Seven key recommendations to make campus a place of belonging for Jews

1) Use protest slogans that do not invoke violence. Slogans invoking “From the river to the sea…” and “Intifada” are considered hurtful, genocidal or racist by many Jews and non-Jews alike. While you may intend something constructive by using these slogans, many Jewish individuals will be deeply offended or even alarmed. While universities seek to limit microaggressions, use of these slogans go well beyond simple microaggressions. If you are unsure why Jews might take offense, we encourage you to read about the history behind these chants here:

2) Know when messaging crosses a line. Pro-Palestinian messaging crosses a serious line when it advocates for “all forms of resistance” against Jews, against Zionists, against colonialists etc. These sorts of statements are not just hate-speech, but endorsements of, or even calls for violence depending on the statement. Their use could get you charged in some jurisdictions. We suggest university administrators make clear policies that advocating for, calling for, or supporting “all forms of resistance” against any group is a serious offense.

3) Realize that anti-Israel or anti-Zionist Jews do NOT represent the Jewish community. The Jewish community overwhelmingly supports Israel. When we are critical of Israeli policies, it is with the hope of making Israel better. In contrast, a small proportion of the Jewish community are anti-Israel or anti-Zionist, some virulently so. These individuals are entitled to their personal beliefs, but they do not represent the viewpoints of the Jewish community at large. Some of the most hurtful individuals to the Jewish community have been other Jews. This has been true throughout history and it is true at the current time. Just because a Jewish individual is comfortable using a hateful slogan does not justify its use as not being antisemitic. Justifying actions against the Jewish community as acceptable because anti-Zionist Jews participate is a form of tokenism.

4) University administration as well as student union and faculty union governments must remain neutral. As individuals, we all have the right to our opinions, but in the role of a university administrator, those opinions must be laid aside and a neutral position taken as it relates to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Only in this way can a university provide the unbiased governance needed to administer a university without alienating some component of its students, staff and faculty. Academic freedom of expression within the bounds of the law extends to students and faculty, but does not extend to administration. This point is fundamental! Administration should refrain from making official one-sided statements supporting one group vs the other. While upper-level administration typically understands this, lower administrative units, in particular, the level of the academic department, often violate the need for neutrality by making official departmental statements in support of one side. These statements may alienate students and faculty in their department and lead to a toxic work and learning environment. We encourage upper-level administration to set clear policies requiring departmental units to be neutral, to remind departmental heads of this requirement, and to have procedures in place to discipline violations. Student union governments are also a form of government. We encourage university administrations hold student unions responsible when they violate neutrality either by withhold funding supports or disbanding student unions.

5) Realize the harm caused by adoption of BDS on campus. Boycotting of Israeli universities, academics, authors, artists and companies because of a conflict with the Palestinians that Israelis never wanted and never institigated is bigotry. BDS is discrimination on the basis of national origin. Adoption of BDS has very real consequences for Jewish students that infringes on core values of equity and inclusivity. For example, on one campus Jewish students were denied Kosher caterers unless those caterers denounced Israel and used no food-items derived from Israel. University administration should provide no leeway to allow the BDS movement on campus. Student unions or other university sponsored groups that advocate for BDS should be censured.

6) It is inappropriate for professors or teaching assistants to use their courses as springboards to promote their own ideological views on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict when their approved course syllabi do not cover these topics. A spate of abuses has left Israeli, Jewish, or Palestinian students feeling ostracized. Upper-level administration should make clear policies prohibiting such abuse of the classroom by faculty and teaching assistances and enforce disciplinary measures for violations. One approach would be to mandate that course syllabi include a statement that the course in question will stay within the approved curriculum of the course and that the instructor and TA will ensure a classroom environment free of harassment.

7) Recognize when anti-Zionism crosses the line into antisemitism. Antisemitism is often cloaked (sometimes thinly veiled) as anti-Zionism. Criticism of Israeli policies is acceptable. Calling for the destruction of Israel, Israelis, or Zionists is not. The fervor with which many anti-Zionists conduct themselves on campus largely results from several decades of university professors attaching the label of “settler colonialism” to Israel in courses. This label is both inaccurate and based on racist ideology. It is time to teach the origins of Israel and the resulting conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians through the rightful lens of re-indigenization. Just as not all "anti-Zionist" positions are racist, so not all "anti-Palestinian" ones are either. It is important to resist over expansive definitions of both antisemitism and anti-Palestinian bigotry which work to stifle valid criticism from opponents and academic research on sensative topics.