On December 19, the Legal Insurrection Foundation (LIF) and Cornell Free Speech Alliance (CFSA) co-hosted an online panel discussion on “Campus Antisemitism Crisis: Cornell, The Ivies, and Other U.S. Universities.”
The event featured Cornell Law School professor William Jacobson, alumna Susan Price ‘90, and current Cornell student Amanda Silberstein ‘26. It was moderated by LIF Operations and Editorial Director Kemberlee Kaye.
Opening Remarks from the Panelists
At the start of the speech, Professor Jacobson noted his and others’ surprise at the on-campus reaction to the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks. He argued that the antisemitic trends on college campuses could be traced back to the 2001 Durban Conference, which he pointed to as the start of the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement and explained this was the start of the “racialization” of issues in the Middle East, coinciding with similar trends in academia. Activists have mounted repeated and unsuccessful attempts to get Cornell join the BDS movement.
The law professor also claimed the lack of viewpoint of diversity contributed to the campus response to the terror attacks in Israel. Jacobson pointed to “powerful cultural forces working themselves out on campuses” which he argued were “more lopsided and more anti Israel.” In October, the Student Assembly very narrowly refused to take up Resolution XX, which would have acknowledged Palestinian suffering under “Israeli Apartheid.” History professor Russell Rickford called the Hamas attacks “exhilarating” and has since taken a leave amid criticism.
Alumna Susan Price began her initial remarks by outlining coordinated Pro-Hamas activities happening on college campuses, including “die-ins” and walkouts. In November, around 70 students gathered outside Klarman Hall and conducted a “die-in” protest inside. The previous month, activists spray-painted anti-Israel graffiti on sidewalks near Campus Road.
Price also noted an up-tick in violence and threats made against Jewish students on college campuses. She said, “Since October 7, students have been arrested for making death threats at Cornell and Rutgers. There were multiple assaults at Tulane, Columbia, [and] Harvard. There was harassment, vandalism, disruption and intimidation.” A Cornell junior was arrested earlier this year for making terrorist threats against the campus Jewish community.
In her opening remarks, Price also called on universities to take several steps to address antisemitism on campus. “Universities should adopt the nonbinding International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Universities need to enforce the rules about vandalism, harassment and protests. Protests should not interfere with students’ access to living and learning,” she noted.
Current student Amanda Silberstein talked about her experience as a Cornell student during her opening statement. She noted:
What’s happening to the Jewish community on campus today is that not only is hate speech being permitted, as long as Jews are the targets, but even affirmative calls for violence and genocide against Jews that are not constitutionally protected are being sanctioned.
Silberstein also called out university presidents and administrators who, in an attempt to appear neutral, have issued “tepid and generic responses to blatant unapologetic anti-semitism using the shield of free expression as an excuse to not condemn it.” She also highlighted the increasingly hostile environment online, saying:
Students are perpetuating age-old, antisemitic tropes on their social media accounts. On Sidechat, which is an anonymous social media platform that you register for using your school email, students have made comments including that Zionism is a form of mental psychosis… that Israel and its supporters are terrorists… and that Hamas is a resistance group and that what happened on October 7 was an act of resistance and retaliation, and many, many more.
Similarly to Jacobson, Silberstein discussed the role of some faculty in creating the current campus climate, highlighting the recent case of history professor Russell Rickford and others. She ended her remarks with the following:
Jewish students should not fear being verbally or physically attacked, socially ostracized, harassed online, and marginalized on campus. We should not be forced into silence or submission. This wave of antisemitism is a widespread poison that the school’s silence and false moral equivalency [have] allowed to fester and grow.
Organizations, Solutions, and Changing Campus Climate
To start, Kemberlee Kaye asked both Price and Jacobson to talk about their respective organizations. Price discussed her involvement with the CFSA. She explained that the CFSA has been calling upon Cornell’s administration to adopt the Chicago Principles for Free Expression and to institute First Amendment or free speech training for students. She also noted that the CFSA produced a report last summer and sent the president and trustees an action plan with recommended policies to improve campus climate.
Jacobson outlined several initiatives he has been a part of, including the Legal Insurrection blog and the LIF. He also talked about the CriticalRace.org diversity, equity, and inclusion database, which includes data on policies and programs at over 500 colleges and universities, all 155 accredited medical schools, the military service academies, and multiple private K-12 schools. He noted, “We have 700 schools in total.” Jacobson also discussed the recently launched Equal Protection Project, which he said “commences legal challenges to racially discriminatory programming, mostly in higher ed, although not exclusively.” During the webinar, Jacobson said the project has filed 20 complaints thus far and got “nine schools to change their programming to remove the discriminatory provisions.”
The conversation then turned to potential solutions to rising antisemitism on college campuses. Professor Jacobson called on universities to completely “remove the DEI programming and bureaucracy at Cornell and other schools.” The professor previously called for deep DEI reform at Cornell in October.
Jacobson noted:
And I think if we did nothing else, but focus on each student and faculty member and staff member, as an individual, deserving of respect and deserving of fair and equal treatment without regard to skin color, race or ethnicity, we would promote more cohesion. We would promote more justice.
Price added that universities should adopt the IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism. She noted, “The IHRA definition has been endorsed by more than 40 countries, at least 30 states including New York, the State Department, the last three presidents, and over 1000 other entities.” Price added that the definition could be used to identify incidents and train incoming freshmen, members of Student Government, faculty, staff, and security. Price also said the CFSA would suggest that Cornell adopt the Chicago Principles and majorly reform the DEI programs.
Silberstein stated that it was important for university officials not to make concessions to the student protestors. She added that officials should not apply a double-standard towards Jewish groups and not pro-Palestinian organizations. Silberstein said that while Jewish groups complied and took down posters featuring the Israeli hostages when asked to by campus police, pro-Palestinian protesters were allowed to occupy buildings prior to final exams and call for “intifada” without consequences.
Finally, Kaye asked both Jacobson and Silberstein about the change in campus culture before and after the attacks on October 7. Silberstein noted that some hostile trends began before October 7. She noted that, while a family member of hers attended Cornell, three swastikas were found on campus. This was shortly after the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooting.
Jacobson noted that the temperature has been rising, with pro-Palestinian activists disrupting pro-Israel events. He added that Legal Insurrection has covered “hundreds of these incidents around the country over the last 15 years.” Price added that there have also been calls by some students and faculty for Cornell Tech to end its partnership with the Technion Institute based in Israel.
Q&A
There were a number of questions posed to the panel ranging from why more students are not speaking out to Cornell’s relationship with Qatar.
There were questions asking if alumni should continue to donate to Cornell, given their responses to the events after October 7. Jacobson said that previously he would say that major donors needed to understand where their money was going, what it was supporting, and if they agreed with what was being supported.
However, after Cornell’s response to the events after October 7, Jacobson has since hardened his position. He said, “I’m not saying don’t donate, but I can’t recommend it. Not with this administration, not with their reaction to what happened on October 7, not with the way they’ve dealt with the campus.” Jacobson added that he was tired of the double-standard on free speech with regard to pro-Palestinian groups and other organizations.
Price added that there are other ways for alumni to direct their giving outside of Cornell. She added that both Cornell Hillel and Chabad were embarking on building projects and said that donations could be made to a separate non-profit entity not part of Cornell.
Another question Kaye asked the panel was whether anti-Zionism was a form of antisemitism. Price explained Natan Sharansky’s “three D” test for antisemitism: demonization, double standards, and delegitimization. She noted:
So when the Jewish state is demonized when, Israel’s actions are blown out of all sensible [proportions] and comparisons are made between Israelis and Nazis, that’s anti semitism. It’s not legitimate criticism of Israel. There are double standards when Israel is singled out by the UN for human rights abuses, while China, Iran, Cuba, and Syria’s are ignored. Delegitimization. When Israel’s fundamental right to exist is denied, that’s anti-semitism.
She ended by adding that there is a difference between criticism of Israel and calling for the end of that state.
Silberstein noted that Israel currently holds the largest concentration of the world’s Jewish population and that anti-Zionists “fundamentally reject Israel’s right to exist,” which she added was distinct from criticism of the Israeli government. However, she also said:
But criticism of the Jewish state often does mask hostility towards Jews, and dismissing the State of Israel and claiming that it’s a racist endeavor is rejecting a core facet of Jewish identity and what it means for Jews all around the world to be Jewish…The core of Judaism is is rooted in a yearning for Israel and return to Zion and rejecting this part of that of our identity is really rejecting what it means for most Jews around the world to be Jewish.
Jacobson said that, while it is theoretically possible to be anti-Zionist and not be anti-Semitic, this is “not a formulation that we apply in other contexts.” He said that hostile conduct directed solely at a specific minority group would generally be considered racist. Jacobson also noted that anti-Zionists calling for Israel to give up its Jewish character would not require the same of more than 50 Muslim countries globally. He then argued that it is because of this focus on Israel by anti-Zionists and the end result that such activists are anti-semitic and anti-Jewish.
Close of the Panel
Each of the panelists gave closing remarks. Jacobson encouraged audience members to politely reach out to the Board of Trustees and administrators and let them know of their concerns.
Price called for greater transparency when it comes to existing Campus Code violations by some student activists on campus, specifically by keeping the community updated on if any disciplinary actions have been taken. She also added that audience members can contact their New York elected officials, write to the board of trustees, and speak out in campus publications.
Silberstein added that universities could play a greater role in shaping campus culture. She noted that surveys show many 18-24 year olds believe the Hamas attacks were justified by the grievances of the Palestinians. She believes that the university could do more to dispel “a lot of these myths and misconceptions with objective courses on the matter that really teach students what’s happening.” She added that while there may be antisemitism on campus, a lot of students are simply misinformed due to the prevailing narrative.
Kaye then thanked all the panelists and told the audience:
And I’ll just leave you with the fact that there’s no one coming to right this . There’s no one coming to save anyone from this problem except us and you. So you can’t wait for someone else. You have to be the “someone else,” and you have to get involved. And you have to do something.
The webinar video has been posted here. Watch the full webinar below:
