Brandeis Center Presses Vassar College to Hold Student Group Accountable

 

The Brandeis Center has urged Vassar College President Catherine Bond Hill to take penalizing action against the college’s chapter of SJP, Students for Justice in Palestine. In a letter to Vassar President Catherine Bond Hill on May 19^th, 2014, “We believe that this incident may raise serious issues concerning federal civil rights law.” SJP recently posted a Nazi propaganda poster on their Tumblr page.

The posters are German from 1944 and they portray a monster in a Star of David loincloth with many hands, wearing a KKK (Ku Klux Klan) mask, holding a little man grasping a moneybag, and attached to an American plane wing while it destroys a European town. It is entitled “Liberators.” The Brandeis Center urges Vassar President Bond Hill to take swift action against this group.

The Center made it clear to President Bond Hill that this incident at her school is a step backwards in the fight for respectful discussion, saying, “More broadly, this incident is deeply offensive and antithetical to basic notions of civil discourse.”  Brandeis Center lawyers added, “we urge you to take additional prompt and effective action to address this problem including taking strong disciplinary action against SJP.”

This incident at Vassar comes just days after its chapter of SJP Vassar posted other material on its Tumblr page concerning the Holocaust and the UN’s response. This cartoon shows major powers during the creation of Israel. It shows the Jews moving Palestinians in 1948; upset, the Palestinians ask why the Jews can do that, and the major powers respond with “Holocaust, Holocaust indeed.” This is propaganda to suggest that any so-called “illegal action” by Israel is justified by the Holocaust.

An opinion piece written earlier this month raises the point that colleges should be willing to support Pro-Israel events and programming just as much as they support Pro-Palestinian events and programming. It notes, “Likewise, it is arguably time for colleges and universities to examine the question if the support from faculty and staff for supposedly ‘pro-Palestinian’ activism shouldn’t be matched by support from programs that would educate students about anti-Semitism.” If colleges such as Vassar tolerate hate, masked as Anti-Israel criticism, they should protect the freedom for Pro-Israel and critics of anti-Semitism to speak as well. Not to do so would be biased to anti-Semitic groups and not respectful of the greater discourse. 

At The Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, we are strongly committed to making sure those who are Jewish or those with pro-Israel views are not marginalized throughout college campuses. Says LDB President Kenneth Marcus, “It is reprehensible to see Nazi propaganda disseminated on an American university campus. We hope that Vassar College will demonstrate strong resolve in responding to this outrage.” 

Vassar President Catherine Hill said on Wednesday that Vassar is “investigating the SJP’s online posting as a bias incident under college regulations. I also request that the SJP Vassar membership take responsibility for its actions and cease representing itself as an official Vassar group, pending these investigations. Vassar College is committed to free speech and academic freedom, but we condemn racist, hateful speech.”

The Brandeis Center has been dealing with problems at several other universities recently. Brooklyn College President Karen Gould had to apologize to Brandeis Center clients for Brooklyn College’s actions involving unlawful expulsion of Jewish, pro-Israel students from a campus event. At the Brandeis Center’s urging, Brooklyn College implemented new speech policies to protect its students, including Jewish pro-Israel students, from suppression of their right to free speech. The Office of Residence Life at New York University is now looking into SJP’s actions as a “judicial matter.”  UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), according to The Brandeis Center, had created a hostile environment for Jewish students. As a result of measure by anti-Israel groups to divest from Israel, there were reports of Jewish students being verbally and physically attacked. The Center withdrew its civil rights complaint after the school pledged to implement several recommendations to combat discrimination against Jews on its campus.

 Title VI of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs that receive federal funds. This is of particular concern to us because these are tax dollars being given to public institutions that permit anti-Semitic activities on their campuses. The Brandeis Center’s actions are part of a legal advocacy initiative that strengthens student’s ability to report anti-Semitism on college campuses and focuses on the rebirth of anti-Semitism at universities across America. According to Staff Attorney, Danit Sibovits, “Our goal is to change the culture on campuses so that anti-Semitism is taken as seriously as other forms of hate and discrimination whole maintaining academic freedom and freedom of speech.” The Litigation Initiative focuses on getting people to talk about and report anti-Semitism. In addition, the Center actively educates senior university administrators on best practices for addressing campus anti-Semitism. The Center’s guidance can be found in our Best Practices Guide for Combating Campus Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism. 

The Louis D. Brandeis Center is in a vital position to change the course of dialogue on college campuses. Through the path of legal advocacy, the Center gives students a way to counter this anti-Semitism. The Brandeis Center is an independent, nonprofit civil rights organization that combats campus anti-Semitism through legal advocacy, research and education. If you feel or someone you know is a victim of anti-Semitism, contact us here, or write to 1776 I Street, NW Ste. 900, Washington, D.C. 20006, or call us at 202-756-1822. We provide our own approach to advocacy. Our approach is inclusive and cooperative. Whenever possible, we like to work with students, faculty, administrators, community organizations, and other groups.”