Download PDF Washington, D.C., April 25, 2018: StandWithUs and The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) are deeply concerned by a discriminatory joint statement signed by 51 student organizations targeting two pro-Israel organizations at New York University (NYU). On Tuesday, April 24, 2018, StandWithUs and LDB sent a legal letter to NYU President Andrew Hamilton, calling on him to thoroughly investigate this discriminatory conduct and if violations are found, discipline the responsible student organizations, consistent with applicable constitutional protections. The letter explained that the student groups have indicated an intent to take actions that may violate university policies as well as state and federal civil rights law. On April 9, 2018, 51 NYU student organizations co-signed a joint statement pledging to boycott Israeli goods, Israeli academic institutions and conferences, and numerous pro-Israel outside organizations. Additionally, the statement promotes the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and commits to boycotting TorchPAC and Realize Israel, NYU’s pro-Israel student organizations. As the StandWithUs and LDB letter states, the statement “effectively discriminates against Israeli students at NYU on the basis of their national origin. It also “effectively discriminates against many Jewish students, as Zionism is the movement for Jewish self-determination.” In this way, the discriminatory statement “seeks to denigrate this vital aspect of mainstream Jewish identity.” “This joint statement amounts to a malicious, anti-Semitic campaign intended to suppress and marginalize pro-Israel and Jewish students on campus,” said Yael Lerman, Director of the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department. “We call on the NYU administration to investigate acts of bigotry and to show a zero tolerance policy for any violations of state law or university policy.” Aviva Vogelstein, Director of Legal Initiatives at LDB, called for President Hamilton to move beyond mere dialogue to unify his campus. “While we agree that ongoing discussion is vital, Jewish and Israeli students must not feel that their basic rights on campus are in jeopardy.” The full text of the letter can be found here About StandWithUs: StandWithUs (SWU) is a sixteen-year-old, international, non-profit Israel education organization. Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films, and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their campuses and communities about Israel. Based in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters throughout the U.S., in Israel, the UK and Canada. About The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law: The Louis D. Brandeis Center, Inc., or LDB, is an independent, nonprofit organization established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. The Brandeis Center conducts research, education and advocacy to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses. It is not affiliated with the Massachusetts university, the Kentucky law school, nor any of the other institutions that share the name and honor the memory of the late U.S. Supreme Court justice.