Yale Hosts Speaker Accused of Being Antisemitic
Yale University hosted Houria Bouteldja, a French-Algerian author, on April 6 despite backlash over Bouteldja’s past controversial remarks that have been criticized as being antisemitic.
The Yale Daily News reported that Stop Antisemitism tweeted out some of Bouteldja’s comments; the Daily News specifically reported on Bouteldja believing “that Western governments impose a hierarchy in which ‘Jews are in some sense better treated’” and standing next to graffiti saying, “Zionists to the gulag” with her thumbs up. She also said in a 2012 speech, “I went to bed as myself, and woke up as Mohammed Merah. Mohammed Merah is me.” That year, Merah had committed a series of terror attacks in France, one of which was at a Jewish school.
The Daily News reported that various Jewish students had asked that Bouteldja’s talk be rescheduled so it didn’t coincide with Passover. The university declined to move it, citing free speech. Bouteldja said during her speech that she was not a bigot but a “decolonial” and explained that her Merah comment was her expressing her belief “that Merah had only resorted to violence because he was integrated into a white supremacist state,” per the Daily News.
Education Dept., UVM Reach Resolution Over Antisemitism Complaint
The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the University of Vermont (UVM) reached a resolution agreement on April 3 over a complaint that UVM failed to adequately respond to allegations of antisemitism on campus.
According to a press release, OCR’s investigation into the complaint found that the university “declined to investigate any of the complaints” and took “delayed” measures in response, actions that “may have discouraged students and staff from raising further concerns with the university or with participating in the OCR investigation.” Under the resolution agreement, the university will “issue a statement with a commitment to address discrimination based on shared ancestry, including antisemitism” and “review and revise its policies and procedures to include a description of forms of discrimination that can manifest in the university environment, and to ensure that the university’s response to notice of discrimination including national origin harassment on the basis of shared ancestry is consistent with Title VI [of the Civil Rights Act],” among other things, per the press release.
Dept. of Education to Investigate Antisemitism Complaint Against GWU
StandWithUs announced on April 4 that they have been informed by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) that they will be investigating their complaint against George Washington University (GWU).
The complaint, filed in January, alleged that the university failed to take proper action against Assistant Professor of Psychology Lara Sheehi, who is accused in the complaint of targeting and invalidating the identities of Jewish Israeli students in her class and then retaliating against them when they complained to university administrators. GWU President Mark S. Wrighton announced on March 27 that a third-party investigation conducted by the law firm Crowell & Moring “found no evidence substantiating the allegations of discriminatory and retaliatory conduct alleged in the complaint.”
“University administrators have an affirmative obligation to respond adequately when students report allegations of such misconduct,” StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein said in a statement. “We are pleased that OCR has recognized the need to investigate these allegations in a thorough and unbiased manner.”
Education Dept. Could Repeal Regulations Affecting Jewish Students
The Department of Education is reportedly considering repealing some regulations from the Trump administration that would affect how Jewish students are protected on campus.
Jewish Insider (JI) reported that the regulations required that schools protect the free speech rights of students in order to qualify for grants. Kenneth L. Marcus, who head the Brandeis Center, told JI that the regulations provided “a great deal of leverage that would require universities to take these complaints much more seriously,” pointing to how they were able to get Duke University rescind its decision to block recognition of a pro-Israel club on campus.
Columbia to Launch Tel Aviv Center Despite Faculty Pushback
Columbia University announced on April 3 that they will be launching a Columbia Global Center in Tel Aviv, resulting in pushback from faculty members.
According to the university’s website, the center will focus on “climate change, technology and entrepreneurship, and aspects of arts and the humanities, as well as biological science, public health, and medicine,” among other things. Before the announcement, at least 95 faculty members had signed onto letter denouncing the pending move, arguing that Israel violates Palestinian human rights and that the move would be seen as “endorsing or legitimizing the new government.”
“The idea of faculty protesting a center in #Israel but not a peep about similar @Columbia programs in #China, #Jordan, or #Turkey would be amusing if it weren’t so absurd,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted. “This is what bias looks like.”
