GWU Investigation: “No Evidence” Behind Allegations of Antisemitism Against Psych Prof
George Washington University (GWU) President Mark S. Wrighton announced on March 27 that a third-party investigation has found that the allegations of antisemitism and retaliatory behavior by Assistant Professor of Psychology Lara Sheehi did not have merit.
The third-party investigator, the Crowell & Moring law firm, found that the allegations listed in the January complaint filed by StandWithUs to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights were “either inaccurate or taken out of context and misrepresented.” Additionally, Cromwell found that the remediation measures taken against the students after they complained to university administrators about Sheehi were not retaliatory and that most of the faculty supported it “for students’ professional development.”
StandWithUS CEO and Co-founder Roz Rothstein called the investigation’s findings were “blatant whitewashing” and did not comport with the facts of the situation, accusing the university “of disregarding the rights of its Jewish and Israeli students.”
San Diego State Menorah Vandalized
The menorah in front of San Diego State University’s Chabad House has been vandalized.
Stop Antisemitism tweeted out a photo of the menorah on March 27 that appeared to show the menorah tilted toward its left side and one of its arms broken off; they also tweeted out a video of an individual shaking the menorah until it broke. “We are disgusted to hear the menorah at San Diego State University Chabad Jewish Center has been vandalized once again,” they wrote. “Jewish students deserve to feel safe on your campus
@SDSU @PrezdelaTorre — please investigate and take appropriate legal action to put a stop to this bigotry.”
The menorah was previously vandalized in 2017 and 2021.
SF State Student Calls Hillel “Extremist Zionist Organization” During Zoom
San Francisco State University (SFSU) Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Jamillah Moore issued a statement denouncing a student who called Hillel an “extremist Zionist organization” during a March 9 Zoom.
The Jewish News of Northern California (The J) reported that the Zoom was about a Cesar Chavez mural on campus and Hillel was on the call “to offer a Jewish perspective” and was not planning to address any Israel-related topics. The student, per The J, said: “Why is Hillel here? They’re an extremist Zionist organization.” Moore wrote: “As a campus community, we encourage a rigorous exchange of scholarly ideas and debate about Zionism, Israel, and any other world issue. That debate, however, cannot exclude people from participating in meetings and events based on an assumption of their political stance or religious identity.”
Report: CUNY “Most Systematically Antisemitic” University in America
A 12-page report released by Students for Faculty and Equality at City University of New York (SAFE CUNY) on March 23 detailed how CUNY became the “most systematically antisemitic” university in America over the past couple of years.
The report lambasts CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez for skipping two New York City Council hearings on antisemitism and opposing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. Instead, Matos-Rodriguez supports a whitewashed definition of antisemitism supported by the anti-Israel organization Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), per the report. The report also states that Matos-Rodriguez is supportive of CAIR, pointing to his hiring of former CAIR Diversity Officer Sally Abd Alla as CUNY’s Chief Diversity Officer, who “leads CUNY’s antisemitism diversity initiative.”
The report also notes that, among other things, the CUNY School of Law faculty adopted a resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and invited former Women’s March leader Linda Sarsour to speak at CUNY’s School of Public Health’s commencement address in 2017. The report concluded with a call for CUNY to adopt IHRA.
Source: BDS Resolution to be Discussed at Yale Student Gov’t
A Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolution will likely be discussed — and possibly even voted upon — at the Yale College Council’s (YCC) next meeting on April 2, a source familiar with the situation told the Journal.
The resolution, obtained by The Daily Caller on March 2, calls for the university to terminate its contract with the British multinational security company G4S because the company supplies Israel “with the security equipment for its prisons, military checkpoints, police buildings, illegal settlements, and apartheid wall … Yale University cutting ties with G4S would be one step towards the end of the military occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem; the destruction of the apartheid wall; the actualization of equal rights for the Palestinian citizens of Israel; and the recognition of the Palestinian right of return,” the resolution states, per the Caller.
A source told the Journal that while the resolution is not currently listed on the April 2 agenda, it will be discussed during the meeting and the YCC could decide to add it to the agenda then. At the YCC’s previous meeting on March 5, the resolution was tabled for further discussion, per the source.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.