@michelle @academicchatter

Which I hate to say will strengthen actual antisemitism.

If "all Jews" gets conflated with the state of Israel and especially their wrong side of history "leader." If the premise becomes "All Jews are like Bibi," unfortunately antisemitism has a rational basis, if you presume the premise is true (of course it is not.)

The more these people attack anyone who has the slightest empathy for Palestinians, the more they give the impression that "all Jews" is a thing -- and not a good thing at that.

They are causing the problem they are pretending to solve.

Update. I support this June 8 call from the Genocide and Holocaust Studies Crisis Network (#GHSCN) for #universities to refuse to sign the #IHRA definition of #antisemitism.
ghscn.org/letters-and-statemen…

"By accepting the IHRA’s conflation of criticism of Zionism, Israeli state policies, and violence against Palestinians with antisemitism…university administrations have harmed students, faculty, and community members -- many of them Jews -- who rightfully protest Israel’s destructive assault on Gaza. Citing its chilling effect, even its co-author, Kenneth Stern, has repudiated the IHRA definition’s current uses."

Update. Bravo to the Knight First Amendment Institute (@knightcolumbia) for weighing in against the #IHRA definition of #antisemitism.
knightcolumbia.org/content/kni…

"It’s disappointing that some of the nation’s leading institutions of higher education are agreeing to curtail and punish criticism of #Israel in the name of fighting discrimination [and antisemitism]. As major free speech groups have recognized, using the IHRA definition of antisemitism to delineate the outer boundaries of free speech will have the effect of proscribing or deterring legitimate political speech and scholarship. The lawyer who drafted the IHRA definition has raised similar concerns."

#FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech

Knight Institute Sounds Alarm Over New Restrictions On Campus Speech

^{Knight First Amendment Institute}

Update. I stand with these Jewish faculty and staff at the U of Virginia.
cavalierdaily.com/article/2025…

Another article about them.
huffpost.com/entry/jewish-facu…

PS: Policies against #antisemitism must not be used as tools or excuses to punish criticism of #Israel. Criticism of Israel is protected free speech. Full stop. It's as legitimate as the criticism of any other country, such as Iran or Russia. It's a right proudly and carefully exercised by many Jews.

American allies of Israel keep forgetting that most Israelis themselves criticize what #Netanyahu is doing in #Gaza.
timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent…

Jewish Faculty Call Out Weaponization Of Antisemitism Label In Higher Education

Jewish staff say the federal government and their own institutions are using the term to exert more control over the education system and punish critics of Israel.

^{Sanjana Karanth (HuffPost)}

Bravo to the National Education Association (#NEA, @neatoday) for voting to drop the Anti-Defamation League (#ADL) as a partner in developing school curricula.

From Judy Greenspan, the NEA delegate who introduced the motion: "The ADL…continually [tries] to equate criticism of #Israel with #antisemitism.”

Update. Open letter from 1,000+ Rabbis worldwide.
ljs.org/1000rabbis

"We cannot condone the mass killings of civilians, including a great many women, children and elderly, or the use of starvation as a weapon of war…The killing of huge numbers of #Palestinians in #Gaza, including those desperately seeking food, has been widely reported across respectable media and cannot reasonably be denied. The severe limitation placed on humanitarian relief in Gaza, and the policy of withholding of food, water, and medical supplies from a needy civilian population contradict essential values of Judaism as we understand it. Ongoing unprovoked attacks, including murder and theft, against Arab populations in the West Bank, have been documented over and over again. We cannot keep silent."

Update. More evidence that the #Trump admin is using charges of #antisemitism as a pretext for suppressing protected speech, in particular, speech defending Palestinian rights or criticizing Israel's tactics in Gaza.
latimes.com/california/story/2…

#USPol #USPolitics