March 28, 2013 The Brandeis Center’s New Litigation Initiative With the expansion of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, we have begun a new litigation initiative that focuses on the resurgence of anti-Semitism on universities across the nation. Specifically, we will work with faculty and students to investigate incidents, work with administration on procedures and protocols, and file legal complaints […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog Litigation
March 27, 2013 WHY THE DEBATE OVER THE BOYCOTT/DIVESTMENT/SANCTIONS (BDS) MOVEMENT MATTERS WHY THE DEBATE OVER THE BOYCOTT/DIVESTMENT/SANCTIONS (BDS) MOVEMENT MATTERS Voltaire said: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” A difficult standard not always lived up to by Voltaire—who often used invective (including anti-Semitic invective) to try to silence his own critics. […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
March 26, 2013 UCU cleared of harassment in landmark tribunal An Employment Tribunal has found in favour of UCU on all ten complaints of harassment brought by a UCU member who opposed the union’s policy on Palestine. The claimant had been supported in his claim by leading lawyer Anthony Julius. In giving their reasoning the Tribunal stated that ‘the proceedings are dismissed in their totality’ […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 25, 2013 The Shame of the Netherlands: A Young Muslim Must Go Into Hiding for Fighting Anti-Semitism Post by Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Harold Brackman: Passover. This week, Jews will eat more matzo then we ever thought possible, hear more commentary about the Haggadah and its multiple messages for our time, and sit back in awe and (hopefully) love at the site at of our […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
March 25, 2013 Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Mehmet Sahin As the first night of Passover approaches, we are delighted that Rabbi Abraham Cooper has joined guest blogger Harold Brackman in appealing for solidarity with Mehmet Sahin, a young Muslim man who is now in hiding over death threats because he has take a stand against anti-Semitism. Rabbi Cooper, who serves as Associate Dean of […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 25, 2013 New Editions Planned for Alvin Rosenfeld’s Landmark Holocaust Volume The End of the Holocaust will soon be available to readers in Israel. LDB Academic Advisor Alvin Rosenfeld (Indiana University), a leading scholar of Holocaust literature, will shortly publish his landmark volume in Hebrew, by the Magnes Press of Jerusalem and Yad Vashem. The End of the Holocaust is also scheduled to appear next year in German, […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 23, 2013 Historian Harold Brackman to Guest Blog on BDS and Other Topics On Thursday, I blogged very briefly about the Simon Wiesenthal’s interesting new report on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. SWC’s report really deserves more attention, so I am pleased to announce that its author, Dr. Harold Brackman, has agreed to join us as a guest blogger over the next couple of weeks. Dr. Brackman will […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 23, 2013 Legal Scholar Lesley Klaff to Join Brandeis Blog We’re delighted to welcome English legal scholar Lesley Klaff to the Louis D. Brandeis Center Blog. Klaff, who is also a member of the Louis D. Brandeis Center’s Legal Advisory Board, will give an international perspective to the Blog, which thus far has featured bloggers from the United States and Canada. Klaff’s expertise ranges from legal […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 22, 2013 Obama Says That Israel Does Not Exist Because of Holocaust Touring Yad Vashem, President Obama has just argued that Israel does not owe its existence to the Holocaust, but that it prevents another Holocaust from occurring: Because after you walk through these halls, after you pass through the darkness, there is light — a glorious view of the Jerusalem Forest, with the sun shining over […] Blog
March 22, 2013 If you can’t Recognize Hate Speech, the sunlight can’t penetrate This week the Online Hate Prevention Institute (OHPI), an Australian Charity which I have the privilege of leading as its CEO, released my major new report into Hate Speech on Facebook. OHPI seeks to facilitate a change in online culture so that hate in all its forms becomes as socially unacceptable online as it is in “real […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 22, 2013 Where Was The President When He Was Supposedly In Israel? What a week it has been for Jerusalem. The President of the United States arrived, transformed the King David Hotel into his (and his entourage’s) home away from home, and then began a series of meetings and visits – to the official residences of President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, to […] Blog
March 21, 2013 Autonomous Histories The Kantor Center at Tel Aviv University is circulating a very interesting Call for Papers on “Autonomous Histories and Studies of the Holocaust,” which the Center is co-convening with four other institutions. (LDB Advisor Dina Porat heads the Kantor Center.) The impetus for the conference is the perception that Holocaust studies have developed within two […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 21, 2013 Simon Wiesenthal Center Issues New BDS Report The Simon Wiesenthal Center has just issued a new report on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, authored by Dr. Harold Brackman, “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Against Israel: An Anti-Semitic, Anti-Peace Poison Pill.” The beautifully produced report argues that the “essence” of the BDS movement can be understood in terms of Natan Sharansky’s famous “three […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 17, 2013 Danit Sibovits joins Louis D. Brandeis Center As part of its new nationwide Litigation Initiative, the Louis D. Brandeis Center has hired former prosecutor Danit Sibovits to investigate and prosecute serious anti-Semitism cases in federally funded colleges and universities. Our press release announcing Danit’s arrival appears below. Press Release Body WASHINGTON, DC, March 17, 2013 — The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights […] Blog
March 17, 2013 Welcome New Bloggers The Louis D. Brandeis Center Blog welcomes two guest bloggers and two new regular bloggers this week: Alyza Lewin, Andre Oboler, Richard Cravatts, and Danit Sibovits. All four reflect the Brandeis Center’s commitment to combatting global and campus anti-Semitism, while protecting free speech and academic freedom, and promoting justice for all people. Anti-Semitism Blog
March 15, 2013 The Apartheid Slur: An Intellectual Affront and Obstacle to Peace Spring is here. And just as it portends the melting of snow and the budding of flowers, on campuses worldwide for the last few years spring has also brought a flurry of absurd anti-Israel activities inaccurately comparing Israel to the old South Africa with its reprehensible racist apartheid regime. We need to fight this modern […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 14, 2013 The Evil Overlap: Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism In my first Blog post, I described Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s heroic fight against the UN’s infamous Zionism is racism resolution in 1975 – and how Americans responded, joining a chorus of righteous indignation. This post, with material directly excerpted from Moynihan’s Moment: America’s Fight Against Zionism as Racism, published by Oxford University Press, 2013, all rights reserved, […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 13, 2013 Moynihan’s Moment: An All American Hero Fighting Anti-Semitism Whoever you are, wherever you stand politically, we are all affected by living in an age when Israel is traumatized – and anyone who is Jewish or cares about the Jewish state is traumatized, to one extent or another. You can see this trauma in the defensiveness of Israel’s defenders and the viciousness of Israel’s […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 13, 2013 Deadline Approaches for ISCA Call for Papers Reminder for Anti-Semitism Scholars: This Friday is the deadline for response to the Call for Papers for Prof. Alvin Rosenfeld‘s 2014 international conference on “Deciphering the ‘New’ Antisemitism” at Indiana University. Rosenfeld serves on the Louis D. Brandeis Center‘s academic advisory board as well as heading IU’s Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (ISCA’s). […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 12, 2013 Kudos to SPME Earlier today, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) issued an excellent “Statement Condemning Current Calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Against Israel.” LDB has just issued a press release applauding the SPME statement for “taking a courageous stand against anti-Semitic and anti-Israel bigotry.” By way of disclosure, I am a former member of […] Anti-Semitism Blog
March 12, 2013 Introducing Gil Troy We are delighted to welcome historian Gil Troy of McGill University as our first guest blogger this week. Troy is a distinguished scholar of American presidential history as well as a widely read columnist on issues relating to the Middle East. He has combined his passions for American history and Middle East policy with an […] Blog