by: Jonathan Greenblatt | October 26, 2018 The Washington Post American colleges are grappling with the challenge of striking the right balance between maintaining a safe, welcoming environment and one where freedom of speech and inquiry are prized. But it’s not a hard call, or it shouldn’t be, when dealing with bigotry and discrimination on campus.
Unfortunately, U.S. colleges are increasingly the scenes of anti-Semitic incidents, the continuation of a trend that we at the…
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New York, NY, October 9, 2018 … ADL today called on the University of Michigan to adopt a formal policy ensuring students' academic pursuits are not stymied by the political views of their professors, following a second incident where a faculty member reneged on a commitment to provide a letter of recommendation for an undergraduate student applying for a study-abroad program in Israel.
Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following statement:
The University of Michigan…
by: Jonathan Greenblatt | October 04, 2018 The Times of Israel Academic freedom is a cherished value in universities. It is predicated on the idea that professors can teach and students can learn without other forces interfering in the process, limiting the pursuit of ideas. And yet, a recent incident at Ann Arbor suggests that is not always the case – that professors actually can shut down conversation and constrain academic freedom based purely on their politics.
By this point, the…
by: Kenneth Jacobson | June 09, 2018 The Times of Israel The tragic events that took place on the Israeli-Gaza border in recent weeks were only the latest manifestation of a decades-long pattern: the Palestinians take extreme actions, the Israelis react and the international community and media come down hard on Israel.
The result is always the same: Israel’s image is hurt, but the Palestinians ultimately suffer far more.
How is this so? In the name of standing up for the…
The slogan “Free Palestine” has long been used at rallies, in chants, on placards, online and graffitied by those advocating on behalf of Palestinian rights. Since October 7th, the slogan has been regularly used by anti-Israel activists and organizations on college campuses and elsewhere, and in numerous instances, it has been directed maliciously at Jews and others. In many ways, the term is similar to slogans advocating for other political causes, including &ldquo…
By Sharon Nazarian | Senior Vice President for International Affairs January 25, 2018 The Forward Last week, American Zionists were told they could not be part of the feminist movement — again.
A number of pro-Palestinian groups, most notably the Palestinian American Women’s Association, boycotted Saturday’s L.A. Women’s March. They wouldn’t attend due to the fact that actress Scarlett Johansson, known to be a proud Zionist, was one of the speakers.
Hardly…
December 19, 2017 President Trump’s December 6 declaration recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel and setting in motion the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem engendered strong diplomatic protests, as well as some protests in the streets.
Moving beyond their initial outraged reaction, some Arabic-language media is continuing to focus on this issue, with editorial cartoons suggesting Jewish and Israeli domination of the United States.
…
December 18, 2017 Cartoons published in Qatari media used anti-Semitic imagery in its criticism of a Bahraini non-governmental delegation to Israel as an act of betrayal of Arab nationalism.
According to reports, an unofficial Bahraini delegation comprised of religious figures made a visit to Jerusalem this month in order to convey a message of tolerance. Bahrain has no formal ties with Israel and this is considered a first-of-its-kind visit; in response to criticism over the visit,…
December 11, 2017 President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was widely condemned by Arab governments. Arabic-language media followed suit, and some outlets even used the historic declaration to propagate anti-Semitic cartoons relating to Jews, Jerusalem, and/or U.S.-Israel relations. In some instances, these cartoons suggest that Israel controls or dominates U.S. foreign policy, for example depicting U.S. President Donald Trump as a puppet operated by Israeli…
November 30, 2017 November 24 witnessed the deadliest terror attack in Egypt’s history when gunmen detonated explosives at a Sufi mosque in the Sinai Peninsula and then sprayed the worshippers with bullets, killing more than 300 people and wounding more than 100. While no organization claimed responsibility for the attack, it is thought to have been carried out by local militants affiliated with the Islamic State.
Sufism, a branch of Islam, is a minority regarded by the Islamic…
by: Jonathan Greenblatt | November 28, 2017 The Forward At the Anti-Defamation League, we have spent more than 100 years fighting anti-Semitism, often referred to as the world’s oldest hatred. And we have labored to distinguish between a more modern phenomenon –- when criticism of Israel can be considered legitimate political conversation and when it crosses the line into insidious anti-Semitism.
We feel obligated to revisit the subject in light of a new book, “On…
November 07, 2017 November 2, 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a letter signed in 1917 by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour expressing his country's support for the establishment of a national Jewish home in Palestine. While the UK and Israel celebrated the anniversary of this Declaration, which has become a symbol of international recognition of the Jewish right to self-determination, Palestinians and others have used the occasion to protest, and demand an…
by: Kenneth Jacobson | October 20, 2017 JTA Here we go again: The issue of how and why the United States should engage with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is back in the news.
The announcement by the Trump administration that the U.S. will be pulling out of UNESCO over its biased treatment of Israel is only the latest manifestation of a fraught relationship between America and this U.N. body.
Established soon after World War II as an effort to…
New York, NY, October 9, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on the Executive Board of UNESCO to choose a new Director General “who best exemplifies and champions the values and ideals of the institution,” and who will be a strong and constructive voice against discrimination, including ongoing efforts to isolate and denigrate Israel, and who continues UNESCO’s important work on Holocaust education.
ADL expressed concern that the front runner after…
September 28, 2017 Following the September 26 attack in the West Bank settlement of Har Adar, in which a Palestinian gunman killed three Israelis, extremist groups have been posting on various forums to celebrate the attacks and incite violence against Israel and Jews worldwide.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, many have posted lauding the attacker and calling him “a heroic martyr,” as Hamas stated on the day of the attack. The Al-Tawhid…
New York, NY, September 7, 2017 … As college students are returning to a new academic school year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has released a new, multi-platform resource to equip them with essential information and tools to deal with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias on campus.
‘THINK. PLAN. ACT.’ is a comprehensive resource that prepares students for encounters with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias by defining what constitutes anti-Jewish animus,…
ADL responded to an op-ed by a Jewish Voice for Peace staffer, who asserted that alt-right leader Richard Spencer was right in his remarks that Zionism is akin to white supremacy. Days after the horrific showcase of American far-right extremism in Charlottesville, America’s leading extremist, white supremacist leader Richard Spencer, appeared on an Israeli television newscast and compared his hate-filled ideology to Jewish nationalism, declaring it “white Zionism.”
…
What is anti-Semitism?
Anti-Semitism is a form of prejudice or discrimination directed toward Jews as individuals or as a group. Anti-Semitism is based on age-old stereotypes and myths that target Jews as a people, their religious practices and beliefs, or the Jewish State of Israel.
Words or actions related to Israel are anti-Semitic when they blame all Jews for the actions of the state, single out Israel in denying the country’s right to exist as a Jewish state and an…
In the 1930s, the dean of Yale University’s medical school — who was Jewish himself — reportedly advised his admissions team, “Never admit more than five Jews, take only two Italian Catholics, and take no blacks at all.”
The American college campus has come a long way in the past century. Colleges are more diverse, and there are greater efforts to create inclusive environments whereby all students feel comfortable on campus. But that does not mean you…
What is the source of our free speech rights? Free speech rights emanate from the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[1] and from state constitutions. The U.S. Constitution limits the government’s ability to regulate speech based on content and it applies to all public colleges and universities. It serves as a floor, not a ceiling. State constitutions may grant more robust free speech rights than the U.S. Constitution, but never fewer. Is there a distinction between private and…