Published by Atlanta Journal-Constitution on 8/14/22; Story by Martha Dalton Three Jewish advocacy organizations have filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights alleging routine bullying and harassment of Jewish and Israeli students in Fulton County Schools. The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education and the National Jewish Advocacy Center filed the complaint last week. It accuses the school district of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin. The organizations announced Tuesday that they filed the complaint. “Jewish and Israeli students have been routinely subjected to frequent incidents of bullying and harassment by their peers — in hallways, in classrooms, on buses, and in schoolyards —simply due to their Jewish identity or Israeli national origin, while their teachers and administration, well-aware of the incidents, have either tacitly condoned it, or refused to take any real action to protect them,” the complaint states. Fulton County Schools denied the allegations in a written statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The complaint alleges Jewish students have been targeted and harassed in Fulton since Hamas launched an attack against Israel on Oct. 7. The strike killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis and foreigners. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed during the ensuing conflict, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1.9 million people have been displaced from Gaza, according to some estimates. The complaint alleges several incidents of antisemitism occurred in Fulton, including an altercation at a middle school where a student allegedly told an Israeli student, “Somebody needs to bomb your country, and hey, somebody already did.” The filing also states a student asked a fifth grade girl if she was Israeli, then told her she hates Jews and Israelis and thinks they should all be killed. The complaint says a second grade teacher, who had two Israeli students in her class, told her students the war in Gaza was Israel’s fault. “It is not just that these acts of harassment and bullying were occurring in the district, but that the administrations and the district itself … failed to take action and did not appear to understand the seriousness of the issue,” Marci Miller, director of legal investigations at the Brandeis Center, said in an interview. “It really gave a green light to the kids — and the teachers in some cases — that were harassing the Jewish students … realizing that there really would be no consequences for their behavior, it just continues to increase.” The filing says that Jewish parents offered to arrange antisemitism training for teachers and administrators, but the district refused. The groups claim Fulton officials dismissed parents’ concerns, didn’t discipline students and teachers who engaged in antisemitism, and didn’t provide a safety plan for students. “Fulton County Schools recognizes the strong feelings that were generated by the tragedy of October 7 and the continuing war in the Middle East. School leadership has continually communicated with parents and students with the goal of respecting one another and maintaining a focus on learning.” The complaint doesn’t ask for monetary compensation. Instead, the organizations made some requests of Fulton, including: issuing a statement denouncing antisemitism, disciplining teachers and students who engage in antisemitic behaviors, creating a task force made up of Jewish students and faculty to advise the district on how to improve school culture for Jewish students. Feeling safe at school is the end goal, Miller said. “We’re hoping that some changes are made at the beginning of the school year, so that we don’t experience another year like we did last year, and that (Fulton is) prepared to handle what’s coming,” she said.
Washington, D.C. (August 13, 2024) – The Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law, Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education (JAFE) and the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC), filed a Title VI complaint with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) against the Fulton County School District (FCSD) over routine anti-Semitic bullying and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students since October 7th, in the hallways, classrooms, buses and schoolyards of elementary, middle and high schools located across the District. The complaint documents numerous incidents showing how FCSD has fostered a hostile climate that has allowed anti-Semitism to thrive in its schools. FCSD has ignored pleas from Jewish and Israeli parents whose children have faced increasing physical and verbal harassment that has led many of them to feel unsafe and unwelcome at school. Said Denise Katz-Prober, Director of Legal Initiatives for the Brandeis Center, “The numerous incidents of anti-Semitic bullying and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students by their peers and teachers in the Fulton County School District – some even targeting the most vulnerable students in elementary and middle schools – are a disturbing reminder that anti-Semitism is a problem that impacts students long before they step foot on a college campus. The families of these Jewish and Israeli students have been left to fend for themselves, by administrators who dismiss their complaints and refuse to act. It is long past due for FCSD to take swift corrective action against the anti-Semitism that pervades their schools.” Fulton County School District Fosters a Hostile Environment and Culture of Anti-Semitism Just one day after Hamas’ terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, Jewish and Israeli students in FCSD were subject to other students yelling anti-Israel slogans and cursing at them. One Israeli middle school student was told by a classmate that “somebody needs to bomb your country, and hey, somebody already did.” A high school student approached a group of Jewish and Israeli girls and mimicked shooting them with a gun while making gunshot noises. Students have also burned “I stand with Israel” posters. Students have referred to Jews as “stinky.” In one particularly egregious instance, a student asked an Israeli 5th grade student if she was Israeli and then told her that she hates Jews and Israelis and they should all be killed. The same student kept approaching the Israeli student and happily describing all the atrocities that Hamas had committed in Israel, including beheading babies and butchering children. Further, some Jewish students, as young as six years old, have been told, during class and with teachers present, that Israel is entirely at fault for this war. The harassment is not limited to students, but tolerated and even conducted by teachers and other school officials. Just nine days after October 7th, a 2nd grade teacher told her class – which included two Israeli students – that the war was Israel’s fault. Further, educational materials used by FCSD teachers to indoctrinate students with one-sided history include maps that completely omit the State of Israel and erase the heritage of Jewish and Israeli students. In April, during cultural night at a District elementary school, five Israeli mothers of FCSD students were tabling with their children when they were verbally accosted and abused by a group of Palestinian parents. The Israeli mothers were yelled at and called “Nazis.” As the mothers began to shake and cry in fear for their children’s and their own safety, the leader of the Palestinian group – a father of another student – spat at them. After the victims complained to a school safety officer, the guard ultimately told the women that the man seemed nice, so he was not going to do anything. The harassment and bullying have been perpetrated and condoned not only by fellow students but also by teachers and administrators, who have fostered an intense climate of hostility and fear by teaching propaganda and by allowing students to harass their Jewish and Israeli peers before, during, and after class, mocking their pain and threatening their families. Parents reported the anti-Semitism to school administrators on numerous occasions. But instead of taking responsive action to address the anti-Jewish hostility, FCSD denied the anti-Semitic nature of the incidents or offered inadequate solutions. The cumulative effect of the anti-Semitic harassment and bullying by teachers and peers, anti-Semitic propaganda on schoolhouse walls, retaliation against those reporting anti-Semitism and a complete failure of FCSD to address the anti-Semitic climate, is the increased bullying, shunning and marginalization of Jewish and Israeli students. The hostile environment for Jewish students has become intolerable, and is ultimately denying Jewish students the full benefits of their federally-funded education and interfering with Jewish students’ ability to access their education. Said Kenneth L. Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, “Since October 7, much of the discussion around anti-Semitism in educational institutions has focused, rightfully so given the scale of the problem, around colleges and universities. However, as FCSD has shown, anti-Semitism also is being taught in K-12 schools and at times perpetuated by teachers and staff. As students enter the new school year, FCSD must fulfill its moral and legal obligations to create a school climate free from anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination.” The complaint against FCSD follows a series of legal actions taken by the Brandeis Center to address the eruption of anti-Semitism in K-12 schools after the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. The Brandeis Center has also filed a federal complaint against Berkeley Unified School District and is suing the New York Department of Education and the Santa Ana Unified School District for unaddressed anti-Semitism. The Brandeis Center also secured a recent win with respect to its complaint against the Community School of Davidson public charter school in North Carolina. About the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is an independent, unaffiliated, nonprofit corporation established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. LDB engages in research, education, and legal advocacy to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses, in the workplace, and elsewhere. It empowers students by training them to understand their legal rights and educates administrators and employers on best practices to combat racism and anti- Semitism. The Brandeis Center is not affiliated with the Massachusetts university, the Kentucky law school, or any of the other institutions that share the name and honor the memory of the late U.S. Supreme Court justice. More at www.brandeiscenter.com.
Are you looking for guidance on how to explain anti-Semitism to your colleagues and institutions? Do you want to better understand Title VI and VII? Do you want to learn how to effectively address and combat anti-Semitism in the workplace and on campuses? The American Jewish Medical Association will host a webinar with President Lewin to explain how anti-Semitism festers in university and workplace environments, providing a roadmap to approach issues that affected individuals may face. Register Now
American Jewish University President Dr. Jeffrey Herbst invited Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus to join him in a conversation on August 1, 2024, about anti-Semitism on college campuses. On the AJU webinar “Using Law to Fight Antisemitism,” Marcus explained that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the single most important tool to combat anti-Semitism, since its scope was clarified (by him during the George W. Bush administration) to include the Jewish people. He explained that Title VI incentivizes best practices from universities at a time when “few institutions were doing all of the right things.” This information comes critically at a time when Jewish have been excluded, for example, from a sexual assault survivor club for demonstrating their support for Israel, as evidenced in the Brandeis Center’s SUNY New Paltz case and alluded to by Marcus. “You would expect these institutions, today, of all times, to be ready for a problem like this,” Chairman Marcus shared. He explained how university Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs have received significantly-increased funding following the murder of George Floyd, but Jewish students have received, at best, mixed treatment from DEI offices: “They don’t say ‘Jews have faced a history of persecution,'” Marcus continued. “They say ‘Jews are white’.” Marcus uses this framework to convey that DEI is often part of the problem when dealing with campus anti-Semitism, rather than the solution. If there is one thing a college campus can do to address anti-Semitism, Marcus suggests that schools adopt the IHRA definition, the only internationally-agreed upon definition of anti-Semitism. Watch Chairman Marcus and Dr. Herbst’s fascinating conversation below. Watch the full webinar below: Play videoTextBlockModalTitle × Your browser does not support the video tag. Authored by: Jonah Feuerstein
August 1, 2024, (Washington, D.C.): Brandeis Center lauds settlement under which North Carolina State University agrees to take meaningful action to combat anti-Semitism Washington, D.C., (August 1, 2024): Today, Kenneth L. Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center, and Robin Pick, Senior Counsel at the Brandeis Center, issued the following statements in response to a recent settlement the Brandeis Center reached with North Carolina State University (NCSU) through the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Right’s (OCR) early mediation process. The settlement arises from a complaint filed with OCR alleging that NC State violated Title VI when it failed to address a hostile environment resulting from multiple incidents of harassment of a student based on her shared Jewish ancestry. Allegations by the complainant against NCSU include the following: During the complainant’s first week at school, she walked through a campus tunnel covered with swastikas. When she complained to the administration, they told her there was nothing they could do. The complainant was doxxed and harassed on social media for being Jewish and supporting Israel, with her name and face posted publicly. Classmates who knew that the complainant was Jewish, harassed and threatened her with violence as they sped past her, screaming out of a car window “Death to Jews! Death to Zionists!” In the face of a hostile anti-Semitic campus climate, the University has demonstrated a willingness to change course and combat anti-Semitism by implementing its non-discrimination policy in accordance with Executive Order 13899 and North Carolina General Statutes (including the new North Carolina House Bill 942 known as the SHALOM Act) which refer to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (“IHRA”) definition and its contemporary examples for identifying and combating ant-Semitism. Said Kenneth L. Marcus, founder and Chairman of the Brandeis Center: The Brandeis Center’s settlement with NCSU represents a significant step forward in our efforts to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses. This settlement paves the way for meaningful change on both NCSU’s campus and on college campuses throughout the country. The settlement agreement includes a commitment to abide by Executive Order 13899 and North Carolina Statutes, including North Carolina House Bill 942, which explicitly reference the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism and its contemporary examples for combating anti-Semitism. We commend the University for its commitment to include references to these important tools in the settlement agreement and in their revised anti-discrimination policy. Said Robin Pick, Senior Counsel at the Brandeis Center: By committing to combat anti-Semitism in accordance with Executive Order 13899 and North Carolina House Bill 942, which apply to training, education, recognizing, identifying and combating anti-Semitic hate and discrimination, NC State has the opportunity to be a leader and a model for other universities in the fight against anti-Semitism. The Resolution Agreement includes the following obligations: The University will revise, implement and disseminate its Non-Discrimination Policy in accordance with Title VI, Executive Order 13899, and North Carolina General Statutes (which include the newly passed SHALOM Act) and include language reflective thereof.Executive Order 13899 requires that both the IHRA definition and its contemporary examples be considered when identifying discrimination based on national origin and combating anti-Semitism; The SHALOM Act states that North Carolina adopts the Working Definition of Antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016, including the contemporary examples of antisemitism set forth therein, as a tool and guide for training, education, recognizing, and combating antisemitic hate crimes or discrimination. The University will take a firm stand against anti-Semitism by issuing a non-discrimination statement to the campus community that includes links to Executive Order 13899, North Carolina House Bill 942, OCR’s May 7, 2024 Dear Colleague Letter which contains examples of anti-Semitic harassment, along with other resources to combat discrimination on campus. The University will revise its trainings for students, faculty and staff and include example(s) from Executive Order 13899 or OCR guidance of the different ways Jewish students may experience discrimination and harassment. The University will conduct a campus climate survey and assess whether additional engagement, communication, resources and/or training are needed to improve the campus climate, including for the University’s Jewish community. Additionally, NCSU leadership will meet with students and leaders of Jewish organizations each semester to discuss community needs and concerns for Jewish students.
The U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation into campus anti-Semitism at Chapman University in response to a Brandeis Center complaint. LDB Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus testified again before a high-profile Congressional committee about surging campus anti-Semitism. The City University of New York entered into a resolution agreement with OCR to resolve nine discrimination complaints – including the Brandeis Center’s case against Brooklyn College. LDB Complaint Leads to Another Federal Anti-Semitism Investigation: Chapman University OCR opened an investigation into an LDB-filed complaint alleging that Chapman University violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to take action against anti-Semitic harassment and exclusion of Jewish students. Chapman Students for Justice in Palestine (CSJP) excluded a Jewish student from the group because of his shared Jewish ancestry. A member of CSJP made death threats against another Jewish student. The University failed to address the anti-Semitic conduct. LDB Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus observed that Chapman’s leadership, like that of administrations in many other universities across the country, is “refusing to do what’s needed to address these civil rights violations.” “It is imperative that federal officials enforce the law,” stated Marcus. “It is about time that the federal government is finally investigating Students for Justice in Palestine’s discriminatory activities.” Kenneth L. Marcus Testifies Before U.S. House Ways & Means Committee about ‘Perfect Storm’ Threatening the Safety of Jewish Students Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcuswas among a select group of experts invited to testify before the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee hearing “Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership.” In his opening statement, Marcus declared: “Over the last 20 years, I have been fighting anti-Semitism on college campuses, but never seen anything like what we have experienced since October 7. Over the time since…this Committee held its last hearing…we are seeing a kind of perfect storm of student violent extremism, professorial politicalization, undisclosed foreign funding, and often feckless and weak administration.” Ahead of his powerful testimony, Marcus appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to preview the campus anti-Semitism issues necessitating the hearing: “What I want to tell Congress today is that what we are facing today is a crisis,” asserted Marcus. “This is a…wake-up call – not just for the Jewish community, but for all Americans – that what we’re seeing is the fundamental change in our higher education culture. This is going to affect us all, and we’re all going to need to deal with it.” Play Full Hearing Recording – Cued to Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus’s Opening Statement videoTextBlockModalTitle × Your browser does not support the video tag. Play Kenneth Marcus on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ Ahead of House Ways & Means Hearing on Campus Antisemitism videoTextBlockModalTitle × Your browser does not support the video tag. CUNY Resolution Agreement Impacts LDB’s Brooklyn College Case; Alyza D. Lewin: ‘The Devil Will Be in the Details’ The City University of New York (CUNY) entered into a resolution agreement with OCR to resolve nine discrimination complaints – including the Brandeis Center’s case against Brooklyn College. Other CUNY schools impacted in the agreement include Baruch College, CUNY Law School, Hunter College, and Queens College. In 2020, Jewish students in Brooklyn College’s Graduate Program for Mental Health Counseling complained of “severe and persistent harassment” by their professors and peers based on their Jewish ethnic identity – bullied as “white and privileged” (notwithstanding their actual skin color) and “contributing to systemic oppression of people of color.” Faculty and administrators bullied Jews who complained, telling them: “Get your whiteness in check,” and “Keep your head down.” “The CUNY agreement is a step in the right direction as it recognizes that CUNY failed to adequately address the problem and sets up federal monitoring and oversight,” stated LDB President Alyza D. Lewin. “It is a far cry, however, from an ‘all clear’ for CUNY. The devil will be in the details. We are eager to see what specific steps CUNY will take to actively address the anti-Semitism that has run rampant on their campuses for far too long.” Continuing Coverage of OCR Resolution Agreement with North Carolina K-12 School Based on LDB-Filed Complaint The resolution agreement between the federal government and a North Carolina public school continues generating media coverage. According to the settlement, the Community School of Davidson permitted a non-Jewish student to be bullied viciously for two years by peers who perceived him as Jewish. The settlement requires the school to take concrete steps to address the systemic anti-Semitism it allowed to fester in its community – including publicizing a statement that it does not tolerate “acts of harassment based on a student’s actual or perceived race, color, or national origin including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics (e.g. antisemitism),” and conducting annual trainings of school staff and administrators on anti-discrimination law under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics. “The really cruel impact that anti-Semitism can have – especially on children…has not been adequately addressed,” noted LDB Director of Legal Initiatives Denise Katz-Prober. The student “was subjected to degrading and vile anti-Semitic comments, sometimes daily and multiple times a day. The school [was] not recognizing the depth of the problem and the systemic nature of the problem.” Play Cenise Katz-Prober Explains K-12 Resolution Agreement with U.S. Ed. Dept. (Queen City News, NC) videoTextBlockModalTitle × Your browser does not support the video tag. LDB Congratulates Brooklyn Parents for Persuading NYC Schools Chancellor to Remove Community Ed Council Chair The Brandeis Center congratulates the Brooklyn parents who persuaded NYC Schools Chancellor David C. Banks to remove a local community education council chair over anti-Semitic messages and events. LDB Director of Corporate Initiatives and Senior Counsel Rory Lancman provided critical support and assistance. Last November, concerned Brooklyn parents sought LDB’s help communicating to Chancellor Banks and the office of Family and Community Engagement the urgent need for action – a Community Education Council President (CEC) had begun using her position to promote anti-Semitic messages and events, including student walkouts and removal of pro-Israel parents from CEC meetings. Chancellor Banks took the unprecedented step of removing the CEC 14 president in June 2024. The Brandeis Center is grateful for the opportunity to play a role in advancing the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promoting justice for all. Congratulations to the dedicated parents and their students who benefit from a less discriminatory education environment. Marci Lerner Miller Explains How K-12 Anti-Semitism Leads to Anti-Semitism on Higher Ed Campuses In an Algemeiner story on the Portland Association of Teachers indoctrinating children with anti-Zionist propaganda, Brandeis Center Director of Legal Investigations Marci Lerner Miller explained the foundational impact K-12 anti-Semitism has on creating the climate of Jew-hate now sweeping America’s college campuses: “Many students arrive at their first day of college already having been taught to hate Israel and Jews,” stated Miller. “Addressing K-12 anti-Semitism helps us get to the root of the problem in many cases. The Office for Civil Rights has taken an interest in investigating it, and Congress recently called the superintendent of the [LDB K-12 case] Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) to testify about what is happening there.” The Algemeiner article notes that the Brandeis Center has “taken the lead in fighting anti-Semitism at the K-12 level.” In addition to discussing the Brandeis Center’s BUSD case, the article also covers the recent resolution agreement in the Brandeis Center’s Davidson case. Kenneth L. Marcus Discusses Campus Anti-Semitism in New Podcast Interview Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus sat with former Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO and the founder of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, David Bernstein, for an extended interview on free speech, diversity, and anti-Semitism on campus. Marcus shares specific examples of harassment from LDB cases against UC Berkeley, Stanford, and Brooklyn College, the inadequacies of incremental reforms, and the legal actions the Brandeis Center is pursuing to protect Jewish civil and human rights. They discuss the tension between free speech and equal protection, the impact of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives, and the broader ideological trends fueling campus hostility. Play videoTextBlockModalTitle × Your browser does not support the video tag. Sapir Journal Includes Alyza D. Lewin Essay in New ‘Toolkit for Concerned Parents’ To assist parents concerned about the anti-Semitism they see at school and provide direction on how best to address it, Bret Stephens’ quarterly journal, Sapir, issued a curated collection of articles from the Sapir archives as a toolkit for parents. Featured in the collection is LDB President Alyza D. Lewin’s widely-read 2023 essay “Anti-Zionist Harassment Is Against the Law, Too.” Sapir reminds readers that Lewin’s essay outlines “the rigorous application of laws already on the books to protect people from harassment and discrimination.” Denise Katz-Prober Interviewed on ‘Too Jewish’ Podcast about Campus Anti-Semitism Brandeis Center Director of Legal Initiatives Denise Katz-Prober sat with Rabbi Sam Cohon, host of the radio program and podcast “Too Jewish.” In the extended interview, Katz-Prober discusses the firestorm of campus anti-Semitism, including specifics from LDB cases, such as the recent resolution agreement between the Davidson school and OCR, based on an LDB-filed complaint. Brandeis Center Appoints Senior Legal Fellow Jody Forchheimer The Brandeis Center announced the appointment of Jody Forchheimer as the organization’s newest Senior Legal Fellow. Ms. Forchheimer brings over four decades of experience in leading significant litigation and regulatory investigations following her graduation from Harvard Law School. She was an equity partner at Bingham (now Morgan Lewis), head of litigation and regulatory investigations at Fidelity, and of counsel at O’Melveny & Myers. She directed teams to complete victories in the 1st, 3rd, 8th and D.C. circuit courts of appeals, the Massachusetts and New York state appellate courts, and numerous lower courts and arbitration forums. “I am honored to join the Brandeis Center during such a pivotal moment,” stated Ms. Forchheimer. “In my role as Senior Legal Fellow, I am eager to leverage my legal acumen and passion for justice to support Jewish students across the nation who face discrimination.” Welcome and Blog Posts by LDB’s Summer Law Clerks and Interns The Brandeis Center is delighted to welcome another fantastic group of summer law clerks and undergraduate interns to our team. Law clerks will assist LDB attorneys with legal casework, and interns will work with LDB’s Director of Communications on communications and policy projects. Summer 2024 intern Jonah Feuerstein (Cornell Univ., ’27) authored a blog post introducing himself and his fellow LDB summer clerks and interns Sarah Simon (Columbia Law, ’26), Jonathan Silverman (Southern California Gould School of Law, ’26), Eli Goldstein (American Univ., ’27), and Nicole Hirschkorn (Emory Univ., ’27). Eli Goldstein authored a blog post on LDB Chairman Marcus’s recent testimony before the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee hearing: “Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership.” And Nicole Hirschkorn was lead author on the press release announcing the hiring of Jody Forchheimer. Students interested in internship, clerkship, and fellowship opportunities are encouraged to apply here. The Brandeis Center is Hiring The Brandeis Center is hiring for multiple full-time positions: Senior Litigation Counsel (New York) New York Litigation Attorney Staff Attorney (New York; Washington, D.C.; or remote) Director of Development ( Washington, D.C.; New York; or remote) Executive Assistant (Washington, D.C. ǀ Telework) Duties, qualifications, and compensation are listed in the Opportunities section of our website. If you meet the qualifications and are passionate about our mission to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all, we want to hear from you. Interested candidates should send resumes and cover letters by electronic mail to info@brandeiscenter.com. For the attorney roles, we suggest also including a writing sample and list of references.
Published in the New York Post on 6/17/2024 by Carl Campanile and David Propper A Columbia University task force investigating antisemitism at the Manhattan Ivy League university has found a disturbing pattern of bias against Jews this year — including one professor who allegedly warned students to avoid the mainstream news because “it is owned by Jews,” according to a report. Task force members told Haaretz that Jewish and Israeli pupils at the uptown campus felt “very targeted and ostracized” in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza — and ongoing protests. In another shocking allegation, a professor singled out a student with a Jewish-sounding last name while reading a class roll call and demanding they justify Israel’s war against Hamas. Numerous students also reported having Jewish symbols torn off them while walking on campus, the Israeli outlet reported. Professors also encouraged students to take part in anti-Israel demonstrations, and some pupils were forced to quit out of clubs because they didn’t want to be part of actions against Israel. The Columbia antisemitism task force issued its first report in March. It has not issued its second, follow-up report yet. But, task force members told the Israeli newspaper that there is plenty of work to be done after the group was formed in November; it has heard from about 500 students. Professor Gil Zussman, an Israeli electric engineering professor, told The Post that the environment on campus is hostile to Israeli students, in particular. “There’s clear discrimination against Israeli students and Jews,” he said. “They’ve been targeted from the beginning by demonstrators.” He said he knows of at least two professors who brought their classes to anti-Israel encampments that cropped up on campus this spring. “That’s like saying, `We don’t want Zionists here,’” he said. “I believe it’s a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights law to move classes into the encampment.” Task force co-chair Ester Fuchs said the task force heard testimony that students believe their identity, values and existence on campus are under attack. “My heart was broken listening to these students and what they were being forced to deal with,” Fuchs told Haaretz. Another co-chair, law professor David Schizer, said the task force only understood how troubling antisemitism was on campus after hearing from scores of students. “Unfortunately, there are still many faculty members who do not believe that there is antisemitism on campus, and some claim that antisemitism is being weaponized to protect pro-Israel views,” he told Haaretz. A third co-chair, journalism professor Nicholas Lemann, told Haaretz the idea of Zionism is “unacceptable” in some circles. “In terms of what we’ve heard, Jewish and Israeli students are feeling very targeted and ostracized,” he said. Rory Lancman, an official with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, told The Post he worries that Columbia is searching for a “watered-down definition of antisemitism,” based on the reports. He think that indicates the school is not serious about fighting it on campus. “You can’t solve a problem that you’re unwilling to define,” said Lancman. The Post has sought comment from Columbia, though the school told Haaretz: “We are committed to combatting antisemitism and taking sustained, concrete action to ensure Columbia is a campus where Jewish students and everyone in our community feels safe, valued and able to thrive.”
Jewish students say they were subjected to violent threats and ‘anti-Semitic incidents’ by members of Students for Justice in Palestine Published 6/17/24 by Washington Free Beacon by Adam Kredo The federal government has opened a formal investigation into allegations that Chapman University, a California-based private school, permitted “unchecked anti-Semitism on campus” that included death threats to Jewish students such as “F*** yeah I want you and all Zionist trash bags dead.” The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law confirmed the Education Department’s investigation to the Washington Free Beacon early Monday. The center petitioned the federal government to launch a probe on behalf of several Jewish students who say they were subjected to violent threats and “anti-Semitic incidents” by members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the campus group behind pro-Hamas protests on college campuses across the country. Israeli victims of the Oct. 7 terror attacks are suing SJP and its parent group, American Muslims for Palestine, for allegedly serving “as collaborators and propagandists for Hamas.” After Hamas’s attack on Israel, members of Chapman’s SJP branch allegedly tried to remove “a Jewish student from the group because of his shared Jewish ancestry” and made “heinous death threats against a different Jewish student,” according to a press release and Education Department complaint reviewed by the Free Beacon. Chapman is the latest school to face a federal investigation over allegations that its leadership permitted Jew-hatred to simmer unchecked on campus as anti-Semitic protesters rallied against Israel and its war against Hamas. Anti-Semitism is soaring across America as Israel’s war continues, with U.S. college campuses serving as ground zero for Jew-hatred. The Education Department is investigating a number of schools for failing to adequately protect Jewish students and police Jew-hatred on campus. In one case outlined in the complaint, a Jewish student “was subjected to a death threat as well as other unlawful harassment on the basis of her Jewish identity” by members of Chapman’s SJP chapter. The female student was “threatened … because she is a Zionist.” In social media postings documented in the complaint, an SJP student wrote, “Death to all Israelis who follow Zionism.” When a Jewish student responded to the post, asking if this SJP member wanted her dead, the original poster replied: “F*** yeah I want you and all Zionist trash bags dead the f*** kinda question is that?” University administrators were informed of the incident but “failed to take effective steps to ensure [the student’s] safety on campus, allowing the perpetrator to live on and move freely about the campus.” Several other Jewish students named in the complaint say they were “unlawfully excluded” from Chapman’s SJP chapter “on the basis of Jewish shared ancestral and ethnic identity.” SJP “subjects Jewish students and those it believes may be Jewish to a litmus test,” the complaint alleges: “It denies access to club membership and events if the student does not deny his or her support for the Jewish State of Israel, which is an integral component of Jewish identity for many Jewish students.” The group does not apply the standard “to students it does not perceive to be Jewish,” such as those “who have surnames that do not ‘sound Jewish.'” When one of the students named in the complaint attempted to attend an SJP event on campus, he was denied access. “A university administrator, who was present and aware of the discriminatory exclusion, affirmed” the organization’s decision “to deny [the student’s] admission,” the complaint alleges. The Brandeis Center says Chapman University violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which affords protection to minority populations, including Jews. “These incidents,” the complaint alleges, “demonstrate that Chapman is failing to protect Jewish students and is denying them equal access to educational opportunities on the basis of their actual or perceived shared ancestry and ethnicity.” Kenneth Marcus, the Brandeis Center’s chairman, said that Chapman’s leadership, like administrations in many other universities across the country, is “refusing to do what’s needed to address these civil rights violations.” “It is imperative that federal officials enforce the law,” Marcus said in a statement. “It is about time that the federal government is finally investigating Students for Justice in Palestine’s discriminatory activities.”
Washington, D.C., June 17, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has opened an investigation into a federal complaint filed by The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law alleging Chapman University failed to take action after anti-Semitic harassment and exclusion of Jewish students in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The case involves anti-Semitic incidents perpetrated by Chapman Students for Justice in Palestine (CSJP) and its members. CSJP is a local chapter of a national anti-Jewish hate group, with the stated goal of “dismantling Zionism on college campuses.” After the October 7th Hamas massacre, actions by CSJP and its members included removing a Jewish student from the group because of his shared Jewish ancestry and making heinous death threats against a different Jewish student. The complaint specifically details several instances when the University failed to address anti-Semitic conduct by CJSP targeting Jewish students. First, was the exclusion of a Jewish Chapman student with a Jewish sounding surname when he attempted to join the group in September 2022 to learn about CSJP’s perspective. In October of 2022, he was removed from the listserv and effectively denied admission to the group. He was similarly rebuffed by CSJP when he renewed his attempts to join the group in October 2023 after Hamas’ terrorist attacks in Israel. CSJP failed to confirm his RSVP to a teach-in event and later denied him entry to the in-person event held on campus. This also happened with several other students who are Jewish or have Jewish-sounding names, who sought to attend the teach-in event, but did not receive the confirmation needed for admission by CSJP and therefore were barred from attending. The complaint explains that CSJP utilizes a litmus test whereby those believed to be Jewish, often on the basis of nothing other than a Jewish-sounding surname, are denied access to CSJP unless and until CSJP confirms that they do not support Israel. Non-Jewish students, however, are not subjected to this test. The second incident detailed in the complaint started on November 12, 2023 when a CSJP member sent a death threat to one of the Jewish students who was excluded from CSJP, after she responded to a social media post in which he called for “death to all Israelis who follow Zionism.” The student then asked the CSJP member if he wanted her dead. He responded “f*** yeah I want you and all Zionist trash bags dead the f*** kinda question is that?” The CSJP member then sent her a barrage of harassing messages accusing her of not being a real Jew and alleging that “Zionism is terrorism.” The complaint details Chapman’s failure to keep the Jewish student safe after she promptly reported the threat incident to Chapman’s Department of Public Safety. After the Department of Public Safety conducted a threat assessment and determined that the CSJP member was not a threat, however, the school permitted him to move back into on-campus housing pending an investigation by Chapman’s Office of Student Conduct. At no point since issuing the death threat has the student been prohibited from campus. The Jewish student had to live and study in fear for her physical safety at Chapman due to the death threat issued on the basis of her Jewish identity by an individual who was routinely on the Chapman campus. What is more, the same CSJP member continued to post anti-Jewish content on social media. After Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel, he filmed himself on TikTok vandalizing an on-campus memorial to the Israeli victims of the massacre. He also falsely accused another Jewish student of stealing his Palestinian flag and threatened him, going so far as to demand the Jewish student’s address. Said Kenneth L. Marcus, chair of the Brandeis Center and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, “Anti-Semitism continues to run rampant on college campuses. Too many universities are refusing to do what’s needed to address these civil rights violations. It is imperative that federal officials enforce the law. It is about time that the federal government is finally investigating Students for Justice in Palestine’s discriminatory activities. We welcome this outcome and look forward to pursuing the case to implement needed remedies to address past violations and stop future wrongs.” Other SJP chapters at Fordham, Rutgers, Brandeis and George Washington University have been banned or suspended. Ultimately, The Brandeis Center is seeking several remedies to ensure anti-Semitism is addressed including ensuring a comprehensive investigation into the death threat, ensuring student clubs are equally accessible to all Jewish students, disciplining student groups that engage in discrimination, revising anti-discrimination policies to better address the rights of Jewish students, and issuing a statement denouncing anti-Semitism in all forms and recognizing Zionism is a key component of Jewish identity for many of Chapman’s students. The Brandeis Center is also pursuing federal lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley. The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating Brandeis Center complaints of unaddressed anti-Semitism on numerous college campuses, including Wellesley, SUNY New Paltz, the University of Southern California, Brooklyn College, and the University of Illinois. The organization also recently filed complaints against American University, UC Santa Barbara, Occidental College, Pomona College, UMass-Amherst, and Ohio State University, working in some cases with partner institutions, such as the Anti-Defamation League and StandWithUs. At the K-12 level, the Brandeis Center has also filed a federal complaint against Berkeley Unified School District and is suing the New York Department of Education and the Santa Ana Unified School District for unaddressed anti-Semitism, after securing a recent win with respect to its complaint against the Community School of Davidson in North Carolina. The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is an independent, unaffiliated, nonprofit corporation established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. LDB engages in research, education, and legal advocacy to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses, in the workplace, and elsewhere. It empowers students by training them to understand their legal rights and educates administrators and employers on best practices to combat racism and anti-Semitism. More at www.brandeiscenter.com.
Did the Brandeis Center just have its most extraordinary month ever? It certainly looks that way. We announced we are suing Harvard University for leaving “cruel anti-Semitic bullying, harassment, and discrimination unaddressed for years.” We also announced an anti-Semitism lawsuit against Origins High School in New York City. We filed new Title VI complaints with the U.S. Dept. of Education (ED) Office for Civil Rights against four more institutions – the University of Massachusetts Amherst and three California schools: Pomona College, Occidental College , and the University of California, Santa Barbara. In a significant victory, a K-12 school in North Carolina agreed to settle an ED anti-Semitism complaint filed by LDB. And we expanded our previously-filed complaints against the Berkeley Unified School District and the University of California, Berkeley. In this jam-packed edition of the Brandeis Brief, we break all that activity down for you. LDB Sues Harvard for ‘Tolerating Rampant and Pervasive Anti-Semitism’ The Brandeis Center announced it is suing Harvard University for leaving “cruel anti-Semitic bullying, harassment, and discrimination” unaddressed for years, pre- and post-10/7. According to the complaint, “when Harvard is presented with incontrovertible evidence of anti-Semitic conduct, it ignores and tolerates it. Harvard’s permissive posture towards anti-Semitism is the opposite of its aggressive enforcement of the same anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies to protect other minorities.” As detailed in the complaint, Harvard students and faculty have called for violence against Jews and celebrated Hamas’ terrorism. Student protestors have occupied and vandalized buildings, interrupted classes and exams, and made the campus unbearable for Jewish and Israeli classmates. Jewish students are bullied and spat on, intimidated, and threatened, and subject to verbal and physical harassment. For their part, professors have explicitly supported anti-Jewish and anti-Israel terrorism and spread anti-Semitic propaganda in their classes. “For years, Harvard’s leaders have allowed the school to become a breeding ground for hateful anti-Jewish and radical anti-Israel views,” stated LDB Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus. “An outside investigator warned of the problem more than a year ago, Harvard Kennedy School’s Dean acknowledged it, and yet crickets. When are university leaders going to learn that in order to prevent your school from becoming a cesspool of anti-Semitism action is required? Schools must hold students and faculty accountable. They must follow through with public consequences when Jews are harassed and discriminated against just as they would for any other minority group, in keeping with settled law.” LDB Lawsuit Targets Anti-Semitism in NYC Public School The Louis D. Brandeis Center and law firm Walden Macht & Haran filed a lawsuit against Origins High School, the City of New York, the New York City Department of Education, and senior city and school officials on behalf of a public-school teacher and a campus administrator who have been harassed for months. Defendants did nothing to address the problem. Instead, they fired the Jewish teacher and the administrator who stood up for her. The suit describes acts of anti-Semitism and hate speech against Jewish people generally, and teacher Danielle Kaminsky specifically, including students marching through the campus chanting “Fuck the Jews,” aggrandizing Adolf Hitler (and referring to him as the G.O.A.T. or “greatest of all time”), drawing swastikas on a Jewish student’s property, and exclaiming to a Jewish teacher that they “want to kill all jews.” The complaint also details how school officials, especially the Interim Acting Principal, sought to shield bigoted students from disciplinary action, even when a student brought explosives to school after engaging in other anti-Semitic acts. The complaint alleges that DOE’s complicity caused the anti-Semitism to fester, and that some of the bigoted cabal of students have started attacking and assaulting LGBTQ+ members of the school community. “It seems to have been a complete abdication of responsibility, and then an attempted cover up,” stated LDB Senior Counsel Mark Goldfeder. LDB Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus added: “Above all else, safety must be a school’s #1 priority. Yet, New York City and Origins officials not only ignored violent, targeted threats, they attempted a complete cover-up. They shielded dangerous perpetrators, punished whistleblowers, and left Jewish teachers and students utterly vulnerable.” LDB Files Title VI Complaints Against Four More Higher Education Institutions In the past month, the Brandeis Center has filed Title VI civil rights complaints to the U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) asking the Office to investigate anti-Semitism at four institutions of higher education – the University of Massachusetts Amherst and three California colleges: Pomona, Occidental, and UC Santa Barbara. “Following the law, holding perpetrators accountable, and issuing consequences is not rocket science. It’s beyond shameful that we have to call in the Department of Education to get a school to address a violent anti-Semitic assault and ensure other students aren’t similarly attacked,” stated LDB Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus in reference to the UMass complaint. “Jewish students at Pomona and Occidental are hiding in their dorms and avoiding their own campus rather than risk verbal and physical attacks. These colleges know full well this is happening,” Marcus stated. “But instead of enforcing the law and their own policies, they are caving to the anti-Semitic mob and letting them bully, harass, and intimidate Jewish students. Anti-Semitism left unaddressed will not go away. It will only snowball and escalate until the problem is faced head on as the law requires.” “At UCSB, what has been allowed to happen to Tessa [Veksler, UCSB Student Government President] over many months – shaming, harassing, and shunning a student to try to make her disavow a part of her Judaism – is shameful and illegal,” stated Marcus. “Sadly, this is not the first time we are seeing this mob behavior against a Jewish student elected by their student body to serve. It is incumbent upon UC Santa Barbara and all universities to say enough is enough.” North Carolina K-12 School Settles U.S. Ed. Dept. OCR Complaint Filed by LDB A North Carolina public charter school agreed to settle a U.S. Department of Education investigation into severe, persistent, and pervasive anti-Semitic bullying that went unaddressed in one of its charter schools for two full academic years. The settlement requires the school to take concrete steps to address the systemic anti-Semitism it allowed to fester in its community – e.g., publicizing a statement that it does not tolerate “acts of harassment based on a student’s actual or perceived race, color, or national origin including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics (e.g. antisemitism),” and conducting annual trainings of school staff and administrators on anti-discrimination law under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics. According to the settlement, a non-Jewish eighth-grade boy faced daily abuse after he wore the Israeli Olympic jersey of his favorite Major League Baseball player. From that moment on, he was treated with vicious, severe and relentless harassment and bullying by a group of nine classmates. The bullying occurred daily for two years. He was also threatened and physically assaulted. Officials at the middle school were fully aware of the problem yet they refused to take steps to protect the boy. “I think this case is a reminder that the problem of anti-Semitism, whether it’s in K-12 schools or on college campuses, should not be shoved under the rug,” said Brandeis Center Director of Legal Initiatives Denise Katz-Prober. “It needs to be addressed head-on by educators, administrators and the Department of Education.” U.S. Dept. of Ed. Opens Investigation Into Anti-Semitism at Berkeley K-12 Schools The U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights opened a formal investigation in May into a complaint filed by the Brandeis Center and Anti-Defamation League alleging that the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) has failed to address non-stop “severe and persistent” bullying and harassment of Jewish students in classrooms, hallways, school yards, and on walkouts since October 7, 2023. One day before OCR opened the investigation, LDB and ADL expanded their jointly-filed complaint, sounding the alarm that the already-hostile environment for Jewish students is taking a frightening turn for the worse. For example, after the original complaint was filed, a student faced retaliation by peers and anti-Semitic graffiti appeared in a Berkeley High School bathroom and at the bus stop used by many Berkeley High School students to get to and from school. And the day after OCR announced its investigation, BUSD’s Superintendent testified before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, denying that her school district had an unaddressed anti-Semitism problem. LDB and ADL’s expanded complaint provided a basis for the Committee’s questions. “They’re breeding the next generation of anti-Semites,” stated LDB Senior Counsel Robin N. Pick, who is overseeing Brandeis’s complaint, about BUSD’s administrators. “In some ways, it’s worse, because these are children as young as five or six years old. They’re captive audiences in these classrooms. They see their teachers as authority figures. They’re extremely impressionable. They don’t have the level of freedom as students do in college.” As a result, Pick warns, what’s happening in Berkeley classrooms amounts to “indoctrination.” LDB and JAFE Expand Lawsuit Complaint Against UC Berkeley The Brandeis Center and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education (JAFE) – one of the three membership organizations it established to help students, faculty, and parents join its cases as anonymous plaintiffs – expanded their lawsuit complaint against UC Berkeley, adding additional anti-Semitism allegations to the suit. “As we’ve continued to talk to students – graduate students, law students, undergraduates – we decided to amend our complaint to add new allegations regarding the campus atmosphere, which we believe is a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students,” stated LDB Vice Chair and Berkeley Law alumna L. Rachel Lerman. “What we’re seeking is injunctive relief mainly – we want a court to tell the school, ‘follow the law, enforce your rules.’ And we have found that sometimes this is very effective, sometimes we can reach a settlement agreement with the university or sometimes it has to play itself out in court.” LDB Declares AAA a Potential Game-Changer for Jewish Students The House approved the long-awaited Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (AAA) to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses. The fate of the bill awaits a decision by the Senate to bring the bill to a floor debate. Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus commended the House decision: “This is the game-changing response that we’ve been waiting for. It finally establishes as a matter of law that Jewish students are protected under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Until now, this has been only a matter of informal guidance and an executive order. It also provides for the consistent, transparent use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism and ensures that it will be applied consistent with the First Amendment. “The legislation also gives the force of law to the Trump Executive Order on Combating Anti-Semitism. The Biden administration has said that they’re following this Order, but now it is formalized. Moreover, the Biden administration has long promised to codify the IHRA definition via regulation, but they have repeatedly missed their self-imposed deadlines. “From a federal perspective, this legislation won’t change current practice so much as it will reinforce it. From a university perspective, however, there are few U.S. universities that are consistently applying the IHRA definition in appropriate cases. This legislation should put a stop to that.” Kenneth Marcus Explains Recent U.S. Ed. Dept. OCR Anti-Semitism Guidance in Chronicle of Higher Education The Chronicle of Higher Education article emphasizes the Brandeis Center’s insights on recent OCR guidance on discrimination – including anti-Semitism – based on real or perceived shared ancestry characteristics. “This letter is a signal to colleges that OCR is very much open for business. It shows that it is actively pursuing antisemitism and other ethnoreligious cases,” declared LDB Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus. The Chronicle of Higher Education reaches an extremely influential higher education audience. To Marcus, OCR’s citation of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, along with another that references a Q&A on President Trump’s Executive Order on Combating Antisemitism, “clarif[ies] that this administration remains committed to President Trump’s executive order.” Taken together, they show that the IHRA Definition “is not something institutions can choose to adopt,” Marcus said, but a principle “that is woven into the regulatory fabric of the agency.” Marcus has been pushing Congress to pass the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which would codify the IHRA Definition. LDB and Others Prevent Showing of Anti-Semitic Film at Washington, D.C. High School The Brandeis Center, American Jewish Committee and JCRC of Greater Washington jointly-filed an amicus brief in federal court case, supporting a Washington, D.C. high school’s decision to ban the screening of an anti-Semitic documentary. One day later, the student group that had sued to compel the school to screen the film “The Occupation of the American Mind” narrated by Roger Waters withdrew its request for a preliminary injunction that, if granted, would have allowed it to show the film. “High schools should not be sanctioning movies, teacher lesson plans, or any ‘educational’ activities that present a one-sided, biased perspective, often laced with anti-Semitic tropes about Israel and Jews. That is not education,” stated LDB Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus. “Schools have every right to exclude anti-Israel propaganda.” NYT Interviews Rachel Lerman on Lack of Consequences for Anti-Semitic Faculty and Administrators In a recent analysis of the lack of firings of educators accused of anti-Semitism, the New York Times sought insights from Brandeis Center Vice Chair L. Rachel Lerman. LDB and ADL’s jointly-filed Title VI federal complaint filed against Berkely Unified School District (BUSD) argues that the district has “refused” to discipline teachers, including some who framed the Hamas attack as “resistance” or called Israel an “apartheid state” in their classrooms. The U.S. Dept. of Education recently opened an investigation into BUSD based on LDB’s complaint. Lerman stated that many Jewish families feel that if another group were to face similar targeting in schools, “We would see results. It’s not about silencing speech. It’s about what’s appropriate in the classroom under the school’s own rules and California’s own laws.” LDB Hosts Capitol Hill Briefing Highlighting the Spread of Anti-Semitism in K-12 Schools The Brandeis Center hosted a Capitol Hill briefing titled “Fighting Antisemitism in K-12 School” in early May. The panel discussion was moderated by Brandeis Center Director of Legal Initiatives Denise Katz-Prober and featured Director of Legal Investigation Marci Lerner Miller and Senior Counsel Mark Goldfeder. “Some of the anti-Semitism we are seeing in elementary and secondary schools involves traditional and classic manifestations, while some of it resembles what we are seeing in higher education, with middle and high schoolers emulating their older siblings to target Jews on the basis of their shared ancestry connected to Israel,” Katz-Prober explained. “And some aspects of the problem are different – coming from teacher unions or school-generated problems with curriculum.” Read the full blog post, authored by LDB Director of Policy Education Emma Enig, who also produced the Congressional Briefing. Play videoTextBlockModalTitle × Your browser does not support the video tag. Alyza Lewin to Feature in Touro University Webinar (June 19) Brandeis Center President Alyza D. Lewin is among the featured panelists in a webinar titled “Antisemitism on College Campuses and Beyond.” The event is open to the public. The event also features United States District Judge Hon. Roy K. Altman. The presentation’s moderators are Touro University President Dr. Alan Kadish and Touro University Professor of Law and Director of the Jewish Law Institute Samuel J. Levine. Register here. The Touro Talks 2024 Distinguished Lecture Series, virtual lectures is co-sponsored by Robert and Arlene Rosenberg and the Jewish Law Institute at Touro Law Center. Kenneth L. Marcus Discusses Anti-Semitism Awareness Act on NBC News Kenneth L. Marcus Discusses the Anti-Awareness Act in an Instagram Reel Posted by NBC News. The Brandeis Center is Hiring The Brandeis Center is hiring for the full-time positions of Litigation Counsel (New York), Staff Attorney (New York; Washington, D.C.; or remote), and Director of Development ( Washington, D.C.; New York; or remote). Duties, qualifications, and compensation are listed in the Opportunities section of our website.If you meet the qualifications and are passionate about our mission to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all, we want to hear from you. Interested candidates should send resumes and cover letters by electronic mail to info@brandeiscenter.com. For the attorney roles, we suggest also including a writing sample and list of references.