Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff

🎉 The National Campus Jewish Alliance is launching! 🎉 NCJA is a national network of diverse groups of Jewish higher education workers united by our commitments to critical inquiry, freedom of expression, and multiracial democracy on our campuses and beyond. www.nationalcampusjewishalliance.org

Middle East Studies Assoc. released an Academic Freedom Initiative report documenting repression of students, faculty and staff at 140 campuses across 45 states by state officials, campus admin, and advocacy groups. afi.mesana.org/resource/lessons-in-repression/

"Without a baseline of agreement that each innocent life is invaluable, and thus that each loss is a tragedy and each murder a crime, we inhabit different moral codes and realities." eladnehorai.substack.com/p/a-life-is-...

Today, on the third anniversary of the October 7th attacks, we pause to grieve, to remember, and to reflect.

It is not the role of local or state government to adjudicate the differences of opinion within the Jewish community and among scholars of antisemitism. In fact, to do so would be a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. 👉 inclusivemassachusetts.org/wp-content/u...

Under the guise of protecting the vulnerable, the Trump administration wants to protect only those who hold the “right” views. That’s not using the power of the state to protect the vulnerable; that’s using the power of the state for intimidation.

From our steering committee member Zinaida Miller: "A systematic failure to investigate tells two stories: one about the lack of accountability for perpetrators, the other about the lack of value assigned to the victims." www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/oc...

Once again, Trump's campaign against antisemitism shows little interest in actually combating antisemitism. The most shocking thing is how many institutions either deceived themselves as to the nature of this campaign, or decided to play along anyway.

"An administration that claims it wants to protect Jews has decided which Jewish views—and therefore which Jewish people—count as authentic. Support Israel and you’re a victim worth defending. Oppose it and you become a threat or an “alien,” even if you’re a rabbi, a teacher, or a Hasidic Jew."

This report should be required reading for every university president and board member in the country.

NCAR Director Aryeh Tuchman examined what ADL’s faculty reports show about campus antisemitism, and what they don’t. Read the full piece here: ncar.us/papers/ncar-...

On universities’ handling of antisemitism, [US Commission on Civil Rights Chair Rochelle Garza] wrote that the report found institutions “struggled to distinguish between a Title VI violation and protected expression under the First Amendment.” www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/09...

The US Commission on Civil Rights has formally rebuked the Trump administration's legal strategy for its "anti-antisemitism" on campus campaign, citing Jewish Studies scholars arguing that "Zionism is not an ethnic or ancestral trait." www.usccr.gov/reports/2026...

The Trump admin's offer of provisional protection for American Jews is premised upon accepting their definition of Jewish identity as solely centered around the state of Israel. Dissent from that definition of Jewishness, and the state will be mobilized against you. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/n...

Important and strikingly reasonable report from the US Commission on Civil Rights on campus antisemitism! "Current Title VI law distinguishes discrimination based on Jewish ancestry or national origin from opposition to Israel or Zionism." Excellent explainer from @beidelson.bsky.social below:

for everyone (rightly) ridiculing Stanford for AI generating racial diversity, do recall Standford's elite anticipatory obedience 6 years ago when it released this memo following obvi unconstitutional Trump executive order that didn't even apply to universities. perma.cc/F2EJ-ALHD

This should be an alarm bell for democracy advocates everywhere

never forget that our universities fired and expelled people for opposing this

'56 percent of [US Jewish] respondents had a “great deal” of concern that “Israel’s actions under Netanyahu have increased antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the US” '

Beyond proud of my daughter Jessie for joining this lawsuit and standing up against the forces of repression at Columbia University.

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/o...

That Robert Kraft and his stadium-owner buddies are fine with "Heil Hitler" but not "Free Palestine" tells you everything you need to know. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/17/a...

Link to the open letter: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

We stand with the artists who stand on the right side of history www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/15/a...

Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff 👉 "Since January 2025, we have witnessed federal officials routinely levy false allegations of antisemitism to undermine fundamental commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion." 👉 www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/cjfs-fights-... | @concernedjfaculty.bsky.social

AAUP Sends Its Own ‘Call to Action’ to McMahon https://bit.ly/3T94kS2

Kicking Macklemore off a concert tour for saying "Free Palestine" is not fighting antisemitism. It's political censorship. Conflating the two is dangerous for everyone.

We stand against the Trump admin's plan to strip tax-exempt status of universities that take affirmative steps to cultivate diverse, equitable and inclusive campuses. “For everyone committed to a functioning multiracial democracy, this is our fight.” www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/cjfs-fights-...

Over 300 Haverford and Bryn Mawr alumni and students sign letter against legal settlement with Deborah Project that restricts free speech “The scariest part is that we don’t even know what the new rules are because the College won’t release the settlement” www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/haverford

proud member of this rad crew. @concernedjfaculty.bsky.social full statement re Trump threat to strip tax status of universities that stay woke: www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/cjfs-fights-...

Academic boycotts have played an important role in justice movements, most notably against South African apartheid. They are protected speech, not discrimination. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Republicans: Elite universities must put right-wing extremist talks in biggest lecture halls or lose federal funding Corporate Media: Republicans are free-speech absolutists! Republicans: We should ban anyone from campus who protests Israel Corporate Media: Republicans making universities safe!

One harm the AHA @historians.org did in quashing Gaza resolutions is that its TRP-consultant-driven messaging has dramatically undermined the work of Middle East historians nationwide. When AHA communicates that our field is a political liability, our standing on campus/classrooms is at question.

This ethical conflict is coming to light as AHA members are preparing to ask AHA to oppose the IHRA definition. Will member advocacy prevail in an environment when AHA is so closely affiliated with defense industry lobbying firms? Who does AHA represent anyway?? We'll see.

Truly outlandish story: The American Historical Association used member dues to secretly hire a top Washington lobbyist firm, all to stop its members from passing resolutions condemning genocide.

Illinois was one of the first states to pass legislation cracking down on the BDS movement. Now, as Israel’s popularity plummets, state legislators are looking to make their state one of the first to repeal its anti-BDS law. jewishcurrents.org/overturning-...

“The whistleblower report describes a gross exploitation of Jewish Americans’ legitimate fears — using our community’s safety as a pretext to punish political opponents and gut academic freedom. That betrays the very people these investigations claimed to protect.”

BREAKING: A whistleblower report describes the Trump administration's gross exploitation of Jewish Americans' legitimate fears to coerce and extort universities. These officials allegedly used the fight against antisemitism as cover for a campaign against institutions of higher education.

CJFS echoes Rep. @raskin.house.gov 's call for Congressional investigations into the Trump administration's sham Title VI attacks on schools. We cannot allow Jewish identity to be used as a cudgel against higher education. www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/federalwhist...