Bay Area High School Teacher Placed on Leave for Assigning Antisemitic Material
A high school English teacher in Hayward was placed on leave on February 23 for assigning antisemitic material to his class.
The Jewish News of Northern California (The J) reported that the Mt. Eden teacher, Henry Bens, had assigned a 42-page pamphlet called “The Hidden Tyranny,” which spreads conspiracy theories of Jews controlling American politicians as part of an overarching plan for “world domination.” Bens had reportedly told students “to annotate the text and highlight important sections about how Jews control and manipulate power structures” and made “Heil Hitler” salutes on multiple occasions, per The J. The Hayward Unified School District has placed Bens on leave while they investigate the matter.
The J also found sermons that Bens, who is also a pastor, gave at the Alameda church Congregation Rehoboth; Bens endorsed Khazar Theory, the conspiracy theory that Ashkenazi Jews are descended from the Turkish people known as Khazars, and has defended rapper Kanye West as well as the antisemitic movie that NBA star Kyrie Irving shared a link to on social media.
More Than 120 Scholars Call for U of Chicago to Denounce Protests of Israeli Class
A letter signed by more than 120 scholars called for the University of Chicago to condemn ongoing protests of an Israeli course and “do everything possible to prevent physical disruption of these classes.”
The letter, which was sent by the Academic Engagement Network, stated that the protests are being held outside the classroom where the class, “Security, Counter-Terrorism, and Resilience: The Israeli Case,” is being held. “When protests disrupt teaching and learning they should be treated as violations of campus policy and antithetical to the core academic principle of open intellectual exchange,” the letter stated. “Students have a right to study in a safe learning environment.”
NY to Investigate CUNY Law Over Faculty Support for BDS
The New York State Division of Human Rights announced in a letter that they will be investigating the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law for alleged antisemitism after the faculty passed a resolution endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in May.
The Times of Israel (TOI) reported that CUNY Professor Jeffrey Lax filed the complaint in July; the resolution had called for CUNY to sever all relationships with Israel and to abolish Hillel from campus, accusing the organization of harassing and initimidating Palestinian students.
“We feel that having BDS policy adopted by a law school discriminates against the Jewish students, faculty and staff of that law school,” Lax told TOI. “We have demanded that the chancellor put a stop to CUNY Law School implementing discriminatory, bigoted BDS policy and he’s done nothing about it, he’s only defended it. I think the message is, ‘We don’t want Jews at CUNY.”
Palestinian Peace Activist Event Disrupted at Tufts
An event at Tufts University featuring a Palestinian peace activist was disrupted by various protesters on February 21.
The Algemeiner reported that the event featured the activist, Khalil Sayegh, and an Israeli citizen named Sarah Mandel; they are speaking as part of a country-wide tour to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians through an organization called Roots. According to The Tufts Daily, the protesters, who were donning masks, interrupted the event 15 minutes after it started with chants of “Roots, Roots, you can’t hide, you’re protecting genocide” and one protester calling Sayegh a “slut” in Arabic and other vulgarities. Eventually the protesters were removed, and the event resumed.
“The disruption of the event and the offensive language directed toward the Jewish and Palestinian guest speakers are absolutely unacceptable and a violation of our community standards,” Tufts University President Anthony Monaco said in a statement to The Algemeiner and the Daily. “Tufts University police and other relevant offices at the university are investigating and we will hold accountable any members of our community who are found to be responsible.”
Antisemitic Flyers at University of Vermont
Two antisemitic flyers were found in the University of Vermont in the past week.
Stop Antisemitism posted a photo of the flyer found on the third floor of the Dudley H. Davis Center on Twitter. The flyer stated “Every aspect of the slave trade is Jewish.” The group claimed “This is the third time in the past month the white [supremacist] group has targeted @uvmvermont with their atrocious anti-Jewish leaflets!”
Previously, an antisemitic flyer was found on February 20 in a campus bathroom, NBC5 News reported. According to Stop Antisemitism, that flyer accused Israel of being behind the 9/11 terror attacks. “Jewish students tell us they’re concerned the University is unable to stop those responsible for spreading the antisemitic hatred,” Stop Antisemitism tweeted.
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