July 2023 Brandeis Brief

This month, the federal government opened an investigation into the Brandeis Center’s complaint against SUNY New Paltz, the first complaint involving anti-Semitism to be opened by the Education Department since the Biden administration released its National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus continued to provide insights about the Biden antisemitism plan to news outlets – from Wake Up America to Jewish Insider to the Society of Human Resource Management. The Brandeis Center’s work and comments by President Alyza D. Lewin featured prominently in a major campus anti-Semitism series of articles across of the USA Today Network. And applications are now being accepted for law students interested in attending the Brandeis Center’s Beren Law Student Leadership Conference on civil rights and anti-Semitism, to be held in August in Washington, D.C.

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U.S. Dept. of Education Opens Investigation into Anti-Semitism at SUNY New Paltz
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The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation based on the Brandeis Center’s Title VI complaint against Paltz, which was filed on behalf of Jewish on Campus and two Jewish students who were expelled from a sexual assault survivor support group, and then then bullied, harassed and threatened over their Jewish and Israeli identities.
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With the opening of this investigation of campus anti-Semitism, the first since the Biden Administration unveiled the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, OCR signaled that anti-Zionist discrimination and harassment will be taken seriously – just as it did with the landmark resolution reached with the University of Vermont, another case based on a Brandeis Center complaint. The federal government is also investigating anti-Semitic discrimination based on Brandeis Center complaints at the University of Illinois, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, and Brooklyn College.

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Brandeis Center Director of Legal Initiatives Denise Katz-Prober provided insights and context to numerous news organizations about the investigation announcement: “The opening of this investigation by the Department of Education, the very first since President Biden announced his national strategy to combat anti-Semitism, sends a clear and unequivocal signal to SUNY New Paltz as well as universities across the country that they take anti-Zionist discrimination and harassment seriously and they expect universities to take it just as seriously.”

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Kenneth L. Marcus Shapes the Reaction to the Biden Administration’s Anti-Semitism Plan

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Following the release of the Biden administration’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus explained in a public statement, well as in numerous interviews, that the Biden Plan is commendable for its ambitions and strong on rhetoric but ultimately weak on substance. The key at this point, he explained, is to raise awareness of the Biden plan’s positive contributions.

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Focusing on the Biden plan’s workplace dimensions, Marcus told the Society of Human Resource Management that the Biden plan signals the need for urgent managerial attention – from the private sector as well as the federal government: “It is extraordinary to see the White House urging education and training on anti-Semitism in the workplace so that managers and workers will be better equipped to identify and counter it.” Marcus emphasized that the White House is joining the effort to promote employee resource groups (ERGs) for Jewish employees.

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With respect to higher education, Marcus told Inside Higher Ed: “This strategy document, coupled with the new OCR Dear Colleague letter, make very clear that IHRA is part and parcel of the laws of the United States and that it is part of the evaluation process used by OCR whenever there is an applicable case of anti-Semitism brought to federal investigators.”

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Marcus’s insights were also featured on Jewish Insider’s podcast and several JI articles, the Algemeiner, Jewish Journal, JNS, and many others.

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Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus discusses the Biden administration’s “U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism” on the Newsmax program “Wake Up America” (May 29, 2023)

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Marcus Connects the Dots Between Anti-Semitism at CUNY Law, UVM and the Biden Plan

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In an interview with Jewish Insider, Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus highlighted the throughline connecting (yet another) problematic commencement speaker at CUNY Law school, the Biden administration’s National Strategy to Combat anti-Semitism, and the recent landmark Resolution Agreement that the U.S. Dept. of Education reached with the University of Vermont.

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With the Biden plan in place, the U.S. Education Dept. “has everything it needs in order to respond appropriately to anti-Semitism at CUNY Law or anywhere else,” Marcus confirmed.

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The Brandeis Center Chairman noted that the National Strategy directly refers to LDB’s complaint against UVM over its failure to respond to anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment – including incidents targeting Jewish students over support for Israel: “If that case involved anti-Semitism – and the Biden administration recognizes that it did – then CUNY involves anti-Semitism, too. To the extent that any questions remain, it would be smart for Biden administration officials to address CUNY quickly and directly in order to remove any doubts.”

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In USA Today Network series on Campus Anti-Semitism, Alyza D. Lewin Explains Why Biden Strategy Must Address All Forms of Anti-Semitism – Including Anti-Zionism – to be Effective

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Brandeis Center President Alyza D. Lewin – and LDB clients in our SUNY New Paltz case – feature in the first installment of a campus anti-Semitism series by the USA Today Network. President Lewin explains that for the National Strategy to effectively counter the normalization of anti-Semitism, it must address all forms of anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination: “Targeting Jews on the basis of their connection to the state of Israel is just as anti-Semitic as targeting them on the basis of their Sabbath observance.”

The USA Today Network New Jersey Editorial Board published a separate piece on the series it is running, mentioning LDB cases against SUNY New Paltz, the University of Vermont and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. The Board included a quote from President Lewin’s interview with the author of the USA Today Network series in which Lewin commended the Biden administration for issuing the National Strategy, because it “demonstrates that they take anti-Semitism seriously” and recognizes “that it’s not just a Jewish problem, but one that needs to be addressed by the entire society.”

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Aish.com Lauds Alyza D. Lewin, Who ‘Comes From a Long Line of Fighters’
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Brandeis Center President Alyza D. Lewin was the subject of an effusive profile in Aish.com, “Alyza Lewin: Defending the Jewish People, Inside and Outside the Courtroom.”
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The feature explored and lauded Lewin’s Brandeis Center work in our Ben & Jerry’s and USC cases, as well has her achievement in the Jerusalem passport case. The profile acknowledges that, “The human rights lawyer comes from a long line of fighters,” and describes how Lewin draws inspiration from her father, Nathan Lewin.
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“We never know why things happen the way they do or the ripple effect of our own actions, but if you are blessed to live long enough you might see the arc,” Lewin said, referring to the delayed impact of the US Supreme Court’s decision in the Zivotofsky (Jerusalem passport) case she argued. In that case, the Court struck down a law requiring the US State Department to list “Israel” as the place of birth for US citizens born in Jerusalem. The State Department practice was to list “Jerusalem” instead of “Israel” as the country of birth because the US government did not recognize Jerusalem as being within Israel. In the same opinion, the Court granted the President of the United States the exclusive authority to recognize foreign sovereigns. President Trump subsequently exercised that exclusive authority when he recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Because the Supreme Court in the Zivotofsky case granted the President exclusive authority over such matters, the actions of President Trump regarding Jerusalem and the Golan Heights remain official US policy today. In addition, in 2020, the US State Department changed its policy so that today, US citizens born in Jerusalem may list “Israel” as their place of birth on their US passports.
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In the Aish.com profile, Lewin also described her representation of Avi Zinger, the manufacturer and distributor of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel, as well as her work at the Brandeis Center defending Jewish students who have found themselves “pushed out of clubs, student governments, and communities on campus” because they believe Israel has a right to exist. “Universities have a legal obligation to protect students on their campus from discrimination and harassment,” explained Lewin. “I grew up watching my father protect Jews’ religious rights. What I realized is that it’s not enough anymore. We have to protect Jews based on ancestry and history as well. We have every right to take pride in our Judaism and fully engage in society. My hope is to be able to give Jews the confidence to express their identity and help ensure the laws protect our ability to fully engage in society.”

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Brandeis Center Commends U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler for Bill Preventing Federal Funding of Anti-Semitic Events
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“In light of the anti-Semitic commencement ceremonies at CUNY Law, we are glad to see public officials taking action. U.S. Representative Mike Lawler has just introduced a new bill to prevent federal funding for anti-Semitic events. We hope that this provokes an important conversation about how we can prevent public institutions from promoting hatred of the Jewish people, or any group, while also ensuring full protection of the freedom of speech,” reads LDB’s statement.

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Alyza D. Lewin Highlights Jewish Pride in Articles about Jewish Students on Campus
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In a JNS story about campus anti-Semitic incidents, Brandeis Center President Alyza D. Lewin urges Jewish “self-confidence and pride” as the best response Jewish students can offer to campus anti-Semitism. Lewin also recaps the “historic and precedent-setting” Resolution Agreement the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights reached with the University of Vermont, based on a Brandeis Center complaint.
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In an Algemeiner profile of Tessa Veksler, the first Shabbat-observant student body president to be elected at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Lewin emphasizes the importance and positivity of Veksler’s Jewish identity gaining such visibility across campus – and the broader impact that could have: “Having a student body president who is in the position to be able to explain, for example, the need for Yom Kippur accommodations is immensely positive,” said Lewin. “When there’s an Orthodox Jewish Sabbath observer as a student body president, they are able to make sure that Jewish students do not miss out on club fairs or other student programming. They’re also able to explain to make sure that faculty are made aware of the need to accommodate students’ needs, and even to make sure that students are aware that they can request religious accommodations — for Yom Kippur, as well as Ramadan.”

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Brandeis Center Director of Legal Initiatives Denise Katz-Prober spoke to Chris DeBello on his WNNJ-FM radio show and national podcast Issues and Ideas with Chris DeBello about the rise of anti-Semitism on college campuses and how the Brandeis Center is using the law to confront this growing problem and empower students to assert their rights.

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LDB Beren Law Student Leadership Conference
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The Brandeis Center’s Beren Law Student Leadership Conference will bring together law student leaders, prominent legal scholars, and leading civil rights attorneys to learn about, discuss, and exchange lessons on the key civil and human rights issues impacting Jewish Americans today – particularly on campus. Participants will learn how to use the law to fight anti-Semitism, engage with other Jewish student leaders, and network with leading civil rights attorneys.

Students are invited to apply via the form at this link: bit.ly/beren-law-application.

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Former Brandeis Center Fellow Appointed to Virginia Antisemitism Task Force
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The Brandeis Center is delighted to share with our supporters that Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares appointed former Brandeis Center JIGSAW Fellow Joel Taubman to be a member of his Antisemitism Task Force.
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Taubman served as a law clerk, then as a JIGSAW Fellow, at the Brandeis Center while studying at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. During his LDB tenure, Taubman received in-depth legal training to effectively combat anti-Semitism on campus, worked under Brandeis Center attorneys to support Jewish students, and used his experience to educate on anti-Semitism and the law.
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Virginia Attorney General Miyares announced this first-of-its-kind Antisemitism Task Force in February to combat “the oldest and most sustained form of bigotry known to mankind.” The task force of government and community members has four goals: educating, monitoring, information-gathering, and coordination with law enforcement.
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Taubman joins leaders in the Virginia Jewish community and Brandeis Center partners at Hillel International and the Anti-Defamation League in the work of this important group. The Brandeis Center is pleased to have given Taubman the tools to succeed in this role and applauds Attorney General Miyares for his leadership in taking proactive measures to protect the Jewish community.

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Welcome, Summer Law Clerks
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Returning intern – and new Villanova University college graduate – Nikki Merrill authored a blog post welcoming our two summer law clerks. Read all about how Nicole Beckman (rising 2L, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law) and Rafael Jacobs (rising 2L, New York University School of Law) are assisting LDB attorneys with legal research and writing.

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The Brandeis Center is Hiring
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The Brandeis Center is hiring for the full-time position of Litigation Counsel. We are looking for an attorney with 3-5 years of civil litigation experience, who can handle all aspects of litigation in federal court as well as before federal and state administrative agencies. The Litigation Counsel will join the Brandeis Center’s legal team in our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism on campus, in the corporate arena and beyond.

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