August 25, 2016 Check Out Kenneth Marcus at the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival Kenneth L. Marcus, the President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law, will be discussing his book, The Definition of Anti-Semitism, at the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival this November 16th. The Definition of Anti-Semitism explores the various ways in which anti-Semitism has been defined and develops a new definition of […] Blog
August 5, 2016 Canadian Jewish Student Group Files Discrimination Complaint On August 3, Hasbara Fellowships Canada, a pro-Israel campus activism organization and the country’s largest grassroots campus advocacy organization, announced that a complaint had been filed with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal against both the Student Association and the Faculty Association of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and Durham College. Hasbara filed […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
August 4, 2016 Karega Not Teaching at Oberlin this Fall Today, Oberlin College announced that professor Joy Karega will not be teaching this Fall, a much-delayed decision following the revelation of a series of her highly anti-Semitic Facebook posts this past March. Karega’s posts (*which have since been deleted) included a series of conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic content, including blaming “Israel and Zionist Jews” for the […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
August 3, 2016 New Anti-Semitism Journal Seeks Papers The Journal of Contemporary European Antisemitism (JCEA) recently announced that it is seeking original research articles for its first issue. JCEA is the first journal of its kind, covering all forms of anti-Semitism found in today’s Europe. It will be published bi-annually, beginning spring 2017. LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus serves on the editorial board […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 29, 2016 Campus anti-Semitism Surges in 2016 2016 is unfolding as another unsettling year for Jewish students across U.S. college campuses. According to a report released this week by the AMCHA Initiative, anti-Semitic activities have surged over the past six months. The AMCHA Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to the investigation, documentation and contestation of anti-Semitism, investigated 113 schools with the largest Jewish […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 28, 2016 UN Watch Fellowship Opportunity for College Grads Our friends at UN Watch are searching for motivated recent college graduates for a terrific year-long, paid fellowship opportunity in Geneva. Interested candidates must posses superb English writing skills. Fellow responsibilities will include drafting reports, speeches, op-eds, and press releases, monitor and report on meetings at the UN, perform research, and manage social media. To learn […] Anti-Semitism Blog
July 28, 2016 LDB Welcomes Intern Daniella Hovsha LDB welcomes Daniella Hovsha, who will be joining the organization as a Civil Rights Communications & Development Intern for Fall 2016. Daniella graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand, a public research university in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is currently completing her post-graduate studies—called an “honors” in South Africa—in International […] Blog
July 27, 2016 New Jersey’s Anti-BDS Legislation Last month, the New Jersey General Assembly in an overwhelming 69-3 vote passed legislation prohibiting the investment of state pension and annuity funds in to companies that boycott Israel or Israeli businesses. A similar bill had passed through the state Senate in a unanimous 39-0 vote in May. According to the legislation, the state’s $71 […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
July 27, 2016 National Lawyers Guild Sued for Discrimination On July 13, New York attorney David Abrams filed a complaint against the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), on behalf of an Israeli organization, Bibliotechnical Athenaeum. In the complaint, Abrams alleges that NLG practiced unlawful discrimination, violating the New York City and State Human Rights Laws. Essentially, this is an anti-BDS lawsuit challenging NLG for excluding […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 26, 2016 Rhode Island Governor Signs Anti-BDS Legislation This month, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (D) signed into law HB-7736, “Anti-Discrimination in State Contracts,” an anti-BDS law that law prohibits the State of Rhode Island from patronizing any business that refuses to business with another firm based upon national origin, effectively preventing Rhode Island’s tax payer money from supporting companies that boycott Israel. […] Anti-Zionism Blog
July 21, 2016 Another Anti-BDS Lawsuit Filed It’s been a rough year for the American Studies Association (“ASA”), legally speaking. Earlier this week, a lawsuit was filed in New York State Court against the New York Metro chapter of the ASA, alleging “unlawful discrimination under the New York City and State Human Rights Laws,” in relation to the ASA’s boycott of Israeli academic institutions. In […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
July 21, 2016 Mark Bloome: Community Leader and Coalition-Builder Mark Bloome, the Seattle-based, national and local Jewish community leader and strategist, has become an expert at coalition-building and finding innovative ways to fight the Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS) against Israel and its anti-Semitism on a national basis. Mark has tirelessly advocated for the Jewish community for over 35 years. For the past […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 19, 2016 LDB Continues to Support Milan Chatterjee Today, LDB issued a statement (below) expressing our continued support for Milan Chatterjee, the former President of the UCLA Graduate Student Association (GSA) who has been subjected to months of harassment by supporters of the BDS movement for his neutral stance regarding BDS. This is an important time to reiterate our support for Mr. Chatterjee, as the […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 14, 2016 Major Party Platforms Combat BDS In a pair of positive steps, both the Democratic and Republican parties have inserted language in their party platforms that push against the forces of BDS. The Democratic party, who last week completed their draft platform, explicitly state their opposition to BDS, “A strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States because we […] Anti-Semitism Blog
July 12, 2016 UNESCO Delays Temple Mount Vote On July 12th, UNESCO (The UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) delayed a vote on a draft resolution that would damage ties Israel and the Jewish people as a whole have with the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jordanian and Palestinian representatives in UNESCO proposed the draft resolution in an attempt to return the […] Anti-Zionism Blog
June 30, 2016 Indiana University Holds Important Conference on “Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, and the Dynamics of Delegitimization” The following piece was written in collaboration with Emma Dillon and Juan Pablo Rivera Garza: In April, the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism (ISCA) organized an important International Scholars Conference at Indiana University, on the topic of “Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, and the Dynamics of Delegitimization.” The conference sought to explore what informs contemporary anti-Zionism […] Anti-Semitism Blog
June 29, 2016 Rhode Island Passes Anti-BDS Legislation Last week, Rhode Island lawmakers passed legislation aimed at curbing BDS movements within the state. Bill H 7736, also known as Anti-Discrimination in State Contracts Act, came about after its sponsor, Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Mia Ackerman (D-45, Cumberland, Lincoln) started to become aware of growing support for the BDS movement. Rep. Ackerman believes this bill will proactively counter BDS, […] Blog
June 24, 2016 Upcoming Conference: The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists Our friends at The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists are holding their annual conference on September 21st through the 24th in Paris, France. This year’s theme is “Continuing the Dialogue: Combatting Antisemitism in Europe through Legal and Other Means”. The conference will feature a variety of different speakers which can be found on […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 22, 2016 Dutch Parliament Requests Government to End NGO Funds Used for BDS Last week, the Dutch parliament passed a nonbinding motion calling on the government to deny funding to organizations calling for a boycott against Israel. Passed in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, the motion was co-signed on June 16 by a prominent politician of the ruling People’s Party for Freedom and […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 21, 2016 Students’ Society of McGill University Labels BDS “Unconstitutional” The Judicial Board of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) recently declared in a board decision, called a “Reference,” that BDS and “similar motions” are “unconstitutional.” The Reference was created in response to an earlier petition filed in March by a “student upset over the third BDS motion proposed at the university” in 18 […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 15, 2016 New York’s Landmark Executive Order and the Battle Against BDS On June 5, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law Executive Order No. 157, directing state agencies and authorities to divest public funds from supporting BDS campaigns against Israel. Governor Cuomo announced the order in a speech to an audience including local Jewish leaders and lawmakers and sent a very strong message. In his […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog