June 21, 2017 LDB Urges Further Action from UW Madison Today, the Brandeis Center wrote to University of Wisconsin – Madison (“UW”) Chancellor Rebecca Blank, applauding her administration for castigating the Associated Students of Madison’s controversial April 26, 2017 Student Council (“ASM”) divestment measure, and urging further action from her administration. Blog
June 21, 2017 Jewish Students Sue San Francisco State University On June 19, 2017, The Lawfare Project and Winston & Strawn LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of six students and several members of the Bay Area Jewish community against San Francisco State University (“SFSU”). The complaint alleges that the university has fostered a climate of anti-Semitism on campus, violating the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights to free […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
June 21, 2017 SCOTUS Decision Could Impact Freedom of Speech Debate on Campus On June 19, the Supreme Court decided in Matal v. Tam that the government cannot refuse to trademark potentially derogatory or offensive names, a decision that will likely impact the national debate about hate speech and the First Amendment for decades. This ruling means that though hate speech remains constitutionally protected as a general matter, […] Litigation
June 20, 2017 Kansas Governor Signs Anti-BDS Bill into Law On Friday, June 16, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed an anti-BDS bill barring state agencies from entering into contracts with individuals or companies that boycott Israel. The bill, HB 2409, first passed the Kansas Senate on Wednesday, June 7 in a 39 to 3 vote before passing the state’s House hours later by a vote of […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 19, 2017 Victory Over BDS at Pitzer Today, the Pitzer College Trustees announced that they had rescinded the recent BDS amendment passed by the Pitzer Student Senate. The initial amendment was made to the Student Senate’s Budget Committee Bylaws. The changes, introduced in April, included a new paragraph (Paragraph IV) within Article III (student Activities Funds) which prohibited the use of Student […] Anti-Zionism Blog
June 19, 2017 Congratulations to Aviva Vogelstein The Louis D. Brandeis Center would like to congratulate its Director of Legal Initiatives, Aviva Vogelstein, on receiving the Daniel Siegel Memorial Alumni Award from her former high school last Sunday. The award is given out every year by the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School Alumni Association to an alum who maintains a connection to […] Anti-Semitism Blog
June 16, 2017 Modern Language Association Overwhelmingly Passes Anti-BDS Motion On June 14, 2017, the Modern Language Association (MLA) announced that a resolution against BDS had been ratified by their members, passing by a wide margin of 1,954 votes in favor to 885 against. Resolution 2017-1 states: “Whereas endorsing the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel contradicts the MLA’s purpose to […] Anti-Zionism Blog
June 14, 2017 50 Groups Urge Immediate Response to SJP Disruption in Framework of Principles Against Intolerance The Louis D. Brandeis Center joined the AMCHA Initiative and nearly 50 other groups in urging an immediate response from UC Irvine over a recent hostile incident in the letter below. LDB had already written to Chancellor Gilman on this matter immediately after the incident had occurred. Having a mission to address anti-Semitism in higher […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 12, 2017 UN Ambassador Addresses Anti-Israel Bias The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted countless resolutions against Israel throughout its history, and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has been very vocal about this biased trend. On June 6, Ambassador Haley addressed the Council, calling on it to end its one-sided, anti-Israel behavior as part of her remarks at the […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
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June 7, 2017 Nevada Passes Anti-BDS Legislation On May 24, 2017, Nevada’s House unanimously passed an anti-BDS bill that outlaws government entities from contracting with or investing in companies that boycott Israel. Last month, the Senate approved this bill in a 19-2 vote and, now, it is being sent to Gov. Brian Sandoval, who is expected to sign it into law. Gov. […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 7, 2017 Kansas Senate Passes Anti-BDS Legislation This past Saturday, Kansas State Senate passed a bill that will prevent the state from contracting businesses that engage in discrimination either against Israel or entities doing business in Israel. Kansas’ House previously passed the bill in a 116-9 vote in April and the State Senate approved it in a vote of 28-9. Due to the […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 2, 2017 European Parliament Adopts IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism On June 1st, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on European Union member states and European Union institutions to adopt and apply the working definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The text of the resolution further urges EU member states to “protect their Jewish citizens and Jewish institutions from […] Anti-Semitism Blog
May 31, 2017 Romania Adopts Anti-Semitism Definition On May 26th, Romania pledged to apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism. The official statement from the Romanian governments asserts that “…Romanian society will be provided with an efficient guide that will contribute toward better understanding and definition of anti-Semitic actions as well as of the consequences deriving therefrom.” In […] Anti-Semitism Blog
May 22, 2017 JCA Call to Papers The Journal of Contemporary Anti-Semitism (JCA) has issued a Call for Papers for their upcoming Special Issue “Postcolonialism and Anti-Semtism” of the JCA, Vol. 1, No.2 (Spring 2018). Papers are to be submitted by July 31, 2017. The Journal of Contemporary Anti-Semitism is exclusively dedicated to the analysis of anti-Semitism and aims to cover all […] Blog
May 22, 2017 The Combating European Anti-Semitism Act of 2017 Advances Earlier this month, H.R. 672 was received in the U. S. Senate after passing the House of Representatives unanimously. H.R. 672, the “Combating European Anti-Semitism Act of 2017,” is a bill which “expresses the sense of Congress that it is in the U.S. national interest to combat anti-Semitism at home and abroad.” Originally introduced by […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
May 22, 2017 University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Student Judiciary Rules Against Discrimination Earlier this month, the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s (“UW”) Student Judiciary stood up for the rights of Jewish students on campus. The Student Judiciary ruled in favor of five students (the “Petitioners”) who filed a complaint against the Chair and Vice Chair of the Associated Students of Madison (“ASM”) Student Council, for violating the Constitutional rights of […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
May 22, 2017 Opportunities in Education The Brandeis Center is happy to report on upcoming opportunities to aid in widening the breadth of scholarship and educational material related to anti-Semitism. A unique opportunity in this regard was recently issued by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). This opportunity […] Anti-Semitism Blog
May 15, 2017 Texas Governor Abbott Signs Anti-BDS Bill On Israel’s Independence Day (“Yom Ha’atzmut”), Texas governor Greg Abbott signed an anti-boycott Israel bill into law. The bill stands against the discriminatory BDS movement and bans state entities from engaging in business with organizations and companies that participate in BDS. In regards to the passage of this measure, Charles Kaufman, chair of B’nai B’right’s International […] Blog
May 15, 2017 Victory at UCSB On May 11th, the BDS movement suffered a major defeat at the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) when a resolution to divest from Israel met with zero votes in favor. The tally on May 11th ended with 0 in favor, 15 against, and seven abstentions from the vote. This was the fourth attempt at passing […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
April 25, 2017 President Trump Remembers Victims of the Holocaust On April 24th, President Donald J. Trump released a statement asking the American people to join him in observing the Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust, starting April 23rd and lasting through April 30th. Sunset of April 23rd marked the beginning of Yom HaShoah in Israel. Yom HaShoah is Israel’s official day of […] Anti-Semitism Blog