June 10, 2018 LDB Welcomes New Law Clerks and Interns The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is proud to announce its new summer law clerks and interns for 2018: Emma Enig, Hannah Stanhill, and Julian Yigal Krtiz. Blog
June 8, 2018 King’s College London Adopts International Definition of Anti-Semitism King’s College London unanimously adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, becoming one of the first British universities to do so. The decision follows a number of instances of harassment of Jewish students at the university. Anti-Semitism Blog
June 7, 2018 Anti-Semitic Cartoon to be Removed from Textbooks in Belgium An overtly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comic featured in Belgian geography textbooks, to which the International Legal Forum first brought attention to, will now be removed from subsequent editions of the textbook. Anti-Semitism Blog
June 6, 2018 German Intelligence Agency Classifies BDS as Anti-Semitism The German domestic intelligence agency, the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, has recently labeled the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement as anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 6, 2018 Trial Date Set for Lawfare Project Anti-Semitism Lawsuit Against SFSU A trial date of March 4, 2019 has been set for a lawsuit brought against San Francisco State University (SFSU) by two Jewish students. This lawsuit, which was originally filed in June of last year and re-filed on January 30, 2018, alleges that SFSU was complicit in the “intentional and discriminatory exclusion of Hillel and its members from the ‘Know Your Rights’ fair.” Blog Litigation
June 1, 2018 American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists Speaker Series with Richard D. Heideman Our colleagues at the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (AAJLJ) are hosting Richard D. Heideman, Senior Counsel of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C., on June 11th as part of their speakers’ series. Blog
June 1, 2018 Rachel Lerman Explains the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act in Newsweek The Louis D. Brandeis Center’s Vice President, L. Rachel Lerman, Esq., published an op-ed yesterday in Newsweek, supporting the newly introduced Anti-Semitism Awareness Act. Anti-Semitism Blog
May 31, 2018 LDB’s UCLA Student Leaders and Attorneys Urge Action Following Aggressive Event Disruption On Friday, May 25, student leaders of UCLA School of Law’s chapter of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) and attorneys at LDB authored a letter sent to UCLA Chancellor Block urging action in response to a recent event disruption on UCLA’s campus. The letter highlights how the recent disruption of a Students Supporting Israel (SSI) event not only violated UCLA Student Code of Conduct policies, but also potentially violated the California Penal Code as well as federal law. Anti-Semitism Blog
May 30, 2018 Louisiana Governor Signs Anti-BDS Executive Order The State of Louisiana has become the 25th state to prohibit ties with the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement. On Tuesday, May 22nd, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed an anti-BDS executive order, stating that Louisiana does not and will not support any boycott of Israel. Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
May 25, 2018 The Police and the Holocaust The Louis D. Brandeis Center is happy to bring your attention to this event by our colleagues at USHMM. This event, “The Police and The Holocaust: The Role of Police Forces in the Genocide of Jews and Roma,” will take place on May 30th and May 31st in Guatemala City, Guatemala. More details can be found below. Blog
May 24, 2018 Landmark Anti-Semitism Awareness Act Introduced in House of Representatives The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act was introduced in both the House of Representatives and Senate. It would provide for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to use the same, widely-adopted definition of anti-Semitism used by the U.S. Department of State. Anti-Semitism Blog
May 14, 2018 Honoring the Memory of Stephanie Plotkin Stephanie Plotkin passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. Stephanie was a staunch advocate for the rights of Jewish and pro-Israel students. In 2015, Stephanie, who was an English-Secondary Education major at Grand Valley State University, was required to take a certain English course for her degree. In this class, she frequently encountered anti-Israel indoctrination, which she chronicled for the Truth Revolt. Anti-Zionism Blog
May 14, 2018 FutureLearn and Yad Vashem’s Online Anti-Semitism Course: Preview of Weeks 5 and 6 The final two weeks of FutureLearn and Yad Vashem’s online course investigating anti-Semitism are now available to the public. Weeks 1 and 2 investigated the definitions and origins of anti-Semitism in both antiquity and the modern era. Weeks 3 and 4 continued this trend by exploring the Holocaust, as well as more contemporary manifestations of anti-Semitism. Over the final two weeks, the course concludes with a discussion of anti-Semitism in the Arab World, as well as what the future may hold for addressing anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism Blog
May 14, 2018 University of Arkansas Student Government Passes Anti-BDS Resolution On April 10, the Associated Student Government Senate at the University of Arkansas passed ASG Senate Resolution No. 19, “A Resolution to Reaffirm Support for Jewish and Israeli Students at the University of Arkansas.” This resolution, which was drafted in “support of Jewish and Israeli students” on campus, accurately labels the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel) movement as anti-Semitic and “promotes the inclusion of Jewish and Israeli students and their beliefs and values on campus.” Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
May 11, 2018 U.S. Education Department Seeks Peer Reviewers for Title VI Programs The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) recently announced they were seeking specialists to serve as peer reviewers for their 2018 Title VI–Office of International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) grant competitions. Anti-Zionism Blog
May 5, 2018 Congressional Taskforce Releases Statement on European Anti-Semitism The Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism released a statement in response to the newly-released data from the Kantor Center’s recent report on the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe. The Kantor Center’s report concluded that anti-Semitic incidents had risen in the U.S. by 57% between 2016 and 2017. Anti-Semitism Blog
April 25, 2018 Barnard Students Pass BDS, Administration Rejects It The Student Government Association of Barnard College passed a referendum to divest from Israel. The referendum has now, officially, been rejected by Barnard’s administration. Anti-Zionism Blog
April 23, 2018 D.C. City Councilman Leaves Holocaust Museum Tour Early, Endorses Nation of Islam Trayon White, the Washington D.C. City Council member who recently invoked multiple anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, is back in the news this week after leaving a tour of the U.S. Holocaust Museum early and for donating to noted anti-Semite Louis Farrkhan. Anti-Semitism Blog
April 23, 2018 Kantor Center Reports Spike in U.S. Anti-Semitism This past week, the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry released its 2017 “Antisemitism Worldwide” analysis, which noted a dramatic upswing in anti-Semitism within the United States. The Kantor Center is currently led by Dina Porat, a member of the Louis D. Brandeis Center’s Academic Advisory Board. Anti-Semitism Blog
April 19, 2018 Santa Barbara Student Senate Condemns Anti-Semitism On April 11, the Associate Students Senate at University of California—Santa Barbara (UCSB) unanimously passed a resolution condemning both anti-Semitism and hate speech. This news coming out of UCSB, which has also been the site of numerous failed BDS resolutions, is another positive step in the ongoing battle against campus anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism Blog
April 18, 2018 Death of Mel Gordon On April 5, 2018, The New York Times printed the obituary of Professor Mel Gordon, a University of California Berkeley theater professor. However, the obituary does not mention Professor Gordon’s significance in helping to protect the rights of students on campus who have brought Title VI claims against the University. Anti-Semitism Blog