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California's Free Speech Follies
Jewish advocates are often unfairly misrepresented as trying to suppress speech that is critical of Israel, especially on university campuses. Sadly, this trope has great resonance in many circles, because it echoes age-old stereotypes in which Jews are seen as all-powerful, conspiratorial and controlling. On California university campuses, where anti-Semitism and anti-Israel agitation remain epidemic, this misperception threatens to derail any real prospect for change. LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus explains this dilemma in a recent column. |
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Free Speech Follies II: The Student Association Strikes Back
Responding to these "California free speech follies," the University of California Student Association issued a radical statement condmemning HR 35 and other efforts to address campus anti-Semitism. In other words, after the California legislature finally took a stand in favor of Jewish students and against campus anti-Semitism, an organization representing all UC students has angrily rejected the legislature's very well-intentioned work. LDB Director Richard Cravatts (Simmons/SPME) analyzes this newest campus development. Cravatts explains how the anti-Israel narrative employs what Kenneth L. Marcus has called "First Amendment Opportunism." As friends of the Brandeis Center are now are, LDB has worked to change the narrative in many ways, including by developing tools to combat campus anti-Semitism that are completely First Amendment-proof. This can be seen, for example, in the new LDB Best Practices Guide for Combating Campus Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism. |
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Welcome Stephen R. Greenwald 
The Brandeis Center has just made another high-profile addition to its prestigious Legal Advisory Board, appointing Stephen Greenwald, the Immediate Past President of both the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists and Metropolitan College of New York. The appointment is yet another indication of LDB's growing strength and capacity to combat campus anti-Semitism. Given all of the developments on American college campuses, it is vital that we build capacity for any legal challenges that prove necessary. In this sense, Mr. Greenwald's appointment could not be more timely. |
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Join us on Facebook!
After a successful social media campaign, LDB's revamped Facebook page now enjoys nearly 750 highly engaged users. (Probably more by the time you read this!) Join us on Facebook in order to get regular updates on LDB and campus anti-Semitism and to join in the conversation! |
