The ADL noted an increase in anti-Israel activity on campus … – The Times of Israel

A report from the Anti-Defamation League Monitoring Group (ADL) was a significant increase in antiisraélienne activity on US campuses during the last academic year.

The report found so far for the academic year 2014-2015, more than 150 “explicitly antiisraéliens programs” have been held or are planned. This marks an increase of 38% compared to the same period of the previous year, when the number of these programs was 105.

“Parrallèment these events, anti groups -israéliens hurled accusations that suggest that the pro-Israel community is engaged in a collective effort to prevent them utterance, “the report said.
 
 

Topping the list of challenges in this report are the continuing efforts of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), which aims to delegitimize the Jewish state by establishing parallels with apartheid South Africa and urging individuals, businesses and governments to stop their contacts with Israel and Israelis.

The report describes the anti-Israel events organized by student organizations and those who have been sponsored or co-sponsored by academic departments of a number of institutions, among them the University of California-Berkeley, Drew University and the John Jay College of . Criminal Justice

“Student organizations are sponsoring a number of campus a series of programs and initiatives that have only one goal: to isolate and vilify delegitimize Israel, “said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, director of the ADL.

“Many of these efforts have led to increased tension between students and favored a hostile atmosphere towards pro-Israel and Jewish students. We are particularly concerned by the support that these initiatives have received from faculty. “

The report said that the anti-Israeli group most active on campus is Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which organizes a number of anti-Israeli demonstrations and promote divestment of government academic organizations.

The report cites a recent demonstration against higher expenses tuition at City University of New York (CUNY), which SJP complained of the “Zionist government” in an attempt to use the word as an epithet and “invoking a classic anti-Semitic stereotype that accuses the Jews for troubles financial of others. “

The ADL also appointed the Jewish Voice for Peace organizations and American Muslims for Palestine as among the most harmful anti-Israeli groups on campuses, in saying they were making inroads with other groups of students that had not been traditionally involved in the issue

“The tactics employed by the BDS movement -. with continuous efforts of anti-Israeli student groups who seek to stifle the speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israel in general through the disruption and defamation – is a deeply disturbing phenomenon that has contributed to an atmosphere in some institutions where Jewish and pro-Israel students feel uncomfortable to express their views or even assert their Jewish identity, “Greenblatt said.

The report found more than 520 antiisraéliens campus events in 2014, including 19 campuses adopting divestment resolutions.

In an attempt to fight against the activity, the ADL began in September 2014 the program Words to Action designed to teach students of colleges and pre-university the means to respond effectively to anti-Israel bias and anti-Semitism on campus. The organization has also launchedCampusADL, a Twitter hashtag to help students to express themselves on these issues.

Although the incidents described in the report are disturbing, ADL maintains that they are also relatively rare, and “the vast majority of Jewish students report feeling safe on their campuses. When such incidents occur, they are usually condemned by governments and wider communities on campus respective colleges.