| NEW YORK (Press Release) This weekend, graduations took place from coast to coast, and today, Monday, May 13, is Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day. Over the past year, 1,600 Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed. May their memory be a blessing. |
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Duke. Did you ever wonder why students graduating from Duke University would walk out on their commencement speaker, Jerry Seinfeld? Do they not like his stand-up? Is he setting Israeli government policy? No, it’s because he’s Jewish and has expressed support for Israel. Shame on them, and kudos to Duke administrators for making sure that the entire ceremony was not disrupted; Seinfeld spoke without interruption. WATCH: Seinfeld’s commencement speech. Cal Berkeley. On Saturday at the commencement ceremony at University of California, Berkeley, dozens — and, according to some accounts, hundreds — of soon-to-be graduates rose from their seats in protest, chanting and disrupting the proceedings. Chants interrupted the student body president’s speech, and the University said that the protesters left the stadium voluntarily. The Law School’s graduation that same day was also repeatedly disrupted by chants. UW Madison. On Friday, the administration of the University of Wisconsin, Madison announced a total capitulation to anti-Israel protesters despite spending the past week saying that the encampment there must go as it violated the University’s code of conduct and Wisconsin state law. This sets a dangerous precedent that those like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) — which regularly propagates antisemitic rhetoric, glorifies terrorism, and wants to expel “Zionists” from campus life — will not be held accountable for their actions. READ: ADL Midwest’s statement. TAKE ACTION: Tell Chancellor Mnookin that this deal is irresponsible, rewards violations of the code of conduct, and sets a dangerous precedent. Hopkins. Over the weekend, Johns Hopkins University joined Northwestern, Wisconsin-Madison, and others who shamefully have capitulated to anti-Israel protesters. Hopkins President Ron Daniels said that the University now will consider their petition to divest from Israel and will not hold them accountable for violating University codes of conduct or state laws during the encampment at its Homewood, Baltimore campus. Heard at the encampment these past weeks include chants of “There is only one solution: intifada revolution!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” Seen at the encampment, antisemitic signs including: “Zionism upholds Nazi ideology and white supremacy.” Does anyone think that Hopkins would tolerate these hateful threats if they were directed at any other minority group? Shame on Hopkins. Pomona. Yesterday, Pomona College had its commencement at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, 40 miles from its campus because anti-Israel protesters refused to leave the original site. Protesters gathered outside the Shrine Auditorium, blocking access to the ceremony and chanting “From the river to the sea.” Los Angeles Police declared an unlawful assembly and pushed them back. Some charged the officers, and one was arrested for attempting to strike a police officer. DEEPER: On Thursday, ADL and the Brandeis Center filed a Title VI complaint with the US Department of Education alleging that the college has allowed severe discrimination and harassment to persist at Pomona. Read the full complaint. Temple. Late last week, the AEPi house at Temple University in Philadelphia was vandalized with the words “Free Palestine” spray-painted on its roof. The brothers saw the graffiti after they noticed the Israeli flag hanging on their roof was missing. Temple AEPi treasurer Zachary Fajge: “It is just unfortunate that, you know, the Jewish fraternity was targeted for being a Jewish fraternity and for having an Israeli flag in the house.” Arizona. The Joint Council on Jewish Life and Antisemitism at the University of Arizona issued a statement Friday condemning the Chair of UA’s Faculty Senate for refusing to consider a resolution condemning antisemitism on campus. Signing the statement are representatives from UA Hillel, Chabad, JCRC, and the Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona. UC Denver. At commencement ceremonies at the University of Colorado, Denver on Saturday, anti-Israel protesters disrupted Chancellor Michelle Marks as she was speaking. According to reports, she stepped away from the microphone for a brief moment, and then returned, admonishing the protesters that this was not the time to protest but “a day we are celebrating our graduates.” This “garnered booming applause from graduates and attendees.” |
| Campus Champions
No More Gifts. The Berrie Foundation, which has so far given $86 million to Columbia University, has announced it is pulling funding from Columbia in response to how the University has dealt with antisemitism on campus. Angelica Berrie, the president of the board of the foundation, called the decision “painful,” and added that, “We will watch and see whether their actions actually rectify the situation.” Setting the Bar. Venerable law firm Sullivan & Cromwell announced it will be “extremely vigilant” in vetting future potential hires in relation to events at protests across the country: “Creating, or participating in, a climate of harassment, intimidation and discrimination is unacceptable. We have been very open about our firm’s views on these matters.” Walk in Our Shoes. Milagro Jones, a non-Jewish senior at University of California, Los Angeles had two unfortunate encounters with anti-Israel protesters: “I was stopped by masked, anti-Israel protesters who mistook me for someone of Jewish background. They said I was an Israeli agitator. They physically assaulted me on Friday. The last time that I was on campus, they actually punched my brother in the head.” Because of this, Jones said: “I completely changed my views on the situation after experiencing this stuff firsthand, and now I’m just trying to expose the truth and let people know how these organizations operate on college campuses across the US.” |
| Am Yisrael Chai 💪✡️
Bring Them Home Now. In a moving speech at the Lights of Liberty event, Montana Tucker reminded us that the safe rescue of hostages is the key to true, long-lasting peace. “Calling for the release of innocent hostages from not only Israel and America, but from around the world, should NOT be political.” Watch her speech here. Rising Like a Phoenix. Members of Arizona’s Jewish community gathered at a busy intersection at the border between Scottsdale and Phoenix to call for the release of hostages taken by Hamas and to stand in solidarity with Jewish students. In attendance was state Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Mexican-Jewish-American who also is a law student at Arizona State University: “I have my last final tomorrow, and there are many students who are in similar situations that are still worried about school and trying to get things done, and then they also have to worry about walking on campus and hearing people chanting, ‘Death to Zionists’ and ‘Death to Israel’ …. it is a very distressing and disappointing time.” Number One to Us. Israeli singer Eden Golan came in fifth place in the Eurovision song contest on Saturday. She received the second-highest tally in the public vote, but was only twelfth in the jury vote, which led to Eden’s overall fifth-place finish. WATCH: Eden perform her song, “Hurricane.” WATCH MORE: Israel’s last Eurovision winner was Netta with “Toy” in 2018. * |