February 12, 2014 Anti-Semitism Around the World Last Week An organization called “Students for Israel” disseminates a useful weekly digest of anti-Semitic incidents, as well as articles about anti-Semitism, from around the world. Here is a selection of the incidents that SFI is reporting this week: Why does Facebook do such a terrible job dealing with Antisemitism on their website? Dexter Van Zile on Antisemitism […] Anti-Semitism Blog
February 11, 2014 BDS Returns to Campus — And it is Time to Fight Back BDS is back on American college campuses, especially on the West Coast — if indeed it ever left. For the last several months, public attention has been focused on successful boycott campaigns staged by anti-Israel groups at American academic associations such as the American Studies Association and the Asian American Studies Association. Now the […] Blog
February 11, 2014 Berlin Anti-Anti-Semitism Center Publishes New Research The Berlin International Center for the Study of Antisemitism (BICSA), headed by German political scientist Clemens Heni, has just issued its first newsletter. It is available on the internet, and it consists of several articles that may be of interest to Brandeis Center readers. An article by Ron Jontof-Hutter addresses the abuse of the South […] Anti-Semitism Blog
February 11, 2014 First Amendment Experts Debate Anti-BDS Bill Can Congress withhold funds from universities that adopt anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) policies? Two widely respected First Amendment experts disagree. Floyd Abrams, a leading First Amendment practitioner, argues that the new Roskam-Lapinski Bill is unconstitutional. Eugene Volokh, a leading First Amendment scholar at UCLA, disagrees. Readers of the Brandeis Center Blog will remember […] Anti-Zionism Blog
February 10, 2014 Symposium at U.K. Parliament Examines European Anti-Semitism Several important English institutions, including especially the Pears Institute at Birkbeck College London, are bringing public attention to the troubling recent findings of the major survey into antisemitism in Europe carried out by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). These groups will conduct a symposium at the House of Commons on the afternoon of Tuesday March 18 to consider […] Anti-Semitism Blog
February 10, 2014 Jewish Prisoners’ Kosher Food Case Successfully Resolved in Florida It is good to see the successful resolution today of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty’s lawsuit establishing the right of Florida prison inmates to kosher food. Earlier today, Bruch Rich, an Orthodox Jewish Florida prisoner, withdrew his four-year-old complaint seeking a kosher diet, as a result of a a recent court order that requires […] Litigation
February 10, 2014 LDB Congratulates ADL’s Abraham Foxman Upon His Retirement JTA is announcing Abraham Foxman’s retirement from the Anti-Defamation League. His departure comes at a delicate time as anti-Semitism continues to surge around the world and on many American college and university campuses. LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus congratulates Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s longtime national director, upon his upcoming retirement. “Mr. Foxman has had […] Anti-Semitism Blog
February 9, 2014 Introducing BICOM and Fathom: working to provide a more supportive environment for Israel in Britain BICOM, the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre, is an independent British organisation dedicated to providing a more supportive environment for Israel in Britain. BICOM pursues its objectives through a range of activities, one of which is the publication of the quarterly Fathom journal under the editorship of Professor Alan Johnson. With its aim stated […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
February 9, 2014 British High Court Denies Ahava Boycotters’ Appeal Various news outlets are reporting that England’s high court has denied an appeal by the four anti-Israel protesters who had been convicted for trespassing inside a London branch of Ahava, the Israeli cosmetics company. The four had been convicted in 2011 of illegal trespassing for chaining themselves to a concrete block in an Ahava store in […] Blog
February 7, 2014 Roskam & Lipinski Introduce Federal Anti-Boycott Legislation Yesterday Congressmen Peter Roskam and Dan Lipinski introduced anti-boycott legislation to prevent academic boycotts against the State of Israel. This bill would supplement existing federal and state anti-boycott statutes that were passed decades ago in response to the Arab boycott of Israel. Specifically, this bill would block federal funding for universities that engage in anti-Israel boycotts. Rep. Roskam’s […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog