May 16, 2013 Norway’s New Generation Quislings Because it “gives support to old conspiracy theories about Jews controlling media,” the Oslo Newspaper, “Dagsavisen,” recently took down from its site pro-Palestinian activist Siri Lill Thowsen’s article: “Is There Jewish Dominance over International and Norwegian Media?” Though the anti-Israel Lobby is howling in protest that the removal demonstrates Thowsen’s thesis, nothing could be further […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
May 14, 2013 The Church of Scotland Turns Its Back on Its Own History—and the Jews In the face of fierce Jewish criticism, the Church of Scotland is rewording its draft report—“The Inheritance of Abraham”—denying that Jews have a claim the land of Israel rooted in either the Bible or the Holocaust. The draft still favors the BDS’s anti-Israel boycott. Calvinist Scotland—which transplanted Presbyterianism to the U.S.—was once the redoubt of […] Blog
May 11, 2013 Anti-Semitism Without Many—if Any—Jews The phenomenon of anti-Semitism without many—if any—Jews has again been placed in the spotlight by a survey of Polish middle school students about Jews in relation to the seventieth anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. The finding that the children’s knowledge about the Uprising was “extremely weak” has been disputed by Magdalena H. Gross in […] Anti-Semitism Blog
May 10, 2013 AAUP: Israel Boycott Violates Academic Freedom In a stinging rebuke to the Asian-American Studies Association, the American Association of University Professors has just strongly reaffirmed its opposition to academic boycotts. The new AAUP statement responds to both Stephen Hawking’s recent controversial decision to boycott Israel as well as the AASA decision to endorse the anti-Israel boycott. The AAUP acknowledges that individual […] Anti-Zionism Blog
May 9, 2013 So Why Did Stephen Hawking Think It Was OK to Visit China and Iran? Left Foot Forward, a left-wing British political blog, asks this excellent question today about Stephen Hawking’s decision to boycott the State of Israel. Indeed, Hawking reportedly traveled to both China and Iran over the last few years. His decision to boycott Israel was reported yesterday, then retracted, then confirmed by the end of the day. Hawking […] Anti-Zionism Blog
May 8, 2013 Is BDS Anti-Semitic? Join the FB Conversation Do you think that the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement (BDS) is anti-Semitic? Does it matter whether BDS is aimed at Israel’s activities in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria, or whether it is aimed at the entire country? Is this a meaningful distinction? A lively discussion is proceeding on the Brandeis Center’s popular Facebook […] Anti-Semitism Anti-Zionism Blog
May 8, 2013 Is Art Criticizing Suicide Bombers “Hate Speech”? My second of three posts for the Brandeis Center examines the use of “hate speech” policies on college and university campuses. Specifically, I want to focus on several cases in which these policies have been used to censor or punish students and faculty for expressing speech even mildly critical of Islam. These cases demonstrate that […] Anti-Zionism
May 6, 2013 Free Speech on Campus and the Spirit of Louis Brandeis I was pleased earlier this year when Ken Marcus, President of the Brandeis Center, asked me to guest blog for the Brandeis Center regarding my recent book, Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, and my work as President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). The First Amendment and […] Blog
May 5, 2013 LDB Academic Advisor Alvin Rosenfeld Honored Professor Alvin Rosenfeld, a distinguished scholar and member of the Louis D. Brandeis Center’s Academic Advisory Board, has just received a major award from his home institution, Indiana University. The Brandeis Center congratulates Dr. Rosenfeld for this distinction and commends IU Provost Lauren Robel for bestowing the honor. WASHINGTON, DC, May 5, 2013 — The […] Anti-Semitism Blog
May 5, 2013 Berkeley Student Senate Guts Anti-Israel Divestment Resolution The University of California’s long, ugly battle over anti-Israel divestment has just gotten even messier. Brandeis readers will recall that Berkeley’s student senate passed a resolution on April 18 urging divestment from companies that do business with Israel. Berkeley’s Chancellor Robert Birgeneau immediately repudiated the measure and announced that it would have no impact on […] Anti-Zionism Blog