LOS ANGELES (Press Release)–StandWithUs, an Israeli advocacy group headquartered here, is protesting actions at New York University and George Washington University, respectively in New York and Washington, as both anti-Israel and anti-Semitic.
Fifty-one NYU student organizations on April 9 co-signed a joint statement pledging to boycott Israeli goods, Israeli academic institutions and conferences, and numerous pro-Israel outside organizations. Additionally, the statement promotes the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and commits to boycotting TorchPAC and Realize Israel, NYU’s pro-Israel student organizations. StandWithUs (SWU) and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB), in a letter, said, the statement by the 51 organizations, “effectively discriminates against Israeli students at NYU on the basis of their national origin. It also “effectively discriminates against many Jewish students, as Zionism is the movement for Jewish self-determination.” In this way, the discriminatory statement “seeks to denigrate this vital aspect of mainstream Jewish identity.”On April 24, StandWithUs and LDB sent a legal letter to NYU President Andrew Hamilton, calling on him to thoroughly investigate discriminatory conduct and if violations are found, discipline the responsible student organizations, consistent with applicable constitutional protections. The letter explained that the student groups have indicated an intent to take actions that may violate university policies as well as state and federal civil rights law.
“This joint statement amounts to a malicious, anti-Semitic campaign intended to suppress and marginalize pro-Israel and Jewish students on campus,” said Yael Lerman, Director of the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department. “We call on the NYU administration to investigate acts of bigotry and to show a zero tolerance policy for any violations of state law or university policy.”Aviva Vogelstein, Director of Legal Initiatives at LDB, called for President Hamilton to move beyond mere dialogue to unify his campus. “While we agree that ongoing discussion is vital, Jewish and Israeli students must not feel that their basic rights on campus are in jeopardy.”
StandWithUs also expressed outraged that the George Washington University (GW) Student Association (SA) voted against holding one of its senators accountable for anti-Semitism. It strongly condemned the student association’s subsequent passage of a discriminatory resolution to divest from companies doing business with Israel. The vote on divestment was 18 in favor, 6 against, and 6 abstention.“We are disappointed with the outcome of the SA’s decision in passing this bill. The SA members showed tonight their inability to condemn anti-Semitism and proved they don’t have the proper means and knowledge to discuss this topic in the first place,” said Tali Edid, President of GW for Israel and a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow.Earlier in the evening, the SA failed to censure Student Senator Brady Forrest for racist rhetoric against Jewish organizations on campus. Two thirds of SA senators had to vote in favor of censuring him but only 17 out of 27 chose to do so, meaning he was effectively allowed to vote on divestment against Israel. As a result, nearly all Jewish students walked out of the SA meeting in protest.StandWithUs, in a statement, applauded Hillel and students at GW for standing up to hate at their campus, in the face of such adversity. A spokesperson said the organization looks forward to working with ICC, Hillel International, and our other partners to empower pro-Israel activism at GW and beyond.*
Preceding based on material provided by StandWithUs