University of California at Davis (source: Wikimedia Commons) When three Jewish students tried to speak at a November 2012 protest against Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense on the University of California, Davis campus, they were silenced with shouts of “Leave our space!” “Shame on you!” and “Long live the intifada!” The harassment only got worse. The protesters then started chanting “F**k Israel” and gave the Jewish students a choice – join the chant, or be removed from the building. When they refused to leave, the three students were forcibly backed against a wall of windows while the protestors pounded their fists in the air, and made threatening physical gestures. The school officials nearby did nothing to try and control the situation. There was a clear pattern of troubling behavior – these bitter clashes took place shortly after an unrelated outdoor demonstration held on campus turned into a rally against Israel. UC Davis had quickly become a hostile environment for Jewish students. In addition to fostering a malicious campus culture, by allowing this threatening campus life to continue, the school threatened its federal funding: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits the use of federal funding for public programs – including public universities – found to discriminate based on race, color or natural origin. The Brandeis Center quickly brought the escalation of anti-Semitic incidents on the UC Davis campus to the attention of the school’s chancellor and legal counsel. During several visits with them, we laid out a strong plan to help prevent harassment during potentially controversial protests, including those related to Israel. The school’s leaders implemented several of our ideas for reform. Among the key improvements adopted are the school’s commitment to have a least one administrator present at anti-Israel protests to monitor and intervene if necessary; and the establishment of a “neutral observer program” to train members of the campus community to approach school events from an academic, rather than political or moral perspective. Ensuring at least one “neutral observer” at on-campus gatherings will facilitate impartial review of each event. The university also agreed that it would give better information to protesters on what behaviors are acceptable and what behaviors will not be tolerated. UC Davis now is in the process of implementing programs to prevent further anti-Semitic behavior on campus. We continue to monitor the situation and to communicate with university officials as they work to prevent a recurrence of such situations in the future.