Why a black DEI director wasn’t woke enough for her campus
Diversity, equity, and inclusion offices theoretically exist to foster welcoming campuses. But too often, where Jews are concerned, those offices are dismissive, exclusionary, and insensitive, leaving Jewish students , staff, and faculty feeling stigmatized. Black DEI professional Tabia Lee wrote about such hostility on her now-former campus for Compact magazine: “When I brought Jewish speakers to campus to address anti-Semitism and the … Continue reading
Another problem with ESG investing: Anti-Israel bias
The truth about environmental, social, and governance investing began coming into focus last year. A report commissioned by Chicago-based investment research firm Morningstar revealed anti-Israel bias in the ESG ratings of Sustainalytics, Morningstar’s ESG subsidiary. Some investors had suspected as much since 2016. However, Morningstar dismissed those charges until the Illinois Investment Policy Board Committee on Israel Boycott Restrictions investigated whether … Continue reading
Georgia’s battle to define antisemitism
Arkansas’s legislature unanimously agreed upon a definition of antisemitism this year. Indiana is on its way . But in Georgia, misunderstandings about the proposed definition and the Jewish community have complicated defining antisemitism in state law. The bill itself is straightforward. In just over two pages, Georgia’s HB30 adopts the widely accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. Investigators and prosecutors could … Continue reading
A snapshot of American Jew-hatred
Headlines reverberate with news of rising antisemitism. But how widespread is Jew-hatred in the United States? The Anti-Defamation League has queried Americans about antisemitism since 1964. Its latest survey captured changes, including the virtual disappearance of the gap between traditionally tolerant young adults (ages 18 to 30) and older Americans. Beyond that, 39% of respondents believed American … Continue reading
Harvard surrenders to antisemitism
The once mighty Harvard University has been brought to heel. Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), has forced Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf to surrender and offer Roth a fellowship. Roth and the leftist magazine The Nation set the narrative with a story about Harvard’s decision not to grant Roth a fellowship … Continue reading
Biden’s undiplomatic diplomat
This year started with a bang in Brazil’s capital. Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters protested election results by rioting, breaching government buildings and fighting police, leading to hundreds of arrests. And who’s there representing the United States? It’s the president’s new ambassador, who has made incendiary comments about Jewish and Cuban Americans. She is someone whose confirmation … Continue reading
Why did the FBI undercount antisemitic hate crimes?
In a typical year, the numbers are the story: Jews are about 2% of Americans but have topped the FBI’s religiously motivated hate crime category “since 1991, often registering between 9-13% of overall hate [crime] totals.” This year, though, the story is why the FBI’s data so undercounted antisemitic hate crimes that Congress wants revised statistics. Last week, … Continue reading
Harvard University ranks first in antisemitism
Harvard prides itself on ranking first in all things. And now they do—on three measures of campus antisemitism. The AMCHA Initiative, which tracks campus antisemitism, recently issued a report covering the 2021-2022 school year. It quantifies threats to Jewish identity, explained as the redefinition, denigration and suppression of Jewish identity. Amcha’s study shows a coordinated attempt to redefine … Continue reading
Berkeley Law’s anti-Zionism problem
Nine student clubs at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law announced in August they would not invite speakers who support “Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.” This concerned campus Zionists while following a now familiar pattern on American campuses: Progressive student groups that have nothing to do with the Middle East take … Continue reading
melissa langsam braunstein 
Commitment to Family in Increasingly Post-Christian Europe
Among parenthood’s many changes, new parents frequently seek out more spacious homes in neighborhoods with good schools. But parents might also want to consider the sort of relationship they want to have with their (eventually) grown children. European data suggest that grown children’s sense of what they owe aging parents can vary dramatically across societies. … Continue reading →
Filed under Clips, Cultural Commentary, Parenthood, Politics · Tagged with Aging, Family, Sandwich generation