Appreciation to Pitzer College President Melvin Oliver

The Louis D. Brandeis Center was pleased to sign on to the following letter, signed by over 100 organizations and organized by the AMCHA Initiative, commending Pitzer College President Melvin Oliver for his strong stance against an attempted academic boycott of Israel on Pitzer’s campus. The boycott, which sought to suspend Pitzer College’s study abroad program in Haifa, was approved by the Pitzer College Council before President Oliver refused to give his required approval. President Oliver stated that resolutions like the one proposed on Pitzer’s campus “curtail the academic freedom of those students who wish to study [in Israel]. Among Pitzer’s core values is the promotion of intercultural understanding.” President Oliver went on to state that study abroad programs in Israel provide Pitzer’s students with the opportunity to “reach their own conclusions about some of the world’s most vexing challenges through on-the-ground, face-to-face, people-to-people experience.”

The entire text of the letter can be found below.


Dear President Oliver,


Our organizations heartily applaud you for your courageous leadership in vetoing the College Council’s vote to shut down Pitzer’s study abroad program at the University of Haifa. Your staunch defense of the academic freedom and educational opportunities of Pitzer students and faculty in the face of an academic boycott of Israel is exemplary. We hope that your outstanding statement affirming Pitzer’s commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and the fostering of intercultural understanding and acknowledging that academic BDS undermines that commitment will serve as a model for university presidents across the country.

Thank you again for your strong moral leadership,

 
Academic Council for Israel
Academic Engagement Network
Aggies for Israel
Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity (AEPi)
Alums for Campus Fairness – National
Alums for Campus Fairness – UC Davis
Alums for Campus Fairness – UCLA
Alums for Campus Fairness – University of Michigan
AMCHA Initiative
America Israel Cooperative Enterprise
American Council of Trustees and Alumni
American Institute for Jewish Research
American Jewish Congress
American Society of the University of Haifa
American Truth Project
American Values
American Zionist Movement
Americans Fighting Antisemitism
Americans for a Safe Israel
Americans for Peace and Tolerance
B’nai B’rith International
BEAR: Bias Education, Advocacy & Resources
Binghamton University Zionist Organization (BUZO)
Bobcats for Israel at Ohio University
Boston Israel Action Committee
Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law
Bulldogs for Israel (Brooklyn College)
California Association of Scholars
Campus Anti-Semitism Task Force of the North Shore
Christians and Jews United for Israel
Club Z
Coalition for Jewish Values
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA)
Creative Community for Peace
CUFI on Campus
Dartmouth Students for Israel
Davis Faculty for Israel
Eagles Wings
Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET)
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)
Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors
Hasbara Fellowships
Hillel of Silicon Valley
Hillels of Northern Nevada
Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel
Iranian American Jewish Federation
Iranian Jewish Women’s Organization
Israel in NYC
Israel Matters
Israel on Campus Coalition
Israeli-American Civic Action Network
Israeli-American Civic Education Institute
Ithaca Area United Jewish Community
JAM
Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana
Jewish War Veterans of the USA
Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA)
Mercaz USA
Merrick-Bellmore Jewish Community Council
Middle East Forum
Middle East Political and Information Network (MEPIN)
National Conference on Jewish Affairs
National Council of Young Israel
Nazareth College Hillel
NCSY
NH4Israel
North Carolina Coalition for Israel
North Carolina Hillel
Northeastern Hillel
Proclaiming Justice to the Nations   
Rabbinical Alliance of America
Rhode Island Coalition for Israel
Russian Jewish Community Foundation
Santa Barbara Hillel
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Simon Wiesenthal Center  
Slugs for Israel (University of California Santa Cruz)
StandWithUs
StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department
Stop BDS on Campus
Students and Parents Against Campus Anti-Semitism
Students Supporting Israel at City College of New York
Students Supporting Israel at Columbia
Students Supporting Israel at Drake University
Students Supporting Israel at San Jose State University
Students Supporting Israel at UCLA
Students Supporting Israel at University of Minnesota
Students Supporting Israel at Wake Forest University
Students Supporting Israel National
Swarthmore Alums Against Antisemitism on Campus
Swarthmore Students for Israel
The Hillels of Israel
The Israel Christian Nexus
The Israel Group
The Israel Project
The Lawfare Project
Tufts Friends of Israel
University of New Mexico Hillel
WoMen Fight Antisemitism
World Jewish Congress, American Section
Young Jewish Conservatives
Zionist Organization of America
ZOA’s Fuel for Truth