September 10, 2013 Government-Created Anti-Semitism (Part 1) Many people think of Nazi Germany as the cradle of government created anti-Semitism, but long before anyone had heard of the Nazi Holocaust, the Russian concept of pogrom was well known. The 1939 edition of an authoritative Russian dictionary defined pogrom as: “the government-organized mass slaughter of some element of the population as a group, […] Anti-Semitism Blog
September 10, 2013 University Trustees Must Step Up and Defend Real Academic Freedom In ACTA’s last post here at the Brandeis Center Blog, we noted several examples of how professors abuse and violate the principles of academic freedom. How has the landscape of academic freedom changed over the years and who is best positioned to stand up and fight for it today? The first “Key Document” in ACTA’s […] Anti-Zionism
September 9, 2013 Upcoming Guest Blogger: Ronald J. Rychlak We are delighted to welcome Ronald J. Rychlak as our next guest blogger. Professor Ronald J. Rychlak is the Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada Lecturer and Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he was formerly Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Rychlak is the author or co-author of eight […] Anti-Semitism Blog
September 6, 2013 Brandeis Center Welcomes More New Staff and Interns In response to the resurgence of campus anti-Semitism, the Louis D. Brandeis Center has recently added four new vibrant and passionate members to its team. Ari Plaut, Sitara Kedilaya joins as Civil Rights Legal Fellows, while Maria Islam and Eesha Bhave join as Fall interns. Sitara Kedilaya is a recent honors graduate from American University Washington College […] Anti-Semitism Blog
September 1, 2013 Wikipedia Article Features LDB Wikipedia now boasts a nice new entry for the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.The entry, although brief, is informative, well-researched and well-written. Followers of the Brandeis Center can help out by expanding and contributing to this fine piece. Contributors should not be associated with the Brandeis Center, and they should follow […] Blog
August 30, 2013 Given the Troubling Reach of Ron Paul’s Political Shadow, Senator Rand Paul Will Deserve a Fair Hearing—But Not a Free Ride—If He Runs for President During the 1960 presidential campaign, after Protestant Minister Norman Vincent Peal questioned the fitness of a Catholic to be elected president, Adlai Stevenson quipped: “I find St. Paul appealing, but Rev. Paul appalling.” More than half a century later, the 2016 presidential race may face a second “Pauline” moment. When John F. Kennedy ran for […] Anti-Semitism Blog
August 29, 2013 Students, Professors, and Academic Freedom I would like to begin by thanking Ken Marcus for giving my colleague Avi Snyder and me the opportunity to guest-post for the Brandeis Center. Avi and I work for the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), a Washington, DC-based non-profit dedicated to academic freedom, academic excellence, and accountability in higher education. Earlier this […] Anti-Zionism
August 28, 2013 ACTA and Academic Freedom From the beginning, academic freedom has been a core concern of the Louis D. Brandeis Center. As civil rights lawyers, we are concerned both when academic freedom is violated and also when the doctrine is abused. For example, we are concerned when anti-Israel activists suppress the ability of pro-Israel speakers to communicate their messages on […] Anti-Zionism Blog
August 27, 2013 Why Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Is Still “A Jewish Folk Hero” Were he still alive today, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., would be 84 years old. Much of the current buzz surrounding the fiftieth anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington centers on speculation about what MLK would believe and where he would lead today. The 1963 March put the political spotlight on achieving color blind […] Blog
August 27, 2013 No Joke No Joke “Growing up,” said my son Jacob, “ if you had told me that someone in my family would write a book about Jewish humor, I would have imagined it to be my father, or perhaps my brother, who has something of a legendary wit; certainly not my mother, who was generally regarded as […] Anti-Semitism Blog
August 26, 2013 Welcome Guest Blogger Ruth Wisse The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is pleased to announce that Dr. Ruth R. Wisse, Professor of Yiddish and Comparative Literature at Harvard University, will be joining the Brandeis Center Blog team as a guest blogger. Dr. Wisse, an experienced editor, essayist, and columnist brings to the Brandeis Blog a long […] Anti-Semitism Blog
August 23, 2013 Islamic Republic of Iran: The World’s Worst Sponsor of Terror Must Be Stopped The Islamic Republic of Iran, a designated State Sponsor of Terrorism since 1984, remains the world’s “most active state sponsor of terrorism” according to the U.S. Department of State’s most recent Country Reports on Terrorism. Yet the world continues to turn a blind eye to Iran’s sponsorship of terror, ignoring the suffering of terror victims […] Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
August 23, 2013 Israeli student wins case against university Kudos to United Kingdom Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) for their recent victory against anti-Israel bias at Warwick University. In an interesting new case, UKLFI has achieved a measure of justice for an Israeli student who allegedly faced biased instruction at the English university. UKLFI’s Jonathan Turner reports on the win: The Office of the Independent Adjudicator […] Anti-Zionism Blog
August 23, 2013 Israel Lives in a Dangerous Neighborhood, Struggles Against Terrorism and is Engaged in a Battle for Justice at the United Nations Over the past sixty five years, Israel has faced and continues to face momentous challenges including wars, skirmishes, rocket attacks, terrorist murderous suicide bombings and assaults on her citizens, challenges to her legal status, boycotts, threats, accusations and demonization. In the summer of 2000, Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization met at Camp […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
August 21, 2013 SYRIA: A STATE SPONSOR OF TERROR NOW KILLING ITS OWN PEOPLE The Syrian Arab Republic has been listed on the US Department of State List of State Sponsors of Terror since 1979 and continues today as one of the world’s worst sponsors of terror, funding and providing safe haven for Hezbollah, HAMAS and other terrorist organizations. Support takes the form of money, passage through and across […] Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
August 20, 2013 Standing up for Victims of Terror The use of litigation in the United States Federal Court system is an essential tool in standing up for victims of terror. While governments negotiate, victims can use the federal court system to not only seek monetary damages but also to give victims and their families voice against state sponsors of terrorism. Victims have been afforded this […] Blog Litigation
August 20, 2013 Brandeis Center Urges OCR to Protect Students from Religious Harassment & Bullying Last night, the Louis D. Brandeis Center urged the Obama administration to use the Department of Education’s mandatory data-gathering program to protect religious minorities, including Jewish, Muslim and Sikh children, from harassment and bullying – just as it does for racial and ethnic minorities. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) had previously floated a proposal […] Anti-Zionism
August 19, 2013 Egypt’s New Government Tweets Turkey’s Erdogan Where It Hurts: About the Armenian Genocide Turkey’s Prime Minister Recip Erdogan—whose fantasies about restoring Turkey as the hub of a Neo-Ottoman Empire have been shattered by a one-touch punch from Syria and Egypt—has now received his just desserts. Earlier this year, Erdogan unleashed his shock troops to put down peaceful mass protests in Taksim Square, declaring: “The police were there yesterday, […] Blog
August 18, 2013 Alice Walker Got What She Deserves Bravo to the University of Michigan for disinviting Alice Walker – and shame on Walker for reportedly spreading false rumors about Michigan’s reasons for doing so. The University of Michigan recently withdrew a speaking invitation to the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, who is now known not only for her literary work but […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
August 18, 2013 Richard D. Heideman to Appear on the Brandeis Center Blog We’re pleased to announce that Washington, D.C., lawyer Richard D. Heideman, a world-famous international lawyer, will appear as a guest on the Brandeis Center Blog in the coming week. Heideman, the Honorary President of B’nai B’rith International, is known as a tireless advocate for victims of terrorism around the world whose human and individual rights […] Anti-Zionism Blog
August 16, 2013 Don’t Look at the Sphinx—or the Muslim Brotherhood—Through Rose-Colored Glasses While we all recoil from the death toll in innocent lives in Egypt—including unreported numbers of Coptic Christians killed while defending their spiritual patrimony from arsonists who burned down 52 churches in one day—there are some hard facts that need to be addressed and questions that need to be answered by those who seem to […] Blog