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
June 10, 2016 AAA Boycott Fails; LDB Lawsuit Credited The Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement against Israel took a big blow earlier this week when the American Anthropological Association (AAA) narrowly rejected a resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions (2,423 against; 2,384 in favor). This BDS failure was remarkable in light of the overwhelming support that it had enjoyed just […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
June 9, 2016 Upcoming Workshop: Blood Libels- From the Middle Ages to the Modern World Our colleagues at the the Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism, in Birkbeck, University of London have alerted us to an upcoming workshop they are hosting on the topic of Blood Libels. The free workshop will address how blood has been utilized as a differentiator between Jews and Non-Jews for centuries and how it continues […] Blog
June 7, 2016 We Support Milan Chatterjee You might remember reading about Milan Chatterjee, the President of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) at UCLA, who came under fire last November for his decision, and that of his GSA cabinet, to remain neutral on the Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Against Israel Movement. Following this decision, Mr. Chatterjee faced months of harassment (largely […] Anti-Zionism Blog
June 1, 2016 Upcoming Scholarly Periodical – Antisemitism Studies We have more exciting news for our readers! The Canadian Institute for the Study of Anti-Semitism (CISA) and Indiana University Press has announced that they are releasing a new scholarly periodical Antisemitism Studies in April 2017. Antisemitism Studies will join The Journal for the Study of Anti-Semitism and the Journal of Contemporary European Antisemitism in rounding out the field […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 1, 2016 IHRA Adopts Definition of Anti-Semitism Last week, on May 26, 2016, the 31 member nations of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), under Romanian Chairmanship, officially adopted the “IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism.” This important decision has made the IHRA the first international body to formally adopt such a definition. Anti-Semitism is on the rise not only in Europe or the […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
May 31, 2016 Invitation to ‘Protecting and Offending Jews: Speech, Law and Policy’ Symposium in London Our friends at the Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism – Birkbeck, in partnership with the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, will host a symposium entitled ‘Protecting and Offending Jews: Speech, Law and Policy’ on June 28. The event take place from noon to 4 pm in the Jubilee Room, Westminster Hall, House of Commons, London. The symposium […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
May 31, 2016 Farhud: Never Forget The “Farhud,” Arabic for “violent dispossession,” was a pro-Nazi massacre against Baghdad Jewry that took place from June 1-2, 1941 – coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. This terrible tragedy resulted in the death of hundreds of Sephardi Jews, marked the first step in ending 27 centuries of peaceful Jewish existence in Iraq and Mesopotamia, […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
May 27, 2016 Call for Papers for the Journal of Contemporary European Antisemitism Our colleagues at the Academic Studies Press have recently announced a Call For Papers for the new issue of The Journal of Contemporary European Antisemitism (JCEA), set to publish in spring 2017. Lesley Klaff, senior lecturer of law at Sheffield Hallam University, serves as an editor for JCEA and is also a member of LDB’s Academic […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
May 23, 2016 Upcoming Conference in Berlin on Anti-Semitism in Europe Today Our friends at Indiana University have alerted us to a conference on “The New Unease: Antisemitism in Europe Today – Variations, Impact, Counter-Strategies,” which will be held in Berlin, Germany on July 7. The event is sponsored in cooperation with The Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (ISCA) at Indiana University, Indiana University Europe Gateway, the Moses Mendelssohn Center (MMZ) […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog