Marcus’ appointment on October 26th, virulently anti-Israel organizations and activists, including Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), If Not Now, Palestine Legal, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), the U.S. Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI), and the Arab American Institute, mobilized against Marcus.

Initially, they focused on falsely accusing Marcus of suppressing the criticism of Israel on campus and warning that, if confirmed, he would continue to repress college students from organizing for Palestinian rights…

That is, before the December 5th Senate HELP committee hearing, the smear campaign against Marcus was almost entirely centered on delegitimizing him as an “anti-Palestinian crusader”—someone who opposes Palestinian rights because he allegedly “bullies students and faculty who advocate for Palestinian rights”, “undermines pro-Palestinian activism on campus”, tries to get “student activists disciplined” and works to “defund” university Middle East Studies program.

Multiple statements, Action Alerts, petitions, videos, and editorials (see, for example, here and here) were written and produced during this time centering on the free speech of Palestinian student activists and the ways in which Marcus would supposedly trample on it….

In recent weeks, this ugly smear campaign has expanded from just opposing Marcus on account of his position on BDS and antisemitism—the central messaging before the December 5th confirmation hearing—to an effort over the last several weeks aimed at destroying his civil rights record in general.

Basically, his application of civil rights protections for other minority groups is now coming under attack.

Code Pink’s Ariel Gold, a viciously anti-Israel activist who disrupted prayers at the Western Walland snuck a Palestinian activist who embraces using children to confront soldiers into a third-grade classroom, is among the leaders of the campaign against Marcus:

.@NationalSJP in the Senate hearing of anti-Palestinian rights crusader Kenneth Marcus to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education pic.twitter.com/uMrdFmU1n7

— Ariel Gold (@ArielElyseGold) December 5, 2017

By tracking the social media of JVP, Palestine Legal, and USCPR, for example, you can literally see how the messaging shifted after the Senate hearing earlier this month, during which Marcus’ opposition to the Israeli boycott didn’t come up at all in the questioning.

That’s probably the main reason that the attacks against Marcus are now addressing a wider range of civil rights issues that are of interest to the HELP Committee.

Because Marcus, and dozens of other Trump nominees, did not receive a vote by year end 2017, and Democrats refused the courtesy of rolling over the nominations, Marcus had to be renominated in early January.

Marcus eventually was voted out of the HELP Committee in mid-January 2018, on a strict party-line vote:

Marcus was voted out of Committee on a straight party line vote, 12-11. All Republicans voted in favor, all Democrats against.

Republicans

Chairman Lamar Alexander(Republican – TN)
Michael B. Enzi (Republican – WY)
Richard Burr (Republican – NC)
Johnny Isakson(Republican – GA)
Rand Paul(Republican – KY)
Susan Collins(Republican – ME)
Bill Cassidy, M.D. (Republican – LA)
Todd Young (Republican – IN)
Orrin Hatch (Republican – UT)
Pat Roberts (Republican – KS)
Lisa Murkowski (Republican – AK)
Tim Scott (Republican – SC)

Democrats

Ranking Member Patty Murray (Democratic – WA)
Bernie Sanders (Democratic – VT)
Robert P. Casey, Jr (Democratic – PA)
Michael F. Bennet (Democratic – CO)
Tammy Baldwin (Democratic – WI)
Christopher S. Murphy (Democratic – CT)
Elizabeth Warren (Democratic – MA)
Tim Kaine (Democrat – VA)
Maggie Hassan (Democrat – NH)
Tina Smith (Democrat – MN)
Doug Jones (Democrat – AL)

Despite clearing the committee in January, Marcus’s nomination languished awaiting a floor vote. In part it was Democrat opposition to him personally, in part general Democrat stall tactics against all Trump nominees.

Finally, Marcus has been cleared for a floor vote, by a May 23 unanimous consent agreement, with debate and vote to be determined.