Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus

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Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus
Crossing-the-Line-2-poster.jpg
Directed byShoshana Palatnik
Written byYitz Brilliant
Produced by Raphael Shore
Edited byYitz Brilliant
Release date
  • February 25, 2015 (2015-02-25) [1]
Running time
29 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus is a 2015 film which documents how a growing number of anti-Israel demonstrations on U.S. campuses also include anti-Semitic messaging. The filmmakers interviewed pro-Israel college students, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who say that they feel increasingly intimidated to express their support for Israel on campus.

Contents

Synopsis

Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus is a documentary film that was released in New York on February 25, 2015 as a sequel to Jerusalem U’s 2010 feature film Crossing the Line: The Intifada Comes to Campus. [2] Like the original film, Crossing the Line 2 aims to uncover the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity on North American college campuses and educate the viewer to be able to identify when valid criticism of Israel “crosses the line” into anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Both films explore the growing phenomenon of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activism on college campuses across North America, with Crossing the Line 2 covering more recent examples of this activism up to the year 2014. One such event, whose footage is shown in the film, is an anti-Israel demonstration at Cornell University where a demonstrator spits on a Jewish student and screams “f*ck you Zionist scum.” [3]

The documentary also examines the experiences of Jewish college students who openly support the State of Israel and fight against campaigns on their campuses that oppose or critique the Israeli government, such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign and Israel Apartheid Week. These students consistently describe the hostility they face on their campuses, such as fake eviction notices at New York University, and Israel Apartheid Week held on campuses across North America. The film highlights two students from Ohio University who were arrested in 2014 for publicly criticizing the student senate president for participating in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by pouring fake blood on herself and calling on Ohio University to divest from Israel.

Criticism

Sarah Turbow, Director of J Street wrote that the film was missing students who believe that even among BDS supporters and strong critics of Israel, not all are anti-Semitic. [16]

Release

Crossing The Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus was released in New York City on February 25, 2015. [17]

Reception

Coverage of the film was reported in The Jerusalem Post, [18] Jewish Voice, [19] The San Diego Jewish World, [20] The New York Jewish Week,[ citation needed ] and The Washington Times. [21]

Related Research Articles

Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, also known as Hillel International or Hillel, is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally. Hillel is represented at more than 550 colleges and communities throughout North America and globally, including 30 communities in the former Soviet Union, nine in Israel, and five in South America. The organization is named after Hillel the Elder, a Jewish sage who moved from Babylonia to Judea in the 1st century and is known for his formulation of the Golden Rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Voice for Peace</span> Left-wing Jewish advocacy organization

Jewish Voice for Peace is a left-wing activist organization in the United States that supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. Its critics say it musters Jewish opposition to and works to undermine public support for Israel.

Engage is a British website, and briefly an online journal, that aims to help people counter the boycott Israel campaign. Engage describes its mission as to "challenge left and liberal antisemitism in the labour movement, in our universities and in public life."

StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, right-wing pro-Israel advocacy organization focused on educating about Israel and fighting antisemitism. It is headquartered in the United States. SWU was founded in 2001 Los Angeles by family therapist-turned-activist Roz Rothstein and her husband.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronn Torossian</span> American public relations executive

Ronn D. Torossian is an American public relations executive, founder of New York City-based 5W Public Relations (5WPR), and author. Torossian built his firm's brand through aggressive media tactics, which have, at times, enmeshed him in controversy.

Israeli Apartheid Week

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an annual series of university lectures and rallies held in February or March. According to the organization, "the aim of IAW is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement." Since IAW began in Toronto in 2005, it has spread to at least 55 cities, including locations in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Botswana, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Palestine, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. IAW has been controversial since its inception and been criticized by some as anti-Semitic.

Disinvestment from Israel is a campaign conducted by religious and political entities which aims to use disinvestment to pressure the government of Israel to put "an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories captured during the 1967 military campaign." The disinvestment campaign is related to other economic and political boycotts of Israel.

Antisemitism in Canada is the manifestation of hostility, prejudice or discrimination against the Canadian Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, ethnic or racial group. This form of racism has affected Jews since Canada's Jewish community was established in the 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions</span> Palestinian-led movement demanding international sanctions against Israel

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties". The movement is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law</span>

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) is a nonprofit organization founded by Kenneth L. Marcus in 2012 to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. LDB is active on American campuses, where it, according to the organization, combats anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMCHA Initiative</span>

The AMCHA Initiative is an American campus group and an anti-Semitism watchdog group that combats BDS activities on campuses. AMCHA was founded in 2012 by University of California Santa Cruz lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and University of California Los Angeles Professor Emeritus Leila Beckwith. The term Amcha is Hebrew for "your people" or "your nation."

The current campaign for an academic boycott of Israel was launched in April 2004 by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) as part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. The campaign calls for BDS activities against Israel to put international pressure on Israel, in this case against Israeli academic institutions, all of which are said by PACBI to be implicated in the perpetuation of Israeli occupation, in order to achieve BDS goals. Since then, proposals for academic boycotts of particular Israeli universities and academics have been made by academics and organisations in Palestine, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. The goal of the proposed academic boycotts is to isolate Israel in order to force a change in Israel's policies towards the Palestinians, which proponents argue are discriminatory and oppressive, including oppressing the academic freedom of Palestinians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Students for Justice in Palestine</span>

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations.

Step Up For Israel was created as an international grassroots campaign to educate individuals and communities about Israel and give them the tools to defend and promote it. It is a project of Jerusalem U and chaired by renowned Middle East experts Professor Alan Dershowitz and Ambassador Dore Gold.

Reactions to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

Reactions to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) refer to the views of international actors on the BDS movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawfare Project</span>

The Lawfare Project is an American non-profit think tank and litigation fund that works to protect the human and civil rights of Jewish and pro-Israel communities worldwide. The Project funds legal actions to protect free speech and civil rights by challenging anti-Semitism and discrimination against Jews.

Canary Mission is a website established in 2014 that compiles dossiers on student activists, professors, and organizations, focusing primarily on those at North American universities, which it considers be anti-Israel or antisemitic and has said that it will send the names of listed students to prospective employers. Canary Mission listings have been used by the Israeli government and border security officials to interrogate and deny entry to pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) US citizens, and by potential employers.

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Anti-BDS laws and resolutions oppose boycotts of Israel. The name comes from the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel to pressure Israel to meet what it describes as Israel's obligations under international law. Anti-BDS laws are designed to make it difficult for people and organizations to participate in boycotts of Israel while anti-BDS resolutions are symbolic and non-binding parliamentary condemnations, either of boycotts of Israel or of BDS itself. Generally, such condemnations accuse BDS of being antisemitic and are often followed by laws targeting boycotts of Israel.

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