The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) is a 501(c)(3)[4]nonprofit organization founded by Kenneth L. Marcus in 2012 with the stated purpose of advancing the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promoting justice for all peoples.[5] LDB is active on American campuses, where it says it combats antisemitism and anti-Zionism.[6][7]
In 2013, LDB established law student chapters at several law schools in the US. The purpose of these chapters is to foster "a new generation of leaders who share LDB's mission" which includes combating antisemitism and anti-Israelism and the Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement in particular.[12][13] BDS is a Palestinian-led movement that calls for comprehensive international boycotts of Israel similar to those that was imposed on South Africa.[14] According to LDB lawyer Danit Sibovits, the chapters seek to "engage law students in civil rights work and engage them in public advocacy" and provide "an opportunity for law students to gain practical legal experience while they are still in school." Speakers may address topics such as Jewish civil rights advocacy, campus antisemitism, international human rights law, Israel legal advocacy, counter-terrorism legal policy.[12]
LDB law students investigate antisemitic incidents, provide pro-bono legal research and advocacy services to victims of discrimination, file legal complaints, and work with university administrators or policies to protect Jewish students.[15]
The Jigsaw Initiative is a program run by LDB that trains a specialized group of law students in using legal tools and skills to combat antisemitism and BDS on college campuses.[18][19] JIGSAW stands for Justice Initiative Guiding Student Activists Worldwide and the JIGSAW Fellows are taught to fight against antisemitic incidents on campus by utilizing university policies, and federal and state law. They are trained to act as mentors to undergraduate students in helping them confront antisemitism on campus and to and understand international law related to BDS.[20]
Antisemitism
LDB definition of antisemitism follows that of the European Monitoring Centre (EUMC) Working Definition of Antisemitism: "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities."[21]
LDB considers adopting a definition of antisemitism to be crucial for universities and government to make clear the boundaries between hateful actions and legitimate behavior. The US State Department provides a definition of antisemitism, but it only is applied for international monitoring.[22] LDB is working with universities and domestic government bodies to adopt a definition of antisemitism. In March 2016, the University of California Board of Regents adopted a Statement of Principles Against Intolerance, which included a contextual statement declaring that, "antisemitism and antisemitic forms of anti-Zionism are forms of discrimination and will not be tolerated at the University of California."[23] LDB had previously issued a letter to the Board of Regents, highlighting incidents at UCLA, Santa Barbara, Davis, Berkeley, and Irvine.[24]
The Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment (BDS) movement against Israel has gained significant momentum in recent years, particularly on college campuses. A report by the Anti-Defamation League alleged that "the strategies used in many BDS campaigns as anti-Semitic".[25] It is in the Brandeis Center's view that the BDS campaign is antisemitic because some of its proponents act out of conscious hostility to the Jewish people; others act from unconscious or tacit disdain for Jews; and still others operate out of a climate of opinion that contains elements that are hostile to Jews and serve as the conduits through whom anti-Jewish tropes and memes are communicated; while all of them work to sustain a movement that attacks the commitment to Israel that is central to the identity of the overwhelming majority of Jewish people. With the rise of the BDS movement, the Brandeis Center has increasingly sought to deal with the antisemitism associated with the movement.[26]
LDB has been involved in numerous lawsuits involving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and campus life. Its critics claim that the organization engages in lawfare on Israel's behalf—lawsuits and threats of lawsuits intended to silence criticism of Israel.[27][28]
Advocacy activities
Since its founding, LDB has advocated against antisemitism and the BDS movement.[29]
On February 7, 2013, four pro-Israel Jewish students at Brooklyn College were evicted from an open forum organized by Students for Justice in Palestine. The students alleged that their First Amendment rights had been violated and that they had been targeted because they were Jewish. Three of the four students were represented by LDB as they field a legal complaint against the college. The complaint eventually led to Brooklyn College President Karen L. Gould apologizing to the evicted students.[30][31]
Criticism of Middle East studies (2014)
In 2014, LDB produced a report called The Morass of Middle East Studies which accused federally-funded Middle East studies centers at various colleges to be biased against Israel. LDB claimed that the federal funds provided to 129 international studies and foreign language centers at universities by Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 were therefore being misused.
The report was accompanied by a statement signed by 10 pro-Israel groups,[12] expressing concern over alleged misuse of taxpayer money and arguing that the programs "disseminate anti-American and anti-Israel falsehoods."[32] The statement also called for changes to Title VI which should "[r]equire recipients of Title VI funds to establish grievance procedures to address complaints that programs are not reflecting diverse perspectives and a wide range of views" and "[r]equire the U.S. Department of Education to establish a formal complaint-resolution process similar to that in use to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."[33] The statement referenced a study by the AMCHA Initiative which, among other things, claimed that 93% of the mentions of Israel in any event sponsored, or co-sponsored by the UCLA's Middle East studies center, in the period fall 2010 to spring 2013 were critical.[34]
Amy W. Newhall, executive director of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), rejected the groups' statement as "politically motivated attacks on scholars and academic institutions" and as a serious threat to free speech. She also stated that MESA opposes antisemitism and that[32]
... some of the reports issued by partisan political groups based outside academia may actually weaken efforts to combat anti-Semitism by portraying all criticism of Israeli policies as a form of anti-Semitism or as ‘anti-Israel.’ Their real goal seems to be to shut down open discussion of issues of public concern by demonizing academic and other critics of Israel, Zionism, and U.S. policy in the Middle East, in many cases by tarring them with the brush of anti-Semitism. They are even willing to threaten federal funding for university-based Middle East studies centers, which have a long and distinguished history of providing the United States with thousands of people trained in the languages, politics, cultures and histories of this critical region.
UCLA's media relations office stated that the university "remains dedicated to complying with all federal laws and respecting the free and open exchange of ideas representing diverse viewpoints." It also claimed that the centers on UCLA regularly provide programming on Israel.[33]
In response to the criticism from Newhall, Marcus in a letter to the editor of The Chronicle insisted that the groups' goal was not to shut down open discussion, rather the opposite: "accountability systems to ensure that these programs offer the diversity of perspectives that existing law requires. If Professor Newhall's association defends the status quo against diverse perspectives, then it is they who are trying to shut down debate."[35]
Harvard SodaStream controversy (2014)
In April 2014, students at Harvard University raised concerns about the water machines in the dining rooms which had SodaStream labels on them. The company producing the machines had been taken over by SodaStream which maintained a factory in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. A meeting was held with the students and Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) on April 7, after which HUDS decided to stop buying more machines and to remove the labels on the ones they had.[36] When the decision was reported on in the student newspaper The Harvard Crimson in December, Harvard's President Drew G. Faust said she was not aware of it and requested an investigation.[37] Pro-Israel and Jewish advocacy groups criticized the decision to stop buying from SodaStream, particularly LDB. In a comment, Marcus strongly criticized the decision:[38]
In many ways, these micro-BDS efforts are more dangerous than broader campaigns against the entire country of Israel, because they are sneakier and more deceptive. They target one or two companies, or a short list of Israeli politicians or universities. And they claim that they are not advocating boycotts against the entire Jewish nation. But they are based on the notion that it is okay to apply different standards to Israelis than to the rest of the world's peoples. And they ultimately end up in the same place. All anti-Israel boycotts, whether limited or comprehensive, advance the same agenda, which is to deny Israel normalcy and legitimacy. This is a deeply anti-Semitic campaign and it must be understood as such.
Anti-Semitism Report (2014–2015)
In February 2015, LDB and Trinity College issued an "Anti-Semitism Report,"[39] presenting results from an online survey of American Jewish college students. The survey had a 10–12% response rate, does not claim to be representative, and included 1,157 self-identified Jewish students at 55 campuses nationwide. The report showed that 54% of the students who took part in the online survey reported having experienced or witnessed antisemitism on their campuses during the Spring semester of the last academic year.[40]
Marcus claimed that the findings should have been a wake-up call to college administrators that Jewish students face real problems of bias.[41]
The study was criticized by The Forward which argued that the study documented only a snapshot in time, rather than a trend, because it did not have a representative sample of Jewish college students and because it allowed students to define antisemitism (leaving the term open to impression).[42]
Anti-Muslim Discrimination (2015)
In November 2015, a Muslim student at San Diego State University reported that a man pushed her in a parking garage and grabbed her by her headscarf[43] and told her to "Get out of this country," that she was a terrorist, and that "You people bombed Paris."[44] Following the incident, LDB sent a letter to San Diego State University President Elliot Hirshman and Chief Diversity Officer Aaron I. Bruce, expressing concern over the incident,[45] and urging SDSU to take immediate action in response.[45]
The Milan Chatterjee affair was a controversy on University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) over the President of the Graduate Student Association (GSA), Milan Chatterjee's allocation of funds. In October 2015, Chatterjee claimed that the GSA had a policy requiring "neutrality" on speech relating to "Israel-Palestine" and that groups advocating for boycotts of Israel, such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), would be ineligible for funding.[46] SJP felt unfairly singled out as they advocate for boycotts of Israel. Civil rights groups got involved in the matter on behalf of SJP and Zionist groups on behalf of Chatterjee. The university launched an investigation which found Chatterjee guilty of having violated university policy that requires neutral point of view in allocating funds.[47]
Early on, LDB law students sided with Chatterjee and questioned how the UCLA was addressing the situation.[48] Marcus condemned BDS-activists who tried to have Chatterjee removed from office: "the Milan Chatterjee affair reflects the insidiousness of the anti-Israel movement's new strategy, which is to suppress pro-Israel advocacy and intimidate not only Jewish pro-Israel students but anyone who even remains neutral."[49]
Modern Language Association proposed boycott (2015–2016)
LDB was active in lobbying against the Modern Language Association's proposed academic boycott of Israel. In particular, in 2016, it threatened to sue the organization if a resolution under consideration endorsing such a boycott was passed. The resolution, however, failed with the vote 113–79.[50]
In May 2016, pro-Israeli groups at UC Irvine (UCI) hosted a screening of the film Beneath the Helmet and intended to hold a panel discussion with Israeli soldiers. A group of up to 50 pro-Palestinian students protested the event. Following the event, the protestors were accused of improper conduct and some participants in the film screening said they had been harassed. LDB and other pro-Israel groups acted on behalf of the allegedly harassed students and demanded that UCI investigated the matter. UCI did so, but their investigation cleared the protestors of most of the allegations, except of being too loud.[51]
The campus group that had organized the protest, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), was issued a written warning and required to host an educational program, a punishment LDB thought were too lenient. In particular, one student, Eliana Kopley, claimed to have been chased by protestors and LDB were unhappy with UCI not having investigated that allegation.[52]
In December 2013, the American Studies Association (ASA) voted to join the academic boycott of Israeli educational institutions. In April 2016, LDB, Eugene Kontorovich and four American studies professors sued ASA, alleging that the boycott was illegal. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2019 when the judge ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing.[53]
South Carolina antisemitism Awareness Act (2017)
In 2017, LDB endorsed the South Carolinian anti-BDS law H 3643 which would have required colleges to use the 2010 US State Department's definition of antisemitism when investigating alleged civil rights violations. Critics of the bill claimed that it was intended to suppress political speech by smearing it as antisemitism.[54] Marcus, however, rejected that claim and stated that the bill did not restrict free speech.[55] While the bill didn't pass the South Carolina legislature, in 2018, text mirroring the language of the bill was inserted into the 2018–2019 state budget bill which did pass.[56]
Stoughton High School swastika (2017–2018)
On November 22, 2016,[57] a student at Stoughton High School, Massachusetts, created a swastika out of tape on a piece of paper and put it on a recycling bin in the school hallway.[58] A Jewish girl noticed the swastika and asked him to remove it. He did so, and responded, "Well just burn it like they did to the Jews."[59][60]
One teacher addressed the incident in her classroom and another spoke to a student about it. A third, Hilary Moll, having written a letter of recommendation on behalf of the student who created the swastika, contacted the college and withdrew her letter and explaining her reasons why.[61] The information led the college to withdraw their acceptance of him.[57] He was also suspended by the school for six days.[62]
The school subsequently received a complaint from the mother of the student which stated that he felt that he was being bullied by members of faculty for his actions. The complaint mentioned one of the teachers, Jamie Regan, who had asked to have the student removed from her class on the Holocaust where Holocaust survivors would speak.[62] Two of the teachers were reprimanded and Moll were suspended for 20 days without pay.[63][60][64]
LDB lawyers stepped in on the teachers behalf which led to some exchanges between them and the school's superintendent Marguerite Rizzi who defended the decision to discipline the teachers. She cited privacy laws that protects confidential student records from disclosure as a reason as to why the school district couldn't reveal all the details of the case and that the lawyers therefore were only "seeking half a story" and using incorrect information. The LDB lawyers rebuffed that notion.[65]
This led to a lengthy judicial process between LDB and the Stoughton High School. On May 18, 2018, arbitrators determined that the disciplinary action taken against Regan was wrong and that the letter of reprimand should be expunged from her personnel records.[62] On July 19, arbitrators determined that Moll was wrongly suspended without pay, but that the letter of discipline against her should stand.[62][66]
Antisemitic conduct at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (2020–2021)
In response to numerous allegations of antisemitic behavior at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (UIUC), in March 2020, a complaint was filed with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR). This complaint, on behalf of the Jewish students at the university, was filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP in collaboration with the Jewish United Fund and Hillel International, stating that the events taking place on campus are in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In November 2020, OCR then opened an investigation into the complaint. Following this action, UIUC along with LDB, Hillel International, and the Jewish United Fund put out a "joint statement" pledging to take a number of concrete steps to address antisemitism on its campus and support Jewish students.[67][68]
Among these commitments, they promised to form an “Advisory Council on Jewish and Campus Life” and have just recently announced its establishment.[69] Additionally, within the statement are provisions allowing students to publicly express their Jewish identity, identification with Israel and their belief in Zionism without fear of discrimination or intimidation. The university has pledged to safeguard these rights and more, to ensure the safety of its Jewish students and condemn anyone who threatens antisemitic harassment.[70][71]
Stanford Title VII lawsuit (2021)
The Brandeis Center filed a federal complaint on behalf of Jewish mental health counselors in 2021, alleging anti-Jewish harassment in Stanford University's Counseling & Psychological Services' (CAPS) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) program.[72] The complaint was filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.[73] The Brandeis Center claimed that Stanford University's CAPS DEI program perpetuated a "hostile environment and invidious discrimination" that the program was designed to eliminate.[74] The complaint alleged that the DEI committee declined requests to address antisemitism in their trainings, even in the aftermath of an antisemitic "Zoom-bombing."[75] The lawsuit further asserted that DEI committee members at Stanford University's CAPS division invoked antisemitic stereotypes related to Jewish power and wealth.[76]
Anti-Semitism Report (2021)
In September 2021, a report based on a survey conducted by the Cohen Research Group for the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity examined the experiences of Jewish fraternity and sorority members on college campuses. The survey collected responses from 1,027 self-identified Jewish students involved in Greek life at 118 campuses across North America. The report revealed that 65% of respondents had experienced or were aware of antisemitism on their campuses, and 50% admitted to hiding their Jewish identity at times to avoid hostility or discomfort.[77][78][79]
Marcus argued that the findings should alarm college leaders, as many Jewish students feel pressured to conceal their identity due to rising antisemitism on campuses.[80]
University of Vermont lawsuit (2021-2023)
In 2021, the Anti-Defamation League reported that the University of Vermont had the highest number of reported anti-Semitic incidents.[81] In the same year, the Brandeis Center and Jewish on Campus filed a complaint against the University of Vermont alleging that the university fostered a hostile environment for Jewish students, and did not respond adequately to anti-Semitic incidents.[82] The complaint argued that students were excluded from organizations on campus for being Jewish, students threw rocks at a dorm that housed Jewish students, and that a teaching assistant bragged on social media about subtracting participation points from Jewish students.[83] Initially, the university attempted to push back against the allegations of anti-Semitism; university President Suresh Garimella stated that “the uninformed narrative published this week has been harmful to UVM” and that the investigation “painted our community in a patently false light.”[84]
In April 2023, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) identified areas of concern within the university’s policies that “...have allowed a hostile environment for...Jewish students to persist at the university."[85] OCR officials noted that “it does not appear that the university...took action...until after the commencement of OCR’s investigation."[85] The university agreed to settle the complaint, resolving to edit their discrimination and harassment policies and provide extra training to staff and students “on the prohibition of harassment based on national ancestry."[83] “In the wake of a landmark settlement with the federal government, there has been a remarkable evolution in visible support for Jewish students,” stated UVM Hillel Executive Director Matt Vogel.[86] “We view [the Vermont agreement] as a success, and it’s our understanding that there’s been a dramatic difference on that campus as a result of the resolution,” remarked Kenneth L. Marcus.[87]
Unilever Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit (2022)
The Brandeis Center and co-counsel filed a lawsuit[88] in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey on behalf of Avi Zinger, Ben & Jerry’s Israeli licensee, alleging that Unilever violated U.S. and Israeli law when they terminated a 34-year business relationship with Zinger to boycott Israel.[89]
Unilever reached a settlement preventing Ben & Jerry's from boycotting Israel, which granted Avi Zinger the right to sell Ben & Jerry's ice cream in Israel and the West Bank under the company's Hebrew and Arabic names.[90] The legal settlement was announced on June 29, 2022.[91] The Brandeis Center commended the settlement as a "major defeat for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement."[92]
UC Berkeley School of Law lawsuit (2023)
LDB filed a lawsuit against the UC Berkeley School of Law in 2023 over organizations, including but not limited to the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice, Queer Caucus, and Women of Berkeley Law, adopting anti-Zionist bylaws.[93] LDB claimed that the anti-Zionist bylaws were antisemitic. A motion to dismiss the case is currently pending before the Northern District of California. [94]
Harvard Lawsuit (2024)
On May 22, 2024, the Brandeis Center sued Harvard for inadequately addressing anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination on campus.[95] The lawsuit declares that Harvard “ignores and tolerates” anti-Semitic conduct, which runs contrary to “its aggressive enforcement of the same anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies to protect other minorities.”[96] LDB asserts that some Harvard students and faculty have called for violence against Jews and celebrated Hamas’ October 7 attacks.[97] The lawsuit also references an incident where a Jewish student was captured on video being assaulted by a group of protestors. The university has yet to take action against the alleged assailants.[98]
Santa Ana Unified School District Lawsuit (2024)
On September 11th, 2023, The Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under the Law, Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish League, Potomac Law Group, and Stand With Us filed a lawsuit, on behalf of students, against SAUSD that “alleged violations of California’s open meetings law, including failing to provide proper public notice before approving multiple ethnic studies courses containing anti-Jewish bias and for refusing to protect the public, including members of the Jewish community, from intimidation and harassment at Board meetings.” Plaintiffs allege SAUSD violated the Brown Act, which prohibits secret legislation by public bodies and requires open meetings. The lawsuit asks the court to block the controversial curriculum. [99]
New antisemitism is the concept that a new form of antisemitism developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, typically manifesting itself as anti-Zionism. The concept is included in some definitions of antisemitism, such as the working definition of antisemitism and the 3D test of antisemitism. The concept dates to the early 1970s.
StandWithUs (SWU) is a nonprofit right-wing pro-Israel advocacy organization founded in Los Angeles in 2001 by Roz Rothstein, Jerry Rothstein, and Esther Renzer.
Antisemitism at universities has been reported and supported since the medieval period and, more recently, resisted and studied. Antisemitism has been manifested in various policies and practices, such as restricting the admission of Jewish students by a Jewish quota, or ostracism, intimidation, or violence against Jewish students, as well as in the hiring, retention and treatment of Jewish faculty and staff. In some instances, universities have been accused of condoning the development of antisemitic cultures on campus.
Kenneth L. Marcus is an American attorney, academic, and government official. He is the founder and leader of the Brandeis Center. He was the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Education from August 6, 2018 through July 9, 2020, after which he resumed his position at the Brandeis Center.
Antisemitism has long existed in the United States. Most Jewish community relations agencies in the United States draw distinctions between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors, and the security and status of American Jews, which are both measured by the occurrence of specific incidents. FBI data shows that in every year since 1991, Jews were the most frequent victims of religiously motivated hate crimes. The number of hate crimes against Jews may be underreported, as in the case for many other targeted groups.
Antisemitism in Canada is the manifestation of hatred, hostility, harm, prejudice or discrimination against the Canadian Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, ethnic or racial group.
The "three Ds" or the "3D test" of antisemitism is a set of criteria formulated in 2003 by Israeli human rights advocate and politician Natan Sharansky in order to distinguish legitimate criticism of Israel from antisemitism. The three Ds stand for delegitimization, demonization, and double standards, each of which, according to the test, indicates antisemitism.
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent 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.
Anti-Jewish boycotts are organized boycotts directed against Jewish people to exclude them economical, political or cultural life. Antisemitic boycotts are often regarded as a manifestation of popular antisemitism.
The AMCHA Initiative is a non-partisan organization aiming to combat antisemitism on campuses through investigation, documentation, and education in order to protect Jewish students from assault and fear. 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.
Students for Justice in Palestine is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Founded at the University of California in 2001, it has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. In 2011, The New York Times called it "the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus". As of 2024, National SJP has over 350 chapters in North America.
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) is a British non-governmental organisation established in August 2014 by members of the Anglo-Jewish community. It conducts litigation, runs awareness-raising campaigns, organises rallies and petitions, provides education on antisemitism and publishes research.
The Lawfare Project is an American non-profit works to protect the human and civil rights of Jewish communities worldwide. The Lawfare Project funds legal actions to protect free speech and civil rights by challenging antisemitism and discrimination against Jews.
The working definition of antisemitism, also called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism or IHRA definition, is a non-legally binding statement on what antisemitism is, that reads: "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." It was first published by European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) in 2005 and then by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016. Accompanying the working definition, but of disputed status, are 11 illustrative examples whose purpose is described as guiding the IHRA in its work, seven of which relate to criticism of Israel.
With regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict, many supporters of the State of Israel have often advocated or implemented anti-BDS laws, which effectively seek to retaliate against people and organizations engaged in boycotts of Israel-affiliated entities. Most organized boycotts of Israel have been led by Palestinians and other Arabs with support from much of the Muslim world. Since the Second Intifada in particular, these efforts have primarily been coordinated at an international level by the Palestinian-led BDS movement, which seeks to mount as much economic pressure on Israel as possible until the Israeli government allows an independent Palestinian state to be established. Anti-BDS laws are designed to make it difficult for anti-Israel people and organizations to participate in boycotts; anti-BDS legal resolutions are symbolic and non-binding parliamentary condemnations, either of boycotts of Israel or of the BDS movement itself. Generally, such condemnations accuse BDS of closeted antisemitism, charging it with pushing a double standard and lobbying for the de-legitimization of Israeli sovereignty, and are often followed by laws targeting boycotts of Israel.
The American Studies Association (ASA) began an ongoing boycott of Israeli educational institutions in December 2013. The ASA's decision to boycott was controversial because it was the first major American scholarly organization to do so. In April 2016, four ASA members aided by the pro-Israeli Brandeis Center sued the ASA, but the lawsuit was dismissed in 2019 when the judge ruled that plaintiffs lacked standing.
The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) is a document meant to outline the bounds of antisemitic speech and conduct, particularly with regard to Zionism, Israel and Palestine. Its creation was motivated by a desire to confront antisemitism and by objections to the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism, which critics have said stifles legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and curbs free speech. The drafting of the declaration was initiated in June 2020 under the auspices of the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem by eight coordinators, most of whom were university professors. Upon its completion the declaration was signed by about 200 scholars in various fields and released in March 2021.
Adela Cojab Moadeb is a Mexican-born American activist, author, podcaster, and law student. She is known for advocating against antisemitism and for Zionist causes. Most notably, she is known for her formal complaint against New York University under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for allowing antisemitic activities on campus.
Jews have faced antisemitism and discrimination in universities and campuses in the United States, from the founding of universities in the Thirteen Colonies until the present day in varying intensities. From the early 20th century, and until the 1960s, indirect quotas were placed on Jewish admissions, quotas were first placed on Jews by elite universities such Columbia, Harvard and Yale and were prevalent as late as the 1960s in universities such as Stanford. These quotas disappeared in the 1970s.
↑ "SAY NO TO TRUMP NOMINEE, KENNETH MARCUS". Council on American-Islamic Relations. Retrieved August 22, 2020. An opponent of academic freedom, Marcus has spent years aggressively trying to silence pro-Palestinian professors and students and censor criticism of Israeli policies on U.S.
↑ Kosmin, Barry; Keysar, Ariela. "Anti-Semitism Report"(PDF). Louis D. Brandeis Cent for Human Rights Under Law. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2015-03-18.
↑ "In latest exchange, Jewish rights group pushes Stoughton schools on anti-Semitic incidents". Archived from the original on 2018-08-10. Following an investigation, one teacher was suspended without pay for talking to one student and some of her colleagues about the incidents, and for rescinding a college letter of recommendation for the student who made the swastika and telling the school why in vague terms, according to Enterprise coverage at the time. Two other teachers received letters of reprimand for discussing the incident with students and colleagues.
↑ "In latest exchange, Jewish rights group pushes Stoughton schools on anti-Semitic incidents". Archived from the original on 2018-08-10. Rizzi fired back at the center in her own letter last week, accusing them of only "seeking half of a story" and citing incorrect information. Gross and Vogelstein, in their most recent exchange, rebuffed that notion. ... The pair also questioned Rizzi's reliance on the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act as a reason that the district can't discuss its handling of the incident and decision to punish the teachers. The law protects confidential student records from disclosure.
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