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. Blog Anti-Zionism
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. Blog Anti-Semitism
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. Blog Anti-Semitism
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. Blog Anti-Semitism
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. Blog Anti-Semitism
April 17, 2018 Jewish Employee at Anne Frank House Banned from Wearing Kippa The Anne Frank House has come under fire for preventing a Jewish employee from wearing his Kippa. Blog Anti-Semitism
April 16, 2018 FutureLearn and Yad Vashem’s Online Anti-Semitism Course: Preview of Weeks 3 and 4 FutureLearn and Yad Vashem’s latest collaboration is well under way as their “Anti-Semitism: From Its Origins to the Present” entered its fourth week. Several weeks ago, the Brandeis Center provided a brief overview of the first two week’s material. This post will serve a similar function, detailing some of the material covered in weeks 3 and 4 of the course. Blog Anti-Semitism
April 10, 2018 Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Signs anti-BDS Bill into Law On April 3, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed Assembly Bill 553 into law. This anti-discrimination measure, which makes Wisconsin the 25th state to enact anti-BDS legislation, prohibits any state agency or governmental unit from entering into a contract with those who boycott Israelis with the intent of inflicting harm on Israel. Blog Anti-Zionism
April 5, 2018 Third Michigan Campus Passes BDS Resolution This past week, students at the University of Michigan-Flint adopted an anti-Israel resolution making it the third Michigan campus to adopt a BDS (Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel) measure. Blog Anti-Zionism
March 29, 2018 FutureLearn and Yad Vashem’s Online Anti-Semitism Course: Preview of Weeks 1 and 2 The Brandeis Center would like to call attention to FutureLearn’s latest online course, “Antisemitism: From Its Origins to the Present.” The course is currently in its second week, and upon enrollment, students will gain access to the first two weeks of material. The following represents a brief overview of some of the topics discussed in these early weeks, as well as a general outline. Blog Anti-Semitism
March 23, 2018 Fighting Campus Anti-Semitism from Berkeley to Charlottesville Reposted with permission from the author, from VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY, Response to Clark Hall By Baruch Nutovic (President of the LDB Law Student Chapter at the University of Virginia School of Law; UVA Law ’19) Response to Clark Hall When I was a freshman at University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley), I came back to […] Blog Anti-Semitism
March 23, 2018 Arizona BDS Event Will Continue Despite Lawsuit Arizona State University recently announced that an on-campus event featuring American Muslims for Palestine founder Dr. Hatem Bazian will continue despite the ongoing lawsuit filed against the university pertaining to its anti-BDS requirements. Blog Litigation
March 23, 2018 Wisconsin State Legislature Passes Anti-BDS Bill On March 20, the Wisconsin State legislature passed Assembly Bill 553—an anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel) bill that prohibits any state agency or other body in state government or local governmental units from adopting a rule, ordinance, policy, or procedure that involves the agency or governmental unit in a boycott of Israel or a person doing business in Israel or Israeli territory. In addition, the bill requires contracts between the state and nongovernmental entities to include a provision affirming that signatories are not, and will not engage in a prohibited boycott. Blog Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism
March 21, 2018 Nazi SS March in Latvia An unchecked wave of anti-Semitic activity has been making its way across Europe in recent months, and troubling reports out of Eastern Europe suggest that Latvia has become a new harbor for this pernicious bias. Blog Anti-Semitism
March 20, 2018 Washington Councilman Invokes Multiple Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories D.C. City Council member Trayon White posted a video this past week claiming that Jewish financiers, in the form of the Rothschild family, have been the direct cause of the recent snowfalls in the United States capital. The same council member has previous stated that the Rothschild family is also in control of the United States federal government. Blog Anti-Semitism
March 19, 2018 Anti-Semitic Vandalism in the Netherlands Rises 40% In the past year, the frequency of recorded anti-Semitic vandalism incidents rose by 40 percent in the Netherlands. The 28 cases of vandalism, which were less than a quarter of the overall number of anti-Semitic incidents, mean the Netherlands has reached its highest level of anti-Semitic vandalism since 2007. Blog Anti-Semitism
March 15, 2018 The Continuing Fight Against BDS This week, students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) defeated a BDS measure by a margin of over 1,400 votes. Blog Anti-Zionism
March 4, 2018 Louis D. Brandeis Center Holds Fifth Annual Law Student Leadership Conference This February 25-26, the Louis D. Brandeis Center hosted its fifth annual National Law Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. Blog Law School Chapter Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism
February 28, 2018 Danish Petition to Ban Circumcision Gaining Support A Danish petition to ban non-medical circumcision has gathered over 20,000 signatures since it was introduced on February 1. Needing only 30,000 more signatures to force a vote in the Danish Parliament, this petition seems likely to reach that goal with ease. Blog
February 28, 2018 European Sociological Association Announces Conference on Racism, Anti-Semitism, and Nationalism The Louis D. Brandeis Center would like to bring attention to an exciting opportunity being offered by our colleagues at the European Sociological Association (ESA). The ESA Research Network 31 is looking for papers for its biannual conference, which is being held on September 5-6, 2018 at the University of Ferrara, Italy. Blog Anti-Semitism