Blogs | Brandeis Center

The Brandeis Center blog features regular posts on issues of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, such as high-profile legal cases, new IHRA adoptions and anti-BDS laws. Posts also recap LDB events, conferences, webinars, speaking engagements, and white papers. They are often authored by our outstanding law clerks and interns.

October 8, 2020 The Brandeis Center Welcomes New Staff

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law (Brandeis Center) is pleased to welcome three new staff members to the Brandeis Center team: Denise Katz-Prober, Esq., Director of Legal Initiatives; Rachel Frommer, JIGSAW Fellowship program Coordinator; and Lynda Prior, Brandeis Center Executive Administrator. As anti-Semitism surges on college campuses across the country, the […]

October 5, 2020 State Department campaign could be groundbreaking – by Kenneth Marcus (The Hill)

State Department campaign could be groundbreaking By Kenneth L. Marcus ~ September 15, 2020 The Hill The Trump administration is reportedly planning a major “diplomatic campaign,” using “all available legal and policy tools” to combat the international boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. According to a story in Algemeiner, a leading Jewish newspaper, the anti-BDS […]

October 5, 2020 How Not to Be an Antiracist – by Kenneth L. Marcus (Wall Street Journal)

How Not to Be an AntiracistThe focus should be on invidious discrimination, not statistical disparities and social change.By Kenneth Marcus ~ August 24, 2020 Wall Street Journal Leaders in business, academia and government are increasingly adopting “antiracist” training and policies in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. In some cases, this reflects genuine interest […]

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September 6, 2020 Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth Marcus: “How Not to Be an Antiracist”

In his recent article in the Wall Street Journal, How Not to Be an Antiracist” (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 24, 2020), Brandeis Center Founder and Chairman, Kenneth Marcus, offers a sharp and timely rebuke of the “new antiracism” agenda. “The problem with much of today’s antiracism,” writes Marcus, “is that it doesn’t really oppose invidious […]

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September 3, 2020 The Jews’ Historical Case for Israel: Brandeis Center President Publishes Sweeping Account of People of Israel’s Bond with the Land of Israel

The Jews’ historical case for a claim to Israel cannot be time-stamped by the founding of the modern state in 1948, the Balfour Declaration of 1917, or the First Zionist Conference in 1897. These are modern political moments—meaningful, weighty—but none of which fully capture the inherent religious, ancestral, and ethnic connection of the People of […]

August 20, 2020 The Brandeis Center Seeks Communications and Development Interns

The Brandeis Center is accepting applications for Communications and Development Interns. Location: Washington, D.C. Telework available for Interns to work from alternative locations. Term: Internships available for Fall semester or Spring semester. Arrangements can be made for students on quarterly systems. Principal duties: Working directly under the supervision of the Brandeis Center’s Director of Legal Initiatives, Interns’ […]

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August 16, 2020 Announcing ISCA-Sponsored Conference on Antisemitism in Today’s America

The Louis D. Brandeis Center (LDB) is pleased to share the announcement from our friends at Indiana University about a conference on “Antisemitism in Today’s America: Manifestations, Causes, and Consequences.” The event will be held in July 2021 (precise dates and venue to be determined) and is sponsored by the Institute for the Study of […]

August 11, 2020 Brandeis Center Cosponsors Event Featuring the Legal Team Taking Neo-Nazis to Court

This week marks the third anniversary of the Unite the Right march in Charlottesville, VA. From August 11–12, 2017, hundreds of neo-Nazis descended upon Charlottesville, chanting “Jews will not replace us,” “blood and soil,” and “Seig Heil.” Students at the University of Virginia and community members recounted harrowing stories of watching their college town overrun […]

July 22, 2020 The JIGSAW Mission Remains Steadfast, Even in Chaotic Times

As a 2020 law school graduate, I, like many, did not have the graduation ceremony I was hoping for. I draped my complimentary hood over a Zara dress with puffy sleeves because it sort-of looked like regalia (from the side) (if I squinted my eyes), and I toasted to a pre-recorded YouTube video with some […]

July 5, 2020 George Washington University Should Prioritize Appointing Anti-Israel Interim Dean’s Successor

After backlash from the Jewish community in response to George Washington University’s (GW) promotion of professor and Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activist Ilana Feldman to interim dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs, the university released a letter confirming their “clear and unambiguous” rejection of BDS, condemning antisemitism and guaranteeing that Feldman “will […]

May 17, 2019 85 Groups Applaud UMichigan’s Adoption of Faculty Responsibility Report

On May 15th, 85 organizations, including the Brandeis Center, signed a letter organized by AMCHA Initiative that commended University of Michigan’s adoption of a Blue Ribbon Panel report, which stated that faculty should base decisions, such as letters of recommendations and other academic judgments, “solely on educational and professional reasons.” This panel was established by the university after professor Cheney-Lippold refused to write a letter of recommendation for a student who was planning on studying abroad in Israel.

May 8, 2019 ADL’s 2018 Audit Recorded 1,879 Anti-Semitic Incidents

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released its 2018 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents last week. Each year, the ADL’s Center on Extremism tracks incidents of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism and assault in the United States. These findings are published in an annual audit. The 2018 report documents that 1,879 anti-Semitic occurred in the U.S. over the course of […]

May 3, 2019 Sixth BDS National Conference and its Terror Ties

The BDS National Committee hosted its sixth annual BDS National Conference, which was heavily attended by individuals associated with terrorism.

May 2, 2019 Florida Senate Unanimously Passes Anti-Semitism Bill

On April 29th, the State of Florida’s Senate unanimously passed an “Act relating to anti-Semitism.” This bill will ensure that schools address anti-Semitic behavior in the same manner as other forms of discrimination, while also defining anti-Semitism. The passage of the bill comes just a couple days after the horrific attack at Chabad of Poway, where a gunman left one dead and wounded three others (including a child) on the last day of Passover.

April 25, 2019 Israeli Apartheid Week Sparked Fear and Silence, Not Education or Answers

Re-posted from the The Emory Wheel, 4/17/19 By Sydney Kaplan, Jordan Weber and Justin Kanoff Earlier this month was Emory Students for Justice in Palestine’s (ESJP) Israeli Apartheid Week, and the Wheel published an op-ed discussing an event that occurred on campus that troubled members of our campus community. For unfamiliar readers, several students awoke […]

April 17, 2019 Brandeis Center Responds to “Conflict over Gaza” Conference Hosted by UNC and Duke

In late March, the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Duke University departments of Middle East and Islamic Studies co-sponsored a conference titled “Conflict over Gaza: People, Politics, and Possibilities.” The weekend-long gathering claimed to “shed much needed light on the current realities in the Gaza strip,” though it was wrought with Israel bashing and misinformation.

April 14, 2019 Anti-Israel Protesters Disrupt Event at UChicago Law

Anti-Israelprotesters disrupted a talk by George Mason University School of Law Professor Eugene Kontorovich, an International Law expert who was invited to speak to the LDB chapter at the University of Chicago Law School about anti-BDS laws and the First Amendment. The disruptors, one of whom was a UChicago law student, were first asked to leave by the law school administration. When the non-students refused to leave and continued chanting and disrupting, the police had to be called to remove them from the room.

April 11, 2019 Israeli Children Harassed on Bus Because of Their Passports

A group of economically disadvantaged Israeli children were given the opportunity to travel to Germany to see German soccer club Borussia Dortmund play at their home stadium. Unfortunately for them, the group was harassed by staff onboard a bus to an Amsterdam airport because of their Israeli passports.

March 29, 2019 California State University Agrees to Landmark Settlement – Zionism is Important Part of Jewish Identity

California State University (CSU) agreed to a landmark settlement with The Lawfare Project and Winston & Strawn LLP to safeguard Jewish students’ rights. The settlement came shortly before the case was set to go to trial this month for a lawsuit brought by two Jewish students who alleged that San Francisco State University (SFSU) and the Board of Trustees of CSU discriminated against them.