Kenneth L. Marcus Explains How to Use the Law to Counter Anti-Semitism

American Jewish University President Dr. Jeffrey Herbst invited Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus to join him in a conversation on August 1, 2024, about anti-Semitism on college campuses. On the AJU webinar “Using Law to Fight Antisemitism,” Marcus explained that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the single most important tool to combat anti-Semitism, since its scope was clarified (by him during the George W. Bush administration) to include the Jewish people. He explained that Title VI incentivizes best practices from universities at a time when “few institutions were doing all of the right things.” This information comes critically at a time when Jewish have been excluded, for example, from a sexual assault survivor club for demonstrating their support for Israel, as evidenced in the Brandeis Center’s SUNY New Paltz case and alluded to by Marcus. 

“You would expect these institutions, today, of all times, to be ready for a problem like this,” Chairman Marcus shared. He explained how university Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs have received significantly-increased funding following the murder of George Floyd, but Jewish students have received, at best, mixed treatment from DEI offices: “They don’t say ‘Jews have faced a history of persecution,'” Marcus continued. “They say ‘Jews are white’.” Marcus uses this framework to convey that DEI is often part of the problem when dealing with campus anti-Semitism, rather than the solution. If there is one thing a college campus can do to address anti-Semitism, Marcus suggests that schools adopt the IHRA definition, the only internationally-agreed upon definition of anti-Semitism. Watch Chairman Marcus and Dr. Herbst’s fascinating conversation below. Watch the full webinar below:

Authored by: Jonah Feuerstein