December 10, 2018 Chile Declares BDS Illegal for its Cities Last week, the Chilean National Comptroller, a body that serves as the government’s auditor, established that it is against the law for Chilean municipalities to boycott Israel. This landmark decision was in part due to the complaints from the Chilean Jewish Community and the Chilean community in Israel about the Valdivia municipality’s ban on companies doing […] Blog Anti-Zionism
December 10, 2018 Vandals First Damage Penn State Menorah, Then Steal It Last week, the large menorah which sat outside the Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity house at Penn State was first torn down and later stolen by vandals. Blog Anti-Semitism
December 5, 2018 69 Orgs Urge Dep’t of Ed to Ensure NRCs Do Not Implement Academic Boycotts In a letter organized by the AMCHA Initiative, 69 organizations, including the Brandeis Center, urged the Department of Education to ensure that National Resource Center (NRC) faculty do not implement academic boycotts at universities. The letter, addressed to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, gave two examples of recent events held at the University of Michigan and New York University, both of which were organized and funded by Department of Education-designated Middle East Studies NRCs. Blog Anti-Zionism
December 5, 2018 Pitzer President Condemns Faculty Motion to Suspend Israel Study Abroad On November 29th, Pitzer College President Melvin Oliver condemned the resolution passed by the school’s faculty to suspend the college’s study abroad program at the University of Haifa in a speech before the Pitzer College Council. The faculty’s resolution garnered severe backlash from students and outside organizations alike. The Brandeis Center joined a letter, organized by the AMCHA Initiative and signed by 75 civil rights, education, and student organizations expressing dismay over the Pitzer Faculty’s vote. Blog Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism
December 5, 2018 Anti-Semitism at Columbia Teachers College On Wednesday, November 28th, Columbia’s Teachers College Professor Elizabeth Midlarsky walked towards her office to discover that she was the victim of an anti-Semitic act. At approximately 1 P.M., Elizabeth Midlarsky, who is a Jewish professor who teaches courses in Psychology and Education, and teaches and conducts research on the Holocaust, found two swastikas and […] Blog Anti-Semitism
November 30, 2018 CNN Poll Shows Renewed Frequency of Anti-Semitism in Europe Findings from a recent CNN poll indicate that anti-Semitism across Europe is “alive and well.” The survey interviewed a cross-section of more than 7,000 individuals from seven European countries. Respondents from Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Poland, and Sweden espoused a collection of antiquated Jewish stereotypes which remain pertinent in the social, cultural, and […] Blog Anti-Semitism
November 29, 2018 Pitzer Faculty Senate Votes to End Israel Study Abroad Programs On November 8th, the Pitzer College faculty voted to suspend the school’s study abroad program at the University of Haifa in Israel. The faculty’s resolution called for the “suspension of the College’s exchange with Haifa University, until (a) the Israeli state ends its restrictions on entry to Israel based on ancestry and/or political speech and (b) the Israeli state adopts policies granting visas for exchanges to Palestinian universities on a fully equal basis as it does to Israeli universities.” This resolution has received significant backlash from students and community members. Blog Anti-Zionism
November 28, 2018 Argentinian Soccer Fans Chant “Kill Jews to Make Soap” Last week, Argentinian soccer fans caused an uproar by chanting anti-Semitic slogans during a match against a rival team. Blog Anti-Semitism
November 21, 2018 Anti-Semitic Hate in Toronto In Toronto on November 11th, a group of four Jewish teens were assaulted “in a Hitler-inspired racial attack.” According to the Toronto Sun, while walking to their Yeshiva to study in the evening, these 17-year old Jewish teens were approached by up to 20 teenage boys. One of the victims noted that they may have […] Blog Anti-Semitism
November 20, 2018 Anti-Semitism Affecting U.S. High Schools The growing intensity of anti-Semitism in America is not only affecting college students but also high school students throughout the country. 50 students, most of them Jewish, from Amity High in Woodbridge, Connecticut attended a Board of Education meeting in mid-November to express their subjection to anti-Jewish rhetoric and harassment. After seeing swastikas carved across […] Blog Anti-Semitism
November 19, 2018 Kentucky Governor Signs Anti-BDS Executive Order On November 15th, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed an anti-BDS executive order into law, making the State of Kentucky the 26th state to enact a law against the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement.The executive order denounces the BDS movement for being discriminatory, highlights Kentucky’s strong trade relationship with Israel, and points out the fact that governors from all 50 states (and the mayor of DC) have signed a statement against the BDS movement. Blog Anti-Zionism
November 16, 2018 Louis D. Brandeis and the Virtue of Jewish America The difference between a nation and a nationality is clear, but it is not always observed. Likeness between members is the essence of nationality, but the members of a nation may be very different. A nation may be composed of many nationalities, as some of the most successful nations are. – Louis D. Brandeis Louis Dembitz […] Blog Anti-Semitism
November 16, 2018 Annual FBI Report Shows 37% Increase in Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes The Federal Bureau of Investigation released their annual Hate Crime Statistics which indicated a 37% increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes in 2017. Blog Anti-Semitism
November 14, 2018 NGO Rescinds Award to Women’s March Due to Anti-Semitism The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) foundation, a leading left-wing think tank for the German Social Democratic Party, withdrew its Human Rights Award to the Women’s March USA while it investigates allegations of anti-Semitism. The decision to award the Women’s March faced much criticism, including from doctoral students associated with FES who “accused the organizers of the march of hardcore antisemitism and support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign targeting the Jewish state.” The award ceremony, which was supposed to be held on November 12, was suspended, since “the FES is unable to assess with certainty the validity of the charges against individual members of the organization’s leadership.” Blog Anti-Semitism
November 7, 2018 UCLA Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to NSJP On October 31, UCLA’s Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck sent a cease-and-desist letter to National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) over the logo used in their promotional material. NSJP had created a logo for their upcoming annual conference that featured the UCLA Bruin Bear playing with a Palestinian kite. That same day, the Jewish Journal had publicized the fact that NSJP was using the logo. Blog Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism
October 31, 2018 Alarming Incidents in Germany Over the past few weeks, several alarming incidents have occurred in Germany. For starters, Alexander Gauland, the leader of the far-right German political party known as Alternative for Germany (AfD), wrote a newspaper article which, according to reputable historians, mirrors a speech written by Adolf Hitler. In his recent article, written for the newspaper Frankfurter […] Blog
October 31, 2018 Recognize, Define, and Condemn Anti-Semitism Reposted from The Harvard Crimson, by David J. Benger, Oct. 31, 2018 On Sep. 6, 1972, Munich Olympic Games correspondent James K. “Jim” McKay looked at the television camera and solemnly pronounced, “Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized. Our worst fears have been realized tonight.” All 11 Israeli Olympic athletes who were […] Blog Anti-Semitism
October 25, 2018 Seizure of Kosher Meat Leaves Malmo’s Jews with Few Options Authorities in Sweden began seizing kosher meat products from Malmo’s only kosher meat shop, eventually shuttering the store’s entire kosher section over supposed health concerns. Blog Anti-Semitism
October 25, 2018 Malaysian Prime Minister Doubles Down on Anti-Semitic Rhetoric Earlier this month, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad repeated anti-Semitic claims he has made since the 1970s that Jews are “hook-nosed” and that the extent of the holocaust is greatly exaggerated by historians. Blog Anti-Semitism
October 24, 2018 LDB Welcomes Fall 2018 Interns The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is happy to introduce its newest Civil Rights Legal Fellow and Communications & Development Interns for the Fall of 2018. Rhoda Offei completed her Masters in Law at the Cornell University in May 2012 and is currently a Civil Rights Legal Fellow with the Louis […] Blog
October 24, 2018 Members of Anti-Semitic Group Arrested Over Charlottesville Rally On October 2nd, four members of the anti-Semitic Rise Above Movement were arrested after being charged with conspiracy and incitement of a riot and participating in attacks against counter-protesters at the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally last year. The defendants, who are currently in custody in California, each face up to 10 years in prison. Blog Anti-Semitism