July 2, 2014 From “The Hidden Persuaders” to “The Facebook Effect” Facebook has admitted tweaking the content of posts in an experiment to see if certain kinds of wording can manipulate readers’ moods—perhaps with the ultimate purpose of giving the sponsors of paid “advertorials” a new tool to manipulate the minds of consumers. Criticism of this “scientific experiment” has been wide-spread but not universal. After all, […] Blog
July 2, 2014 The Worst Campus Anti-Semitic Incidents of 2013-2014 This past academic year was a turbulent one on many college campuses, keeping the Brandeis Center’s legal advocacy initiative busy from coast-to-coast protecting Jewish students from hostile environments. Which incidents do you think were the worst? Unfortunately, there have been many to choose among. Here are a few to consider: ASA – On December 15, the American […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
July 1, 2014 July 9th Symposium: 10 Years and Counting The Brandeis Center is pleased to co-sponsor The July 9th Symposium: 10 Years and Counting…” with Heideman Nudelman Kalik and several major national organizations. The event will take place at 10:00 am at the United States Congress’ Capitol Visitors Center. Ambassador Ron Dermer and former Canadian Prime Minister Irwin Cotler will deliver keynote addresses. LDB […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 27, 2014 The More Things Change… The late Gary Tobin was often ahead of his time. Here is what he said about the Presybterian Church nine years ago: The vast majority of Presbyterians are neither anti-Semitic nor anti-Israel. Yet, a few activists were able to capture the institutional decision-making processes to pass anti-Israel resolutions. This phenomenon is widespread on campuses as […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 25, 2014 Open Letter to the People of California As a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., 1968, Ph.D., 1977), I would like to thank the People of California for paying for the UC System: when a semester of public education cost less than a parking space today, when professors were really expected to teach, when graduates had good job prospects, […] Blog
June 24, 2014 Aleksander Dugan: Rasputin Redux? Speculation is percolating about an emerging “new fascist international”—stretching from France (stamping ground of the Le Pens and the National Front), to Spain (whose extremist rightist figure head is Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma, leader of the Catholic-monarchist Carlist movement), to Austria (where Heinz-Christian Strache heads the fascist Freedom Party), to Greece (where “Golden Dawn” […] Anti-Semitism Blog
June 24, 2014 The Presbyterian Church and the Ku Klux Klan At their General Assembly on Friday, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to divest from three companies that supply Israel with equipment used in the West Bank and in the blockade of Gaza. Enemies of the Jewish community are rejoicing. Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke exulted, “Bravo to the Presbyterian Church for standing up to Jewish racism and supremacism!” Duke is […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 23, 2014 Brandeis Center and AMCHA Initiative Seek Answers in Potential Misuse of Taxpayer Dollars The Brandeis Center has joined the AMCHA Initiative in pressing for an investigation into San Francisco State University Ethnic Studies Professor Rabab Abdulhadi’s potential misuse of public university funds. The organizations have sent a letter asking California State Controller John Chiang to investigate “a serious and blatant misuse of University and state funds.” Documents obtained […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 22, 2014 The PCUSA General Assembly’s Latest Betrayal of Israel and the Jewish People In 2004, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) broke new ground by voting to “initiate a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel.” Though the PCUSA voted against divestment in Israel in 2012 by the thinnest of margins, the General Assembly has now again revealed its true colors such […] Anti-Zionism Blog
June 20, 2014 Mehdi Nemmouche Valuable short portrait of him by Theodore Dalrymple in the “City Journal” for June 19: http://www.city-journal.org/2014/eon0619td.html Blog
June 20, 2014 Brandeis Center Receives Three New Team Members It’s that time of year again! The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law has extended warm welcomes to three new members of the team: Steven Isaacson, Mandy Jiang, and Kaitlyn Boyle. Said LDB President Kenneth Marcus, “We are very excited to introduce Steve, Mandy, and Kaitlyn to our team. They will be […] Blog
June 19, 2014 Brandeis Center Urges Temple University to Denounce Holocaust Minimization The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a national civil rights organization, has sent Temple University President Neil Theobald a written request to respond to Holocaust minimization at his university. Blog
June 18, 2014 What Me Worry: The “New York Times” and Hitler in 1924 In a recent blog entry, I wrote that nobody—not even H. G. Wells—would have predicted in 1914 that, less than 20 years later, a megalomaniacal, anti-Semitic dictator would seize power in enlightened Germany. Now, I find that that bastion of prognostication, the “New York Times,” actually implied it was impossible in 1924. The wording of […] Anti-Semitism Blog
June 13, 2014 Pax Americana RIP As the post-WWII American Pax Americana unravels at differential rates of speed everywhere from Mosul to the Mexican border—resuming and accelerating a process that began under Jimmy Carter but was arrested for a while by Ronald Reagan—it is nice to know that Hollywood is riding to the rescue of the values of global decency and […] Blog
June 11, 2014 Terrorism and Anti-Semitic Violence: Complex New Realities Defy Simple Ideological Labels It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that we live in an age when almost every headline story has become a Rorschach Test for spin doctors on cable news or in cyberspace. Their purpose is not to promote dialogue leading to some sort of shared understanding but to further fuel current political polarizations with […] Anti-Semitism Blog
June 11, 2014 Does Anti-Semitism Threaten American Jews? The following article by LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus is distributed via JNS.org. JNS.org — In a recent issue of Time magazine, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, former president of the Union for Reform Judaism, writes that anti-Semitism is “not a threat to American Jews.” He could not be more wrong. Let us start with the obvious. Any […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 11, 2014 Left, Right, and “What’s Good for the Jews” The resurgence, now on both sides of the Atlantic, of what is usually interpreted as extreme conservative politics—but might better be called right-wing populism—is likely to spark a new debate about present and future threats posed by political extremism to Jews. Since the Revolution of 1848—when according to a story an Orthodox rabbi with a […] Anti-Semitism Blog
June 11, 2014 Good News from Western Washington StandWithUs is reporting that the student government at Western Washington University unanimously voted yesterday not to consider boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) based on national origin. The Student government’s “Resolution Regarding International Divestment, Boycott, and Sanctions” is an extraordinary response to the BDS resolutions adopted at other schools. In a powerfully written statement, the Western Washington student […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
June 9, 2014 The Tikvah Fund Issues a Call for Applications and Nominations The Tikvah Fund is has invited our nominations for potential attendees to its very well-regarded Fall 2014 Tikvah Advanced Institutes. This round, Tikvah will offer institutes in both New York and Jerusalem on topics including Religious Freedom in America, Israeli National Defense, The Hebrew Bible and Jewish Excellence, The Case for Nationalism, and more. Please let us know if […] Blog
June 8, 2014 ANTI-SEMITIC PRIDE AND PREJUDICE IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CULTURE The twenty-first century is providing fertile ground for the “artistic” transmission of anti-Semitism on two levels. For mass consumption, Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ” (2004), modernized the medieval passion play to which the Nazis had continued to pay homage at Oberammergau. With a powerful flair for violent filmmaking in the tradition of […] Anti-Zionism Blog
June 4, 2014 Brandeis Center Legal Advisory Board Member Garners Major Title VI Victory Civil Rights Attorney, Joel H. Siegal, a member of the Louis D. Brandeis Center’s Legal Advisory Board, reports a major Title Six victory brought on behalf of a 14 year old African-American student against St. Charles Borromeo School, a private elementary school operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. In the case, Mugisha M. v. […] Litigation