Antisemitism — Article I

Lede Brief 2d ago

Populism Has Always Needed a Scapegoat. History Names It.

At the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills this week, the concern animating many Jewish executives and philanthropists was not a panel topic — it was the hallway conversation, Jewish Insider reports.

Said TD Bank Vice Chair Jeffrey Solomon: "Antisemitism is a manifestation of extremism and populism. Extremism on the left and extremism on the right, neither one of those is good for us as Jews, but it's not good for a lot of people."

He added: "The policies that have gotten us to this place have not been inclusive enough for enough people."

The pattern Solomon is describing is not new. It is one of the most reliably recurring sequences in the history of democratic societies under economic stress — and American history is no exception.

Source: Jewish Insider Antisemitism LongMemory

Brief 2d ago

Montgomery County Schools Let Antisemitism Compound. Now There's a Bill.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is demanding that Montgomery County Public Schools — Maryland's largest district — adopt a zero-tolerance policy on antisemitism after a documented wave of incidents including physical threats, 'Heil Hitler' gestures at middle school events, and antisemitic graffiti at Greenwood Elementary School, the Times of Israel reports.

Said Guila Franklin Siegel, the JCRC's chief operating officer: "While the details vary, these incidents reveal a harsh truth: too many Jewish students and educators at too many MCPS schools continue to face too many threats."

The district already has a federal Title VI investigation on its books — opened by the Department of Education over antisemitism allegations — and four educators were placed on administrative leave in December 2023 for sharing antisemitic content on social media. The JCRC says MCPS's incident count is "significantly higher than other school districts across our region." That's not a trend. That's a management failure.

Source: Times of Israel Antisemitism RuleofLaw

Brief 2d ago

Georgetown Law Let 282 Signatures Veto Its Commencement Speaker

Morton Schapiro — economist, former Northwestern president, and pro-Israel Jewish voice in higher education — withdrew as Georgetown Law's May 17 commencement speaker after a student petition with 282 signatures called his views "controversial, Zionist, and harmful," the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports.

Said Schapiro to the Jewish Journal: "Given Georgetown Law's desire to keep politics out of its commencement ceremony, I am a little surprised by their choice of a speaker to replace me."

The replacement: David Cole, a Georgetown professor and former ACLU national legal director who compared congressional hearings on campus antisemitism to "McCarthyism" and cautioned universities against restricting pro-Palestinian student speech after October 7. That's not keeping politics out. That's picking a side under cover of neutrality.

Source: Times of Israel Antisemitism RuleofLaw

Brief 2d ago

Antisemitic Assaults Hit a 46-Year High.

Physical assaults against American Jews reached their highest level since 1979 last year, according to the latest data. Antisemitism is rising on the right and the left — from a president who dined with Holocaust deniers to progressive lawmakers who downplay the targeting of Jews on college campuses. Same standard for both. Name it. Cite it. Don't let either side off the hook.

Source: Axios Antisemitism