This month, Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus illuminated contemporary campus anti-Semitism for a global audience with his op-ed, ‘Berkeley Develops Jewish-Free Zones.’ The piece quickly went viral, was widely circulated – and instigated public responses from university officials. At the same time, the federal investigation of a Brandeis Center complaint about anti-Semitism at the University of Vermont continued generating media coverage. And we welcome our new, talented crop of autumn law clerks and interns. Marcus Op-Ed about Berkeley Goes Viral and Generates Public Response from Berkeley Officials Chairman Marcus’s op-ed describing “Jew free zones” at Berkeley’s School of Law went viral this month, shared on social media by sources as diverse as Barbra Streisand, CNN’s Jake Tapper and Sen. Ted Cruz. It also prompted repeated but unsatisfactory public responses from Berkeley Law’s dean and two Berkeley professors. Marcus swiftly answered these rebuttals – going several public rounds in multiple publications and ensuring that the pressure continued mounting on Berkeley. “While I am pleased to see that Dean Chemerinsky has written a letter, it would be better to see him take action,” wrote Marcus in the Jewish Journal. Chairman Marcus also kept the spotlight on Berkeley by appearing in broadcast segments and publishing additional op-eds and interviews amplifying his message about Berkeley’s discriminatory exclusion of Jews from campus life. Kenneth L. Marcus Discusses Campus Anti-Semitism at Berkeley Law and beyond on Fox & Friends (10/1/2022) Berkeley Campaign Joined by Students, Student Groups and National Organizations The campaign to expose and eliminate anti-Semitism at Berkeley was publicly joined by brave law and undergraduate students, more than 150 student groups nationwide, and dozens of Jewish American community organizations. At a public event broadcast nationwide, Jewish students at Berkeley shared their concerns about the adoption by nine Berkeley law student organizations of bylaws banning Zionist speakers. In an op-ed for the Daily Beast, a group of Berkeley Law students confirmed they are excluded in many areas on campus. And more than 150 student groups nationwide condemned anti-Semitism at Berkeley in a letter calling on the student organizations to “immediately extirpate this bylaw from [their] governing documents.” Dozens of Jewish American, civil rights, and pro-Israel groups, including the Brandeis Center, signed a joint statement decrying the recent events: “We…call upon Berkeley Law to immediately take all lawful and necessary steps to ensure that none of its student organizations is permitted to discriminate against Jews based on any aspect of their Jewish identity, including their Zionism. As a first step, the nine student organizations should rescind the new, discriminatory provisions from their bylaws or face appropriate sanctions for their failure to do so.” New Op-Eds Keep University of Vermont Investigation in the Spotlight In his VT Digger opinion piece, ‘UVM’s president is making a bad problem worse,’ Chairman Marcus described UVM’s response to the Education Department’s investigation of a Brandeis Center anti-Semitism complaint as “a master class on how not to address civil rights violations.” Marcus highlighted how UVM’s victim-blaming tirade succeeded only in uniting the Jewish community against the president’s leadership, referencing the remarkable joint statement issued in September by over a dozen Jewish organizations, including the Brandeis Center, condemning UVM’s denial. The joint statement proclaimed: “We…are alarmed, disappointed and troubled by the response issued…by the President of the University of Vermont to the Title VI complaint filed…by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law….The university has denied support to a targeted community, and, in suggesting that Jewish students need to learn how to better protect themselves, has essentially chosen to blame the victims….It is time for UVM to frankly acknowledge the serious concerns that have been raised and take concrete steps to address them.” And Boston Herald columnist Jeff Robbins cogently argued in an important new article: “Based on what we know so far, UVM could stand some disinfecting, by one means or another.” Alyza D. Lewin Explains Contemporary Anti-Semitism in Hadassah Video Address Brandeis Center President Alyza D. Lewin premiered a new video address at the Hadassah Shir Shalom chapter event “Antisemitism: On Our Campuses.” In her remarks, President Lewin describes current examples of campus anti-Semitism and explains that it is impossible to support Jews while opposing Zionists – “Because Zionism is an integral part of Jewish identity….The Jews’ history, ancestry, theology and culture are all inextricably intertwined with the land of Israel.” Hadassah’s Education and Advocacy Division plans to include Lewin’s video in other chapter events nationwide as part of a program to raise awareness and understanding of contemporary anti-Semitism. Alyza D. Lewin Speaks to Hadassah about Campus-Antisemitism (10/2/2022) Upcoming Events Featuring Brandeis Center Attorneys Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus will speak at a DePaul University College of Law, Center for Jewish Law & Judaic Studies conference on November 3: ‘Antisemitic Influences in DEI Programs – Can They Be Corrected?’ Attendees will have the opportunity to earn up to three units of General Illinois Continuing Education Credit. Registration is open. The program examines whether bias in Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) personnel, programs and teachings whitewash Jewish identity, deny the authentic Jewish experience and falsely depict all Jews as privileged and white. Other guest speakers include Brandeis Center client Ronald C. Albucher, M.D., a Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford University Medical School – and a complainant in the Brandeis Center’s pending EEOC case against Stanford University; Suzanna Sherry, Professor of Law Emerita, Vanderbilt Law School; April Powers, Managing Director, First Impression Rx and conductor of diversity and inclusion strategy; Jason Bedrick, Director of Policy at the Tikvah Fund’s EdChoice and a research fellow in the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation. Also on November 3, Brandeis Center Senior Counsel Arthur Traldi will present ‘Law and the Oldest Hatred’ on site at the University of Chicago Law School for its Diversity Scholars Series. The event is co-sponsored by the Dean of Students Office and the Jewish Law Students Association. Registration is open. Brandeis Center Welcomes Fall Law Clerks and Undergraduate Interns As the fall academic semester began, we welcomed a new and talented group of law clerks and undergraduate communications and development interns to aid our work at the Brandeis Center. Intern Bryn Schneider (American University, May 2025) introduced them in a new Brandeis Center blog post. Bryn also authored a blog post about Chairman Marcus’s recent Fox & Friends broadcast segment discussing anti-Semitism at Berkeley School of Law. Donate to the Brandeis Center Sign up for our monthly Brandeis Brief and other messages from us Forward this email to a friend The Louis D. Brandeis Center 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 1025, Washington, DC 20006You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. The Louis D. Brandeis Center is a nonprofit organization supported by individuals, groups and foundations that share our concern about Jewish college students. Contributions are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. To support our efforts to combat campus anti-Semitism, please contact us at info@brandeiscenter.com