Dear Friends: In this Hanukkah season, I am particularly grateful for those modern-day Maccabees who are fighting against those who would destroy us. This includes my colleagues within the Louis D. Brandeis Center who are working every day to protect Jewish Americans, on college campuses and elsewhere, from the troubling rise in Jew-hatred. Over the last two years, I had the honor of serving the American people as the Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education for Civil Rights. People ask me why I left the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which I headed for over two years, before the end of the current presidential term. It is partly because I had accomplished what I set out to do: important progress for Jewish and non-Jewish students alike. But it is also because there is so much that needs to be done that I can only accomplish at the Louis D. Brandeis Center. The Center continues, stronger than ever, to fight anti-Semitism through law and public policy. This includes important battles, like our case at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), which OCR recently agreed to investigate. I am pleased that UIUC has already agreed, in a joint statement with us and allied groups, to take necessary first steps. More work is needed. And we have others in the pipeline. But this is a step forward. It also includes supporting young Maccabees like our client Rose Ritch at the University of Southern California. The Algemeiner recently named this courageous student to the “J100” list of the 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life. We forcefully defended her against a bigoted attempt, in the words of an anti-Semitic campaign, to “impeach her Zionist a**.” We will stand up for any student who faces discrimination as a Jew. It also includes numerous other cases where we are representing students, investigating claims, or counseling university leaders. More than ever before, universities are approaching the Brandeis Center for objective legal and policy advice, especially about implementing the Executive Order on Combating Anti-Semitism. We are pleased that conscientious administrators want to protect the civil rights of Jewish and non-Jewish students, and we are delighted to help. It means training students who want to join the fight, especially law students who will use their new skills to fight for justice. This includes our exciting JIGSAW Fellowship program, as well as our chapters at major law schools around the country. This has included stimulating programming, like tomorrow’s forum on Combatting Global Anti-Semitism with U.S. Special Envoy Elan Carr (register here). It has also involved intensive training on advocacy to fight campus anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Every day, I am more energized by the important work that is being done by my Brandeis Center colleagues and by our students around this country. Every day, our impact grows as the administrators and students with whom we engage learn to recognize and respond more effectively to anti-Semitic incidents on campus. As the challenges continue to mount around the country, our Brandeis Center team is uniquely positioned to combat the unlawful harassment and discrimination faced by many students on campus today. Without your financial support, however, our work would not possible. So as we celebrate the victory of the Maccabees of old, please help us ensure the victory of the Maccabees of today. Your donations (which can be made here or at the link below) are deeply appreciated as we work to meet this challenge. Sincerely, Kenneth L. Marcus Founder and Chairman