September 23, 2018 Kuwait Airways Forced to Pay Damages to Israeli Citizen After Refusing Her Ticket Advocacy group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has successfully forced Kuwait Airways to “pay substantial damages plus costs to an Israeli National who was refused a ticket on a Kuwait Airways flight from London to Bangkok on the grounds of her nationality.” Blog
September 23, 2018 Norwegian Paper Publishes Blatantly Anti-Semitic Cartoon On August 7th, a Norwegian newspaper, Dagbladet, published an extremely anti-Semitic cartoon, prompting Israel’s ambassador to Norway to demand the removal of the image and apologize. The cartoon depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose body is in the shape of a swastika, punching a Druze Israeli off of a “whites only” bench. Anti-Semitism Blog
September 23, 2018 US Announces Plan to Defund UNRWA On Friday, August 31st the State Department announced its plan to completely defund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, better known as UNRWA. The US decision is part of a larger protest against the agency, which has been blamed repeatedly for perpetuating the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Former Israeli Ambassador to the […] Blog
August 22, 2018 British Labour Party Faces Backlash Over Definition of Anti-Semitism The British Labour Party has encountered a storm of criticism following its decision to adopt a diluted definition of anti-Semitism. The definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the Labour Party is based upon the IHRA definition, but omits references to Israel. Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
August 14, 2018 Senate Introduces Bipartisan Bill Banning Use of Human Shields On July 24, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bipartisan bill that would sanction those engaging in and supporting the use of “human shields,” which refers to the placing of non-combatants around combatants to deter enemy attack, therefore putting countless civilian lives at risk. This despicable act has been utilized by a number of terror groups against the United States and Israel, with some of the most violent offenders including Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram, and the Islamic State. The bill, known as the ‘STOP Using Human Shields Act,’ enjoys support from those on both sides of the aisle. Anti-Zionism Blog
August 8, 2018 Call for Papers: Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism The following Call for Papers on the changing manifestations of antisemitism, recently received by the Louis D. Brandeis Center, may be of interest to some of our readers: Academic Studies Press (ASP) is currently inviting submissions for the next issue of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism, which is due for publication in Spring 2019. Anti-Semitism Blog
August 8, 2018 Stanford University Student Steps Down As RA After Criticism Generated By Anti-Semitic Post On August 1, the Brandeis Center’s President Alyza Lewin and Director of Legal Initiatives Aviva Vogelstein sent a letter to Stanford University President, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, urging him to address a threatening, anti-Semitic Facebook post by a current Stanford student who is scheduled to be a Resident Assistant (RA) this upcoming year. Anti-Semitism Blog
August 6, 2018 Department of Justice Hosts Religious Liberty Summit On July 30th, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) hosted a religious liberty summit, “Religious Liberty: Our First Freedom and Why it Matters.” Blog
July 26, 2018 Austrian Freedom Party Proposes Jewish Registries for Kosher Food The far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) proposed a plan that would require Jews to add their name to a government registry in order to be allowed to purchase kosher meat. The same rules would apply to Muslims who intend to purchase halal meat. Anti-Semitism Blog
July 26, 2018 Congress Introduces Bill Banning Boycotts of Countries Friendly to U.S. On June 13, a bill banning the boycotting of countries friendly to the United States was introduced in the House of Representatives. The Export Administration Anti-Discrimination Act (EAADA), or H.R. 6095, was introduced by Ron Desantis (FL-06) and co-sponsored with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA-06). Anti-Zionism Blog
July 26, 2018 Israel Passes Jewish Nation-State Law On Thursday, July 19th, the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, passed a law declaring Israel to be a Jewish nation-state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition praised the move as “historic”, but it has also garnered significant controversy. Blog
July 26, 2018 Congress Introduces Bill to Review Palestinian Educational Material In June, members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill to review Palestinian textbooks. The bipartisan bill, known as the Palestinian Authority Educational Curriculum Transparency Act, was introduced by Rep. David Young (R-Iowa), and co-sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). Blog
July 19, 2018 UK Government Investigation Allows Allegation that Top Accounting Firm Ignored Palestinian Authority Terrorist Payments to Proceed A United Kingdom (UK) government investigation has allowed a complaint to proceed that alleges top accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) ignored payments to terrorists when it audited the Palestinian Authority (PA). Major donors, like the United States, United Kingdom, and World Bank, rely on such audits to ensure millions of taxpayer dollars are not diverted […] Blog
July 19, 2018 Labour Anti-Semitism Affecting Jewish Students in the United Kingdom Jewish students in the United Kingdom are blaming the British Labour Party’s recent spate of anti-Semitic statements and actions on the rise in campus anti-Jewish discrimination in the England. Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 19, 2018 South Carolina Governor Signs Anti-Semitism Definition Bill Into Law On July 6th, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed an anti-Semitism definition bill into law, making South Carolina the first state to do so. Anti-Semitism Blog
June 28, 2018 German Bank Draws Criticism for Enabling BDS A new report, published by Action Forum Israel (Aktionsforum Israel) in Germany, questions the German Bank for Social Economy (BfS)’s decision to give a bank account to Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East, which Action Forum Israel maintains is affiliated with the international BDS movement. Anti-Zionism Blog
June 19, 2018 Call for Papers: The Future of Holocaust Testimonies The following Call for Papers on Holocaust testimonies, recently received by the Louis D. Brandeis Center, may be of interest to some of our readers: The Holocaust Studies Program of Western Galilee College, the USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research, University of Southern California, and the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies, […] Anti-Semitism Blog
June 18, 2018 Letter to President of Florida State University Last week, the Brandeis Center’s Director of Legal Initiatives Aviva Vogelstein sent a letter to Florida State University (FSU) President John Thrasher, urging his administration to address numerous hateful social media postings by FSU students, targeting those who are Jewish, Israeli, or simply pro-Israel. These students, who were affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 14, 2018 University of Oregon Students Pass BDS Resolution Despite Wide Opposition After several BDS fails this semester on campuses like the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Texas A&M University, and the University of Arkansas, the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) Senate passed a BDS resolution on Wednesday, May 23rd. Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 13, 2018 Mourning the Loss of Professor Robert Fine (1945-2018) The Brandeis Center mourns the loss of Professor Robert Fine, who passed away just a few days ago. A Professor Emeritus at Warwick University and leading scholar on the history of social and political thought, Professor Fine’s scholarship frequently forced critical thinkers to re-examine their assumptions and ideas as they confronted new philosophies. Blog
June 11, 2018 Columbia Professor Provokes Controversy with Anti-Semitic Statements Professor Hamid Dabashi, a tenured professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, recently posted anti-Semitic statements on his public Facebook page. These egregious statements prompted Columbia faculty, alumni, and students to send a letter to the university urging it to take action. Anti-Semitism Blog