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More Victories, New Challenges
April 2018
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March saw more victories for those working to combat anti-Semitism. A United States federal judge ruled that the professors who are suing the American Studies Association, represented by the Brandeis Center and a team of lawyers, may file an amended complaint that substantially expands their case. March also saw further implementation of a uniform definition of anti-Semitism in Florida, and a flurry of activity concerning BDS, both in state legislatures and on college campuses. All of these stories, and more, can be found in this edition of the monthly Brandeis Brief.
We wish a happy Passover and Easter season to our friends who are celebrating.
As always, we thank you for your tax-deductible
donations
and acknowledge that without you our work could not be done.
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Another Win for LDB Against ASA's Illegal Boycott of Israel
Louis D. Brandeis Center
The amended complaint adds new claims based on evidence revealed during discovery. It alleges that the defendants deliberately limited nominations for the ASA National Council to pro-boycott candidates, strategically hid their pro-boycott agendas when they stood for office, withheld pertinent information about the boycott resolution from voting members, and froze membership rolls prior to the vote to prevent those opposed from voting.
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Police Chiefs Adopt Resolution Defining Anti-Semitism
Paul Miller, Daily Wire
By unanimous decision, the Miami-Dade County (FL) Association of Chiefs of Police passed a resolution recognizing the U.S. State Department's definition of anti-Semitism when investigating crimes.
This decision is in response to statistics recently released by the FBI revealing that of the 1,584 victims of religious hate crimes, over half the incidents were motivated by anti-Semitism.
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n March 20, the Wisconsin State legislature passed
an anti-BDS bill that prohibits any state agency from adopting a rule, ordinance, policy, or procedure that involves the agency in a boycott of Israel. In addition, the bill requires contracts between the state and nongovernmental entities to include a provision affirming that signatories are not currently, and will not be, engaged in a prohibited boycott.
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Fighting Campus Anti-Semitism from Berkely to Charlottesville
Baruch Nutovic, Virginia Law Weekly
"One of the main strategies of the anti-Israel hate movement is to try to drive a wedge between Jews and other minorities, suggesting that Jews are not a minority group in an effort to isolate Jews. The facts say otherwise. According to FBI statistics for 2016, the last year for which data is available, Jews were subject to more hate crimes per capita than any other minority group. And according to the Anti-Defamation League, in 2017 anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. surged nearly 60 percent, the largest single-year increase on record."
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The Continuing Fight Against BDS
Edward Kunz, Brandeis Blog
This past month included a flurry of BDS related activity. Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
defeated a BDS measure
by a margin of over 1,400 votes. Another recent BDS student referendum narrowly passed at the University of Minnesota, with 3392 students in favor and 3175 against. The student senate at the University of Texas A&M. approved a decision to oppose anti-Israel boycotts and all forms of anti-Semitism. The resolution passed by a wide margin of 38 in favor, 6 against, and 8 abstentions on March 8th.
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Nazi SS March in Latvia
Jacob May, Brandeis Blog
An unchecked wave of anti-Semitic activity has been making its way across Europe in recent months, and troubling reports out of Eastern Europe suggest that Latvia has become a new harbor for this pernicious bias.
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Anti-Semitic Vandalism in the Netherlands Rises 40 Percent
Jacob May, Brandeis Blog
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Louis D. Brandeis Center Holds Fifth Annual Law Student Leadership Conference
Edward Kunz, Brandeis Blog
This February 25-26, the Louis D. Brandeis Center hosted its fifth annual National Law Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference brought together law student leaders from LDB's
law student chapters
across the country, and educated these students on topics including civil rights law; international law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict; how to use legal tools to combat anti-Semitism and the Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel; and the constitutionality of anti-BDS legislation, among other topics.
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FutureLearn and Yad Vashem Online Anti-Semitism Course: Preview of Weeks 1 and 2
Jacob May, Brandeis Blog
We would like to call attention to FutureLearn's
latest online course
, "
Antisemitism: From Its Origins to the Present
." By examining different periods and societies, the course seeks to explore the development of anti-Semitism as well as its changing nature over time, place and culture. Designed by Yad Vashem-The World Holocaust Remembrance Center, the course is free and currently open for enrollment.
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Trump's Pick for Office for Civil Rights is Democrats' Best Bet
Max Eden, Real Clear Policy
After one year in office, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is still running a
skeleton crew
at the Department of Education. The Senate confirmation process for her political appointees has
stalled
, and Senate Democrats sense
blood in the water
around the nominee to head the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Kenneth Marcus. He is the best nominee that Democrats could hope for under the Trump administration.
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Support LDB
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The Louis D. Brandeis Center is a nonprofit organization supported by individuals, groups and foundations that share our concern about Jewish college students. Contributions are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. To support our efforts to combat campus anti-Semitism, please contact us at [email protected].
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Kenneth L. Marcus
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Can We Help You? |
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The Louis D. Brandeis Center stands ready if we can help you to combat anti-Semitism in higher education.
Please contact us if you are a student or professor who needs our help. We are also available to provide technical assistance to university administrators who are interested in achieving legal compliance and best practices for eliminating campus anti-Semitism.
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