The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (the Commission) conducted a briefing on campus anti-Semitism in November 2005. Among the Commission’s findings is that many campuses throughout the United States continue to experience anti-Semitic incidents. This serious problem warranted attention.
The Commission made several recommendations based on the briefing, including the following:
- University leadership should affirm their commitment to equal educational opportunity, including ensuring that students are not subjected to a hostile environment on the basis of race, national origin or religion.
- University leadership should ensure that students are protected from actions that could engender a hostile environment in violation of federal law.
- University leadership should ensure that all academic departments, including departments of Middle East studies, maintain academic standards, respect intellectual diversity, and ensure that the rights of all students are fully protected.
- University leadership at the highest level should set a moral example by denouncing anti-Semitic and other hate speech, while safeguarding all rights protected under the First Amendmentand under the basic principles of academic freedom.
Campus Anti-Semitism, the briefing report, includes a summary of the proceedings, the panelists’ written statements, and the Commission’s findings and recommendations . Some individuals and organizations contributed statements for inclusion in the public record, highlights of which are presented in Campus Anti-Semitism as well.
Many students do not know the rights and protections that they have against anti-Semitic behavior. At the briefing’s conclusion, the Commission resolved to undertake a public education campaign to inform college students of the protections available to them against anti-Semitic harassment or intimidation.
At the core of the campaign are these informational Web pages whose URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is <http://www.usccr.gov/campusanti-semitism.html> Through them, the Commission conveys its campaign message: educating students and others about the nature of anti-Semitism, First Amendment, and academic freedom issues; urging those who have been subjected to or who have witnessed anti-Semitic incidents to speak out by reporting anti-Semitism to proper authorities; informing those who may have been subject to anti-Semitism of their rights and protections; identifying sources of help for those who have experienced anti-Semitic behavior; and assuring those who might experience anti-Semitism that the Commission stands ready to assist in every way.
The Commission seeks to end campus anti-Semitism. You can help by reporting anti-Semitic incidents and by assisting in disseminating information to the public about the problem. Hate has an ally: silence. Please know you are not alone.
The Commission has a Complaint Referral Service. You may report anti-Semitic incidents by sending an e-mail to referrals@usccr.gov or a fax to 1-202-376-7754. You may also call the toll-free telephone numbers, 1-800-552-6843 and 1-800-877-8339 (TDD/TTY). When you contact the Commission with your complaint you will be referred to the appropriate federal or private office, which can provide you with information about the complaint process. The referred office will provide information specific to your complaint and will also be able to further assist you should you decide to initiate a discrimination complaint.
The Commission employs several means to direct public attention to the serious problem of campus anti-Semitism. The first is a poster and includes the URL of these Web pages and the Complaint Referral Service’s toll-free telephone numbers, fax number, and e-mail address. You may download and print a copy of the poster by clicking on the poster button.
Please encourage as many people as possible to download a copy of the poster.
Supplementing the poster is a postcard of the same design. The Commission intends the postcards to increase the likelihood that students, faculty members, administrators, and other members of the university community will receive and appreciate its message to end campus anti-Semitism. You may download and print a copy of the postcard by clicking on the post card button below.
You may also request copies of the postcard by writing to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Publications Office, 624 Ninth Street, NW, Room 600, Washington, D. C. ((202)-376-8128), pubs@usccr.gov). Please feel free to help us distribute the postcards to as many people as you care to in order to help us inform others of the Commission’s Public Education Campaign to End Campus Anti-Semitism.
The Commission complements posters and postcards with an e-mail message that includes an image of the poster. When you click on the “Send an e-mail” icon below, you will be taken to a Web page, “Request to send an e-mail.” Feel free to send an e-mail message to as many people as you care to and encourage them to do the same.
Finally, the Commission released two critical documents that resulted from the November 2005 briefing, Findings and Recommendations and Campus Anti-Semitism in April and August 2006, respectively. These two documents may provide you with useful information in addressing an incident of anti-Semitism on your campus. You may download them from the Commission’s Web site, www.usccr.gov or request from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Publications Office, 624 Ninth Street, NW, Room 600, Washington, D.C. 20425, ((202) 376-8128, pubs@usccr.gov.)