The Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law (LDB) joined a coalition of 30 national organizations, led by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), that sent a letter to the leaders of 165 colleges and universities, urging them to address the surge of anti-Semitism on campuses across the country. The letter describes the challenging reality that Jewish students are facing on college campuses across the country: Many Jewish students are feeling harassed, afraid to express their Jewish identity — including their support for Israel — and afraid for their emotional well- being and physical safety…. [T]he situation has worsened for Jews in the U.S. and around the world… Antisemitism on our college campuses has been equally alarming, particularly because the antisemites are finding new ways to target and persecute Jews. There are still incidents of antisemitic vandalism on campus, with mezuzahs being ripped off of students’ doors in their residence halls, and swastikas defacing campus property. In addition, Jewish students are under siege from antisemitism related to Israel and Zionism. This form of antisemitism masquerades as legitimate political discourse, but in fact, it is yet another expression of Jew-hatred, causing Jewish students to feel harassed, threatened and even afraid for their safety. The letter explicitly cites egregious examples of anti-Semitism that occurred at New York University, the University of Southern California and Oklahoma City University, and reminds the universities of their legal obligations to protect Jewish students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Executive Order on Combatting Anti-Semitism. The letter describes a disturbing example, where anti-Semitism was tolerated at an academic conference about Gaza in 2019 that was co-sponsored by Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: [The conference] blatantly targeted Jews. The conference featured a rapper who announced to the audience that he was going to sing “my antisemitic song” and encouraged the audience to join in. Urging them to “think of Mel Gibson – go that antisemitic – I cannot be antisemitic alone,” the rapper sang the refrain, “Oh, I’m in love with a Jew.” The audience – which presumably included university staff, students, faculty and “scholars” – sang along, laughing. The letter further recommends that universities take specific steps to ameliorate hostility towards Jewish students on campus. These recommendations include: responding promptly to anti-Semitic incidents by issuing public condemnations of anti-Semitism; utilizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism to educate the university community about different forms of anti-Semitism; and mandating training on anti-Semitism for all students and university staff that uses the IHRA definition as a guide for understanding the many manifestations of anti-Semitism. The Brandeis Center is pleased to support this timely initiative, spearheaded by the ZOA, along with other organizations that are engaged in the critical effort to combat anti-Semitism at institutions of higher learning. Read the press release here