♦ A Jewish University of Michigan student said, “I was not prepared to be told that, if I cared about human rights, I could not support Israel. I was not prepared to be told that my community was racist. I was not prepared to see my fellow students attacked with anti-Semitic slurs.”
♦ Because she wears clothing with Hebrew lettering and her Star of David necklace, a Jewish University of North Carolina student said that she has been “spit at…I have been called a terrorist, baby killer, woman killer, [told that] I use blood to make matzah and other foods, Christ killer, occupier, and much more…[a female student] looked at me with a straight face and said to ‘go burn in an oven.’”
♦ During an Israel divestment hearing, a Wesleyan University student said the Jews were : “shushed and openly mocked.”
UC SHOULD CHANGE DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM
One positive step that AMCHA is urging be taken to address this escalating problem is for the California University system to adopt the State Department’s definition of antisemitism. Doing so will “better identify and educate against contemporary Jew-hatred,” Rossman-Benjamin said, which is a “critical step.” That definition includes the recognition that anti-Israel animus is a kind of antisemitism. For example, activity or statements that demonize Israel, hold Israel to a different standard than one to which other countries are held, or which serve to delegitimize Israel can be considered acts of antisemitism.
AMCHA has developed a petition for University of California stakeholders who wish to share their view with the Board of Regents on this topic.