April 23, 2014 MLA Vote: Will Bias Beat Scholarship? Jeff Robbins has just published the following excellent article at the Times of Israel blog: There is a scene in Guys and Dolls, the Damon Runyan-inspired tale about entertaining mobsters, in which a thug nicknamed Big Julie From Chicago lays down the law: he will not be shooting craps unless the outcome is safely rigged in […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
April 22, 2014 Brandeis Center President Publishes Article on Stanley Fish and Academic Freedom The Brandeis Center’s Founder and President, Kenneth L. Marcus, has just published a short but important article on academic freedom in the current issue of the Florida International University Law Review. Marcus’ article, entitled “The Doctrine of Balance,” argues that academic freedom should not extend to the dissemination of unbalanced propaganda in the classroom. The […] Anti-Zionism Blog
April 21, 2014 Welcome Stephen A. Cohen and Aviva J. Vogelstein The Louis D. Brandeis Center is pleased to welcome two new civil rights legal fellows, Stephen A. Cohen and Aviva J. Vogelstein. Cohen and Vogelstein’s appointments marks the Brandeis Center’s continued expansion, as the Washington, D.C.-based civil rights group grows to face the resurgent problem of anti-Semitism on American University campuses. Stephen Cohen (Steve), who […] Anti-Semitism Blog
April 11, 2014 Call for Papers on Anti-Semitism in the Shadow of the Holcoaust The European Sociological Association’s section on Ethnic Relations, Racism and Antisemitism is now one of the most important sources of research on contemporary anti-Semitism. In advance of their mid-term conference this September in Vienna, the section has issued an interesting new call for papers on “Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism in the Shadow of the Holocaust”: […] Anti-Semitism Blog
April 4, 2014 Institute for Law & Policy Announces New Summer Program We are pleased to cooperate with our friends at the Institute for Law & Policy on an exciting new summer program for international students and attorneys at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Alumni of LDB’s 2013 inaugural national law student leadership conference will remember Institute Chairman Richard Heideman for his memorable presentations. For more information on […] Blog
March 25, 2014 Vassar And The BDS War On Campus The anti-Zionist – and sometimes also anti-Semitic – website Mondoweiss recently published a lengthy report by the site’s founder Philip Weiss about a meeting that took place at Vassar in early March. According to Weiss, the meeting had been scheduled by the school’s Committee on Inclusion and Excellence in order to discuss guidelines for activism […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
March 18, 2014 LDB in Boston, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. This week will provide opportunities to see Brandeis Center lawyers in action in Boston, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. At noon today, LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus will address “The New Anti-Semitism” at St. Louis University School of Law. This event, in which Marcus will discuss legal approaches to contemporary Jew-hatred, kicks off a particularly busy […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 15, 2014 WHY THE JEWS DID NOT ALWAYS LOVE ST. PATRICK’S DAY The “You Don’t Have to be Jewish to Love Levy’s Real Jewish Rye” ad debuted 50 years ago this year. Of course, you also don’t have to be Irish to march at the front of the official St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Unlike David Dinkins in 1993 and Bill de Blasio this year, New York’s Jewish […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
March 14, 2014 Launch of Northeastern Law School Chapter – March 19, 2014 The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is happy to announce the launch of its Northeastern law student chapter, located in Boston. Danit Sibovits, LDB Staff Attorney heading the legal advocacy initiative, will be speaking at the launch. The law school chapter initiative is the newest phase in the Brandeis Center’s campaign […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
March 10, 2014 Brandeis Center Welcomes Brooklyn College Administration’s Apology for its Handling of 2013 Anti-Israel Event: Jewish Pro-Israel Students Vindicated by Apology, Further Action to Protect Civil Rights Will Be Pursued The Brandeis Center welcomes some good news for three of our clients. On Friday, Brooklyn College President Karen Gould publicly apologized for the school’s forcible ejection of four Jewish pro-Israel students from a 2013 anti-Israel event sponsored in part by the school. The Brandeis Center, which represents three of the students removed from the lecture, […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
March 7, 2014 BDS Supporters Worry About Freedom of Speech Judith Butler and Rashid Khalidi, both well-known academics and high-profile supporters of the BDS movement campaigning for “boycotts, divestment and sanctions” against Israel, have issued a statement that was originally circulated under the dramatic title “Support Freedom of Expression! Oppose Intimidation!” They claim that there are “accelerating efforts to curtail speech, to exercise censorship, and […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
March 4, 2014 Rethink 2014: Tweeting Against International Hate Week Rethink2014 is a clever movement to oppose Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) on Twitter. Specifically, the group’s Twitter feed last week consisted of photos of young people holding up signs that explain why they are against the annual anti-Israel hate week which is put on in different parts of the world throughout the months of February in […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
March 3, 2014 HOLLYWOOD’S BELATED FOCUS ON SLAVERY AND HUMAN RIGHTS “12 Years a Slave,” based on Solomon Northrup’s narrative of his journey from freedom to slavery (he was kidnapped) and back to freedom, won this year’s Academy Award for “Best Picture.” According to the buzz, this fine film was sure to win because Hollywood liberals love to feel guilty—and to make amends. Certainly, America and […] Blog
February 27, 2014 LDB Law Students at UCLA Help the Divestment Vote Fail This week, yet another divestment vote took place on an American university campus, this time at UCLA. However, the divestment failed, partly thanks to efforts by members of UCLA’s law school chapter of the Louis D. Brandeis Center. Members of the LDB law student chapter at UCLA law school attended the strategy session this past […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
February 26, 2014 Anti-Israel Hate Week This week, on American and English university campuses, anti-Israel activists celebrate the series of hateful events variously known as “Anti-Israel Hate Week” or “Israel Apartheid Week.” These events, which often feature the use of classical anti-Semitic defamations and stereotypes, occur throughout March in other parts of the world. If the haters harass Jewish students on […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
February 25, 2014 10 Ways That BDS Has Changed LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus has published this article in the Jerusalem Post today: Ten ways that BDS is different now By KENNETH L. MARCUS 02/24/2014 22:33 Four academic associations have now also endorsed anti-Israel boycotts. On American university campuses, the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is different in many ways and stronger than […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
February 21, 2014 Should Jewish Law Students Be Complacent? Recently, anti-Israel activists have become active on several American law school campuses, conducting controversial events at Columbia, Fordham, Davis, and elsewhere. Meanwhile, activists have created hostile environments for Jewish students at several universities. If you are a Jewish law student, or a non-Jewish law student who cares about justice, should you be concerned? Here are […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
February 18, 2014 Anti-Boycott Legislation, Free Speech and Academic Freedom: A Response to Ed Beck and the International Grass Roots Faculty Committee For Academic Freedom and Integrity Yesterday, The Algemeiner published my article on “Legislating Against BDS.” In this article, I argue that Representatives Roskam and Lipinski have done creditable service in introducing legislation that would bar federal funding of universities that boycott Israel. Although their initial bill may not be perfect, it has provoked a healthy conversation about how legislatures can […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
February 17, 2014 Securing a Thriving Jewish Future The Jewish Faculty Roundtable (JFR) has brought to our attention an interesting set of seven online focus groups that the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency are currently running on “Securing A Thriving Jewish Future.” Like JFR, the Brandeis Center is most interested in higher education issues, so we were drawn to the focus […] Blog
February 17, 2014 Max Blumenthal’s ‘Goliath’ and the Mainstreaming of Anti-Semitism Activists devoted to promoting boycott campaigns against Israel and maligning the Jewish state as illegitimate and uniquely evil knew already what to expect when Max Blumenthal’s book Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel was published last October. As Blumenthal himself emphasized in the acknowledgements at the end of his book, sites like the Electronic […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
February 17, 2014 Legislating Against BDS LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus has just published this article in The Algemeiner: The backlash continues against the anti-Israel boycott resolution that the American Studies Association adopted last month. Over 200 university presidents have distanced themselves from it. Numerous other organizations, including the American Association of University Professors, have condemned it too. Some critics argue that […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog