As 2025 comes to a close and we approach the Thanksgiving season, the Brandeis Center remains deeply grateful for the supporters and partners who make our work possible. This month’s Brandeis Brief highlights major legal victories, including significant settlements addressing discrimination in both education and labor unions, as well as new developments in our ongoing efforts to hold institutions accountable for hostile environments facing Jewish students. We also reflect on our first-ever Anti-Semitism Legal Summit, celebrate the expansion of our growing team, and share new content and opportunities to get involved with our work. Together, these updates underscore the strength, momentum, and resolve driving our mission forward. Next week we recognize Giving Tuesday and we invite you to stand with us as we continue to expand our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and defend Jewish civil rights. Your support this Giving Tuesday and holiday season directly fuels this critical work and ensures we remain equipped to meet the challenges ahead with strength and resolve. New Opinion: AI Has an Anti-Semitism Problem – That It’s Learning From Us Artificial Intelligence is shaping the future, but what happens when it learns from the darkest corners of the internet? In a new opinion piece published in U.S. News and World Report, Brandeis Center Chairman and CEO Kenneth L. Marcushighlights the alarming spread of anti-Semitism in AI systems. The piece calls for urgent responsibility from both technology companies and government leaders to implement strong safeguards, ethical standards, and oversight to ensure AI does not amplify hate or discrimination.Technology companies thrive on innovation and progress, anticipating issues – and often solving them – before they even happen. Why won’t they do the same for anti-Semitism? Brandeis Center Reaches Settlement with Private VA SchoolThe Brandeis Center announced that the Nysmith School has agreed to settlediscrimination claims filed by a Jewish family with the Virginia Office of the Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights. The Brandeis Center represented the family in the action, which alleged that the private K-8 school in Fairfax County, Virginia expelled three Jewish siblings after their parents notified the headmaster about the severe and relentless anti-Semitic bullying and harassment faced by one of their daughters.As part of the settlement, Nysmith School will adopt new nondiscrimination policies that incorporate the IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism including its examples, establish a working committee to investigate complaints of discrimination, engage an outside monitor, provide mandatory anti-Semitism training to administrators, faculty and staff, and provide anti-Semitism education to students. Legal Aid Union Reaches Settlement with Zionist Union MembersIn a significant victory for workplace justice and equal rights, the Brandeis Center announced that the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA), UAW Local 2325, has agreed to a settlement with Zionist union members whom it attempted to expel and subjected to hateful, anti-Semitic language and conduct. As part of the agreement, ALAA acknowledges that its communications were “inappropriate,” will institute mandatory training on members’ rights, and will route all disciplinary actions to outside counsel for review.Brandeis Center Chairman and CEO Kenneth L. Marcus stated: “Labor unions are supposed to be advocates for social justice and workplace equality — to find the oldest hatred in such places is deeply antithetical to their mission. This settlement is a landmark in the fight against anti-Semitism in this sector.” Dept of Ed investigating Brandeis Center Claims of Anti-Semitism at FIT The Brandeis Center announced that the Department of Education has opened an investigation into a federal complaint filed by the Brandeis Center and Anti-Defamation League (ADL) against the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) for cultivating a campus that became a hotbed of anti-Semitism. The complaint, filed in September 2024 with the Office for Civil Rights, alleges that Jewish students were subjected to severe and pervasive anti-Semitic harassment, discrimination and disparate treatment.Instead of intervening to stop the mistreatment of Jewish students, FIT made things worse by allowing pro-Hamas students to hijack the bias complaint process and file baseless complaints intended to harass Jews, and by turning a blind eye when anti-Israel protestors violated university rules and policies. The Brandeis Center made the announcement about OCR’s investigation into its complaint, after LDB filed an amicus brief urging the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to allow a Jewish plaintiff to proceed anonymously in her separate lawsuit against FIT. The Brandeis Center argued in its brief that the district court’s decision denying anonymity should be reversed. Brandeis Center Hosts First Legal Summit Earlier this month, the Brandeis Center gathered more than 60 attorneys and heads of Jewish legal organizations for an inaugural legal summit in Manhattan to discuss the most pressing issues in the legal base against anti-Semitism. The topics discussed included: how to effectively present a case involving anti-Semitism to a judge who may not be familiar with the various manifestations and impact of contemporary forms of Jew-hatred; distinguishing between protected speech and unlawful conduct; and novel legal theories for addressing anti-Semitism in a post-October 7 world.“There was significant discussion about what’s emerging across the country,” said Karen Paikin Barall. “People are increasingly focused on the connections between various anti-Semitic actors on campus — how they are funded, how they coordinate, and how these networks operate. Some of that becomes visible through the discovery process in active litigation.”One thing was abundantly clear: anti-Semitism is not going away and the need for a coordinated legal response is more urgent than ever. Through the summit, the Brandeis Center is making sure that we, and our partners, are prepared and equipped to confront what comes next. Brandeis Center Expands Leadership, Legal Team with New Hires As anti-Semitism rates rise to unprecedented levels, the Brandeis Center welcomed new staff members to our growing team: Evan Slavitt will serve as General Counsel, Mollie Galchus as Staff Litigation Attorney, Joel Taubman as Director of Student Programs and Staff Attorney, Jake Mayerson as Civil Rights Legal Fellow, Leo Meyers as Policy and Government Affairs Manager, and Olivia Fisher as Development Research and Database Associate. The Brandeis Center has more than tripled its staff since October 7, 2023, and it now has offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Los Angeles.“We’re facing a critical moment in American history: one that has not only seen a vile resurgence in anti-Semitism and hatred, but has allowed it to proliferate,” said Slavitt. “I’m honored to take on this role as General Counsel and join in the Brandeis Center’s mission to defend and protect Jewish communities from continued violence, discrimination, and harassment.”Since January 2025, the Brandeis Center has hired 11 full-time employees and two Civil Rights Law Fellows to meet the needs of the current landscape. In addition to Slavitt, Galchus, Taubman, Mayerson, and Fisher, these hires include:Shirley Hartman is serving as the Chief Development Officer, leading the expansion of fundraising strategies and optimizing fundraising operations and infrastructure.Karen Paikin Barall is serving as the Chief Policy Officer, spearheading public policy, advocacy, and communications strategy to advance the Brandeis Center’s mission across all levels of government and the public arena. Rory Lancman Honored by Brandeis Bar Association Brandeis Center Director of Corporate Initiatives and Senior Counsel Rory Lancman was honored by the Brandeis Bar Association at its Annual Installation Gala. The award was presented to Lancman by Hon. David Kirschner, incoming Chairperson, and Elizabeth Forspan, Esq., incoming President of the Association. The Brandeis Association is a Jewish Bar Association serving Queens County, New York. Rory previously served as a New York City Council Member and New York State Assembly Member before joining the Brandeis Center in 2022. Content Catch Up In an interview with Higher Ed Dive, Kenneth L. Marcus, Chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center, discussed our lawsuit against Harvard University and the application of Title VI in general, arguing that the Trump administration’s Title VI campus crackdown “is not so much expanding Title VI as implementing it properly so there’s no double standard.”In an Opinion piece for Jurist News, Rory Lancman, Senior Counsel for the Brandeis Center, explained the details of why the “Hollywood Blacklist” is both antisemitic and illegal. Kenneth L. Marcus joined the Defense of Freedom Institute and The Federalist Society to explain how the surge in anti-Semitic hate and rhetoric across college campuses is not a partisan issue. Watch his remarks here. We’re Hiring: Job Opportunities with the Brandeis Center The Brandeis Center continues to grow to meet the growing needs. If you or someone you know is interested in joining our mission to combat anti-Semitism and protect Jewish civil rights, check out our current openings in both legal and non-legal roles.