m see also Tag: Reverted |
See talk, this was removed because unreliable websites run by activists were used to sladner Tammi Rossman-Benjamin. Tags: Manual revert Reverted |
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|logo = AMCHA_Initiative_Updated_Logo.png |
|logo = AMCHA_Initiative_Updated_Logo.png |
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|type = [[501(c)#501(c)(3)|501(c)(3)]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.profile&ein=460774311 |title=AMCHA Initiative |work=Charity Navigator |accessdate=23 October 2013}}</ref> |
|type = [[501(c)#501(c)(3)|501(c)(3)]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.profile&ein=460774311 |title=AMCHA Initiative |work=Charity Navigator |accessdate=23 October 2013}}</ref> |
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|founded_date = 2012<ref name="Forward">{{cite web | title=Jewish Professors Hit Back Against Pro-Israel Campus 'Blacklist' | website=The Forward | date=October 1, 2014 | url=https://forward.com/news/israel/206628/jewish-professors-hit-back-against-pro-israel-camp/ | access-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref> |
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|founded_date = 2012{{sfn|Berger|2014}} |
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|founders = Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and Leila Beckwith |
|founders = Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and Leila Beckwith |
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|location = P.O. Box 408, [[Santa Cruz, California]] 95061 |
|location = P.O. Box 408, [[Santa Cruz, California]] 95061 |
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}} |
}} |
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The '''AMCHA Initiative''' is an American |
The '''AMCHA Initiative''' is an American campus group. AMCHA was founded in 2012 by [[University of California Santa Cruz]] lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and [[University of California Los Angeles]] Professor Emeritus Leila Beckwith. The term ''Amcha'' is Hebrew for "your people" or "your nation." |
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AMCHA has been criticized for conflating anti-Semitism with condemnation of Israel and for bullying faculty members.<ref>{{harvnb|Maltz|2017}}; {{harvnb|''College of Ethnic Studies''|2014|ps=: AMCHA has publicly singled out one of our faculty, Professor Rabab Abdulhadi, for uniquely malicious bullying.}}</ref> |
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== Finances == |
== Finances == |
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In 2014, ''The Forward'' wrote that AMCHA raised $200,000 in its first year and spent $100,000. |
In 2014, ''The Forward'' wrote that AMCHA raised $200,000 in its first year and spent $100,000.<ref name="Forward"/> In 2018 Israeli-American journalist Mairav Zonszein reviewed of San Francisco [[Jewish Federation]]'s tax filings. According to her review, the Federation and the [[Sanford Diller|Helen Diller Family Foundation]] has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to AMCHA in recent years.<ref name="972_2018oct10">{{cite web | title=Not just Canary Mission: SF Jewish Federation bankrolls these hate groups | website=+972 Magazine | date=October 10, 2018 | url=https://www.972mag.com/not-just-canary-mission-sf-jewish-federation-bankrolls-these-hate-groups/ | access-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref> |
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[[Adam Milstein]]'s [[Milstein Family Foundation]] is also one of AMCHA's donors.<ref name="amcha2018aug28">{{cite web | author=JTA | author2=Agencies | last3=FONTEMAGGI | first3=Francesco | last4=RATER | first4=Philippe | author5=AFP | title=Pro-Israel donor Adam Milstein denies report that he funds Canary Mission | website=The Times of Israel | date=August 28, 2018 | url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/pro-israel-donor-adam-milstein-denies-report-that-he-funds-canary-mission/ | access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> |
[[Adam Milstein]]'s [[Milstein Family Foundation]] is also one of AMCHA's donors.<ref name="amcha2018aug28">{{cite web | author=JTA | author2=Agencies | last3=FONTEMAGGI | first3=Francesco | last4=RATER | first4=Philippe | author5=AFP | title=Pro-Israel donor Adam Milstein denies report that he funds Canary Mission | website=The Times of Israel | date=August 28, 2018 | url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/pro-israel-donor-adam-milstein-denies-report-that-he-funds-canary-mission/ | access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> |
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{{quote|text=AMCHA Initiative is a non-partisan organization whose sole mission is to document, investigate, and combat antisemitism on U.S. college campuses. AMCHA is not an Israel advocacy organization, nor does it take a position on current or past Israeli government policies. AMCHA uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and U.S. State Department definitions to identify incidents of antisemitism. These definitions recognize certain extreme types of anti-Israel behavior as antisemitism, including blaming Jews for actions taken by Israel or targeting Israel as the Jewish collective, and incidents that meet that criteria are included in AMCHA’s documentation. Criticism of the Israeli government or its policies that does not meet these criteria is not considered antisemitic by our organization.}} |
{{quote|text=AMCHA Initiative is a non-partisan organization whose sole mission is to document, investigate, and combat antisemitism on U.S. college campuses. AMCHA is not an Israel advocacy organization, nor does it take a position on current or past Israeli government policies. AMCHA uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and U.S. State Department definitions to identify incidents of antisemitism. These definitions recognize certain extreme types of anti-Israel behavior as antisemitism, including blaming Jews for actions taken by Israel or targeting Israel as the Jewish collective, and incidents that meet that criteria are included in AMCHA’s documentation. Criticism of the Israeli government or its policies that does not meet these criteria is not considered antisemitic by our organization.}} |
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== Views == |
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AMCHA opposes the [[BDS movement]] which it believes is anti-Semitic.<ref>{{harvnb|Alterman|2016|ps=: the Amcha Initiative, one of whose founders was quoted ... explaining that “B.D.S. is in virtually all of its aspects anti-Semitic.”}}; {{harvnb|Guttman|2015|ps=: AMCHA ... wrote of "a well-documented relationship between BDS and acts of anti-Semitism, particularly on college campuses,"}}</ref> BDS, which has enjoyed some success on U.S. campuses, calls for comprehensive boycotts of Israel until it stops its alleged human rights violations against the Palestinians. AMCHA therefore wants universities to adopt the State Department's definition of anti-Semitism which,<ref>{{harvnb|Guttman|2015|ps=: urged the university to formally adopt the State Department definition}}</ref> according to AMCHA, would classify many students' pro-BDS activities as anti-Semitic.<ref>{{harvnb|Guttman|2015|ps=: Rossman-Benjamin said that BDS would, in principle, be seen as anti-Semitic}}</ref> For example, campus protests erecting walls to symbolize the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]] and demonstrations distributing mock eviction notices to highlight Israeli house demolitions against Palestinians would both be deemed as anti-Semitic, according to AMCHA.{{sfn|Guttman|2015}} |
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== Publications == |
== Publications == |
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* Two reports in 2015 and 2016, both claimed that anti-Semitism on campuses were correlated with BDS activity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/07/26/anti-semitism-spikes-on-u-s-campuses/|title= Anti-Semitism spikes on U.S. campuses|first=Jennifer|last= Rubin |work=The Washington Post |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726010101/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right%2Dturn/wp/2016/07/26/anti%2Dsemitism%2Dspikes%2Don%2Du%2Ds%2Dcampuses/|archivedate= July 26, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://freebeacon.com/issues/report-anti-semitism-violence-jews-surges-college-campuses/|title= Report: Anti-Semitism, Violence Against Jews Surge on College Campuses|first=Adam|last= Kredo |author=|work=The Washington Free Beacon|accessdate= }}</ref> |
* Two reports in 2015 and 2016, both claimed that anti-Semitism on campuses were correlated with BDS activity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/07/26/anti-semitism-spikes-on-u-s-campuses/|title= Anti-Semitism spikes on U.S. campuses|first=Jennifer|last= Rubin |work=The Washington Post |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726010101/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right%2Dturn/wp/2016/07/26/anti%2Dsemitism%2Dspikes%2Don%2Du%2Ds%2Dcampuses/|archivedate= July 26, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://freebeacon.com/issues/report-anti-semitism-violence-jews-surges-college-campuses/|title= Report: Anti-Semitism, Violence Against Jews Surge on College Campuses|first=Adam|last= Kredo |author=|work=The Washington Free Beacon|accessdate= }}</ref> |
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=== Database of |
=== Database of anti-Semitism on campuses, as defined by AMCHA === |
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AMCHA publishes a database of incidents on American campuses that it |
AMCHA publishes a database of incidents on American campuses that it defines as anti-Semitic, starting with incidents from 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvoiceny.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14210:amcha-unveils-inventory-of-2015-anti-semitic-incidents-by-school&catid=102:education&Itemid=285&lang=en|title= Amcha Unveils Inventory of 2015 Anti-Semitic Incidents by School|first= |last= |author=|work=The Jewish Voice |accessdate= }}</ref> The database and other trackers by the organization have been used by media to cite anti-Semitic activity and swastika sightings on various campuses including at [[Stanford University]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.universityherald.com/articles/63125/20170131/swastikas-at-stanford.htm|title= Swastikas at Stanford University: Anti-Semitism Incidences Did Not Just Happen This Year|first=Chris |last=Brandt |author=|work=University Herald|accessdate= }}</ref> [[Bowdoin College]] as well as across the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://bowdoinorient.com/2018/10/19/swastika-etched-on-desk-draws-contempt/|title= Swastika etched on desk draws contempt|first=Jessica |last=Piper |author=|work=The Bowdoin Orient|accessdate= }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/11/28/two-jewish-professors-different-campuses-are-harassed-anti-semitic-threats|title= Jewish Professors Targeted|first=Colleen |last=Flaherty|author=|work=Inside Higher Ed|accessdate= }}</ref> |
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=== Student Voices webpage === |
=== Student Voices webpage === |
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AMCHA maintains a webpage that lists quotes detailing the experiences of Jewish students on American campuses who have been "targeted, intimidated or frightened because they are Jewish." <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/antisemitic-experiences-of-american-jewish-college-students-chronicled-online/2015/06/24/0/|title= AntiSemitic Experiences of American Jewish College Students Chronicled Online |first= |last= |author=|work=Jewish Press|accessdate= }}</ref> The quotes were collected starting in 2014. The webpage had more than 100 students, located at 47 different schools, in 20 states as of June 24, 2015. The quotes are gathered from publications nationwide including school papers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Webpage-archives-student-testimonials-of-anti-Semitism-on-US-campuses-406984|title= Webpage archives student testimonials of anti-Semitism on US campuses |first= |last= |author=|work=The Jerusalem Post |accessdate= }}</ref> |
AMCHA maintains a webpage that lists quotes detailing the experiences of Jewish students on American campuses who have been "targeted, intimidated or frightened because they are Jewish." <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/antisemitic-experiences-of-american-jewish-college-students-chronicled-online/2015/06/24/0/|title= AntiSemitic Experiences of American Jewish College Students Chronicled Online |first= |last= |author=|work=Jewish Press|accessdate= }}</ref> The quotes were collected starting in 2014. The webpage had more than 100 students, located at 47 different schools, in 20 states as of June 24, 2015. The quotes are gathered from publications nationwide including school papers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Webpage-archives-student-testimonials-of-anti-Semitism-on-US-campuses-406984|title= Webpage archives student testimonials of anti-Semitism on US campuses |first= |last= |author=|work=The Jerusalem Post |accessdate= }}</ref> |
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=== List of Professors Who Publicly Endorse an Academic Boycott of Israel === |
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=== Blacklisting of professors === |
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In 2014, AMCHA began a list of professors who publicly supported the academic boycott of Israel.<ref name="hz2017mar30">{{cite web | last=Maltz | first=Judy | title=Jewish group releases blacklist of U.S. professors who back academic boycott of Israel - U.S. News | website=Haaretz.com | date=March 30, 2017 | url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/jewish-group-releases-blacklist-of-u-s-professors-who-back-academic-boycott-of-israel-1.5454948 | access-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref> In criticism of this initial list, a group of 40 Jewish Studies professors signed a statement calling AMCHA's actions "deplorable".<ref name="Forward"/>. Despite the criticism, the list of continues to be updated. In 2017, ''[[Haaretz]]'' reported that the list included hundreds of names. The universities that topped the list were [[UC Berkeley]] with 47 names and [[UC Davis]] with 46.<ref name="hz2017mar30"/> Critics feared that AMCHA's list would be used by the Israeli government to deny entry to boycott supporters.<ref name="hz2017mar30"/> The organization defends the use of such a list noting on the list itself, "Faculty on U.S. college and university campuses who sign onto an anti-Israel academic boycott statement or petition are not only endorsing a campaign that targets Israeli universities for harm, but one that directly subverts the educational opportunities and academic freedom of students and faculty at their own American institutions. For example, faculty signatories to the academic boycott of Israel are urged to carry out the following actions on their own campuses, and many have done so: 1) Boycott their own university’s education abroad program in Israel, 2) Refuse to publicize the program among their students, and refuse to write letters of recommendation for students wishing to study in Israel; 3) Attempt to shut down collaborative research between scholars at their own university and in Israel; 4) Attempt to cancel or shut down events organized by students or faculty at their own university that feature Israeli leaders or Israeli scholars who come as representatives of their universities; 5) Boycott academic programs or projects organized by students or faculty at their own university that 'bring together Palestinians/Arabs and Israelis so that they can present their respective narratives or perspectives, or to work toward reconciliation' or that promote 'co-existence.'”<ref name="FacultyAcademicBoycotters">{{cite web | last=Initiative | first=AMCHA | title=Faculty Academic Boycotters | website=AmchaInitiative.org | date=November 25, 2020 | url=https://amchainitiative.org/faculty-academic-bds/#faculty-academic-boycotters/display-by-name/ | access-date=November 25, 2020}}</ref> |
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In 2014, AMCHA began blacklisting professors who support the academic boycott of Israeli educational institutions.{{sfn|Maltz|2017}} In response to the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict|bloody conflict]] between Israel and Hamas that summer, 218 Middle East Studies scholars signed a petition condemning the "Israeli massacres in Gaza" and media and governments for not holding "Israel accountable for its violations of international law."{{sfn|PACBI|2014}} AMCHA added the scholars to a blacklist and warned students that their classes might contain "anti-Israel bias, or possibly even anti-Semitic rhetoric."<ref>{{harvnb|Berger|2014|ps=: The AMCHA Initiative singled out the professors because, during the conflict between Israel and Hamas this summer, they signed a petition calling for an academic boycott of Israel.}}</ref> A group of 40 Jewish Studies professors signed a statement calling AMCHA's actions "deplorable" and a threat to academic freedom.<ref>{{harvnb|Berger|2014|ps=: 40 of America's leading Jewish studies professors ... signed a statement calling AMCHA's actions "deplorable" and a threat to academic freedom.}}</ref> |
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Despite the criticism, the blacklist continues to be updated. In 2017, ''[[Haaretz]]'' reported that the list included hundreds of names. The universities that topped the list were [[UC Berkeley]] with 47 names and [[UC Davis]] with 46.{{sfn|Maltz|2017}} Critics feared that AMCHA's list would be used by the Israeli government to deny entry to boycott supporters.{{sfn|Maltz|2017}} |
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== Campaigns == |
== Campaigns == |
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=== UC Hastings conference about Palestine (2011) === |
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In 2011, [[UC Hastings]] College of Law funded and co-sponsored a conference "Litigating Palestine: Can Courts Secure Palestinian Rights?"{{sfn|Stern|2020|p=116}} One day before the conference was due to begin, Rossman-Benjamin co-wrote a letter to University Chancellor [[Frank H. Wu]], with copies sent to Jewish leaders and politicians,{{sfn|Stern|2020|p=116}} alleging that the event was anti-Semitic according to the [[Working Definition of anti-Semitism]]:{{sfn|Stern|2020|pp=116-7}} |
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{{quote|text=[T]he authorized description of this event makes it clear that conference participants will be ... seeking to exploit Western courts in order to agitate against Jews and the Jewish state ... [W]e believe that this event fits the Working Definition of Anti-Semitism issued by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia}} |
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She also threatened to file a Title VI complaint with the [[Department of Education]]. The university's Board of Directors held an emergency meeting and decided to remove its name from the event, the dean cancelled his opening address, and a private foundation withdrew its funding, but the event was held as planned.{{sfn|PL+CCR|2015|p=88}} |
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[[Kenneth S. Stern]] (one of the drafters of the Working Definition) and Marcus Stern authored a statement by the [[American Jewish Committee]] criticizing Rossman-Benjamin:{{sfn|Stern|2020|p=116-18}} |
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{{quote|text=We do not share [Rossman-Benjamin's] view that the College's sponsorship of the event would in any way have violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act ... The "working definition" of antisemitism, ... , was intended as a means for data collectors and others to identify anti-Semitism, including anti-Semitism which appears in the guise of criticism of Israel. It was never intended, and should not be used, to silence academic discussions - even unbalanced ones.}} |
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=== Spying on the Olive Tree Initiative (2012) === |
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In 2014, the pro-Palestinian website ''[[The Electronic Intifada]]'' released leaked documents that indicated that AMCHA in 2012 had infiltrated a university-sponsored student delegation to Israel and Palestine organized by the [[Olive Tree Initiative]], an organization promoting dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. According to the documents, one of the students on the trip recorded private conversations between the students and reported back the information to Rossman-Benjamin.<ref>{{harvnb|Winstanley|Barrows-Friedman|2014}}; {{harvnb|''Journal of Palestine Studies''|2014|p=200-7}}; {{harvnb|PL+CCR|2015|p=18|ps=: The student wrote a confidential report to AMCHA that included details about other delegation participants, including reflections about the trip posted to a private group on social media.}}</ref> |
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=== CSUN Complaint about professor's website (2012-2014) === |
=== CSUN Complaint about professor's website (2012-2014) === |
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Over several years, AMCHA campaigned against mathematics professor [[David Klein (mathematician)|David Klein]] at [[California State University Northridge]] (CSUN) who |
Over several years, AMCHA campaigned against mathematics professor [[David Klein (mathematician)|David Klein]] at [[California State University Northridge]] (CSUN) who used the CSUN website and resources to publish information critical of Israel and pro-BDS. AMCHA submitted memos and complaints, first to CSUN administrators and later to Californian legal authorities regarding Klein's page, but the professor was found not to have violated any CSUN rules nor any law.{{sfn|Tugend|2013}}{{sfn|''National Lawyers Guild''|2014}} CSUN president Dianne F. Harrison addressed the complaints in May 2012, writing: "To censor the website would be contrary to the important value of free speech and send the disturbing message that the university is willing to restrict an individual’s right to personal expression due to disagreement with those views."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.csun.edu/president/letter-2012-07-09-website|title=President's Statement on Faculty Website Issue}}</ref> |
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=== SFSU Killing colonizers stencil (2013) === |
=== SFSU Killing colonizers stencil (2013) === |
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In 2013, the [[General Union of Palestine Students]] (GUPS) and an indigenous group at San Francisco State University |
In 2013, the [[General Union of Palestine Students]] (GUPS) and an indigenous group at San Francisco State University had set up a table at an event honoring an [[Edward Said]] memorial. At the table they had brought stencils for passerbys to make signs with. One of the stencils read: "My heroes have always killed colonizers,"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_24698142/thomas-d-elias-whitewashing-anti-semitism-leads-more|title= Thomas D. Elias: Whitewashing anti-Semitism leads to more hate|first= |last= |author=|work=San Jose Mercury News|accessdate= }}</ref>. There was also images of [[Leila Khaled]] holding a gun.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/sf-state-president-slams-pro-palestinian-placards/|title= SF State president slams pro-Palestinian placards|first= |last= |author=|work=Times of Israel |accessdate= }}</ref> |
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AMCHA accused GUPS of "glorifying the murder of Jews" and demanded that the university |
AMCHA accused GUPS of "glorifying the murder of Jews" and demanded that the university must investigate and punish the students.<ref name="pefs">{{cite web|url=https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/09/Palestine%20Exception%20Report%20Final.pdf|title=The Palestine Exception to Free Speech}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/anti-semitic-writing-alleged-at-sf-state-event/Content?oid=2632613|title= Anti-Semitic writing alleged at S.F. State event |first= |last= |author= Jonah Owen Lamb|work = San Francisco Examiner |accessdate= }}</ref> The university released a statement supportive of AMCHA's charges, stating that "celebrating violence or promoting intolerance, bigotry, antisemitism or any other form of hate mongering" would not be tolerated at SFSU.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jta.org/2013/11/22/news-opinion/united-states/sf-stat-president-condemns-placards-at-palestinian-event|title= S.F. State president condemns placards at Palestinian event |first= |last= |author=|work = JTA - The Global Jewish News Source |accessdate= }}</ref> But following a public outcry, the university issued a second statement underscoring "that social justice is a strategic priority and our commitment to free speech runs deep."<ref name="pefs"/> |
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=== SFSU Threatening Tumblr posts (2013) === |
=== SFSU Threatening Tumblr posts (2013) === |
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In 2013, |
In 2013, AMCHA Initiative uncovered threatening [[Tumblr]] posts by the President of GUPS at SFSU.<ref name="jj2014feb21"/> One was a photo of the student holding a knife, with the caption: "I love this blade... it makes me want to stab an Israeli soldier.”<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.kron4.com/news/wiesenthal-center-warns-sfsu-officials-of-potential-threat-to-jewish-students/ |title=Photo of Knife-Wielding SFSU Student Prompts Warning on ‘Potential Threat to Jewish Students’|work=Kron 4 Bay Area News |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202010101/http://news.kron4.com/news/wiesenthal%2Dcenter%2Dwarns%2Dsfsu%2Dofficials%2Dof%2Dpotential%2Dthreat%2Dto%2Djewish%2Dstudents/|archivedate=December 2, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/did-sfsu-student-post-selfie-with-knife-i-want-to-stab-an-israeli-soldier/2013/12/03/ |title=Did SFSU Student Post Selfie with Knife: ‘I Want to Stab an Israeli Soldier’|first= |last= |author = Lori Lowenthal Marcus|work=Jewish Press|accessdate= }}</ref> Another was of an Israeli soldier with the caption "the only “peace” I'm interested in is the head of this f**cking scum on a plate, as well as the heads of all others like her, and all others who support the IDF."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.citywatchla.com/8box-left/6167-cal-state-campuses-finding-peace-and-goodwill-illusive |title= Cal State Campuses Finding Peace and Goodwill Illusive |author= Katharine Ross |work= City Watch LA |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20141019184054/http://www.citywatchla.com/8box-left/6167-cal-state-campuses-finding-peace-and-goodwill-illusive |archivedate= October 19, 2014 |accessdate= July 30, 2014 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref> |
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AMCHA forwarded the material to the university and the police. In February 2014, university officials announced that the student had withdrawn from the university before the spring semester had begun on January 23 and that he was no longer enrolled nor living in campus housing.<ref name="jj2014feb21">{{cite web | title=Palestinian student in knife photo no longer at SFSU – J. | website=J. | date=February 21, 2014 | url=https://www.jweekly.com/2014/02/21/palestinian-student-in-knife-photo-no-longer-at-sfsu/ | access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.jewishjournal.com/nation/item/palestinian_sfsu_student_no_longer_enrolled_at_school|title= Palestinian SFSU student no longer enrolled at school |author=Jared Sichel | work=Jewish Journal |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219010101/http://www.jewishjournal.com/nation/item/palestinian_sfsu_student_no_longer_enrolled_at_school|archivedate=February 19, 2014 |url-status= dead}}</ref> |
AMCHA forwarded the material to the university and the police. In February 2014, university officials announced that the student had withdrawn from the university before the spring semester had begun on January 23 and that he was no longer enrolled nor living in campus housing.<ref name="jj2014feb21">{{cite web | title=Palestinian student in knife photo no longer at SFSU – J. | website=J. | date=February 21, 2014 | url=https://www.jweekly.com/2014/02/21/palestinian-student-in-knife-photo-no-longer-at-sfsu/ | access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.jewishjournal.com/nation/item/palestinian_sfsu_student_no_longer_enrolled_at_school|title= Palestinian SFSU student no longer enrolled at school |author=Jared Sichel | work=Jewish Journal |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219010101/http://www.jewishjournal.com/nation/item/palestinian_sfsu_student_no_longer_enrolled_at_school|archivedate=February 19, 2014 |url-status= dead}}</ref> |
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=== UCLA Opposition to pledge against sponsored Israel-trips (2014) === |
=== UCLA Opposition to pledge against sponsored Israel-trips (2014) === |
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In 2014 [[Students for Justice in Palestine]] and allied groups at UCLA asked candidates for student government positions to pledge to not go on trips to Israel sponsored by [[AIPAC]], the [[Anti-Defamation League]], or [[Hasbara Fellowships]].{{ |
In 2014 [[Students for Justice in Palestine]] and allied groups at UCLA asked candidates for student government positions to pledge to not go on trips to Israel sponsored by [[AIPAC]], the [[Anti-Defamation League]], or [[Hasbara Fellowships]].<ref name="hz2014may19">{{cite web | last=Smith | first=Noah | title=UCLA chancellor condemns effort to ban student leader trips to Israel - Jewish World | website=Haaretz.com | date=May 19, 2014 | url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-ucla-slams-bid-to-stop-israel-visits-1.5248742 | access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> |
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In response, |
In response, AMCHA Initiative organized a letter with six other organizations condemning the pledge as an "outrageous and impermissible violation of students’ right to free expression, their right to free association and their fundamental right to travel and move freely." The letter was delivered to the UC Board of Regents, University President [[Janet Napolitano]] and Chancellor [[Gene Block]].<ref name="jns2014may15">{{cite web | author=JNS.org | title=Seven Pro-Israel Groups Urge Administrative Response to UCLA Anti-Israel Pledge | website=Algemeiner.com | date=May 15, 2014 | url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2014/05/15/seven-pro-israel-groups-urge-administrative-response-to-ucla-anti-israel-pledge/ | access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> Soon thereafter, Block<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2014/05/19/ucla-chancellor-opposes-israel-trip-pledge/ |title= UCLA Chancellor opposes ‘no-Israel-trip’ pledge|first= |last= |author= | work=[[San Diego Jewish World]] |accessdate= }}</ref> and Napolitano <ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/05/19/ucla-chancellor-uc-president-condemn-anti-israel-pledge/ |title= UCLA Chancellor, UC President Condemn Anti-Israel Pledge|first= |last= |author= | work=Algemeiner |accessdate= }}</ref> condemned the pledge and asked the VP of Student Affairs to intervene. |
||
=== SFSU Complaint about scholar's trip (2014) === |
=== SFSU Complaint about scholar's trip (2014) === |
||
On March 6, 2014, SFSU Professor Rabab Abdulhadi held a campus event to discuss with students what she had learned from a trip funded by the university to Palestine and Jordan. The purpose of the trip had been to attend |
On March 6, 2014, San Francisco State University (SFSU) Professor Rabab Abdulhadi held a campus event to discuss with students what she had learned from a trip funded by the university to Palestine and Jordan. The purpose of the trip had been to attend an international conference and to network, research, and collaborate with potential university partners in Palestine. <ref name="mw2014jun23">{{cite web | last=Abdulhadi | first=Rabab Ibrahim | title=‘AMCHA aims to suppress scholarship honestly discussing Israel’s violation of Palestinian rights’: Prof. Rabab Abdulhadi responds to Israel lobby smear campaign – Mondoweiss | website=Mondoweiss | date=June 23, 2014 | url=https://mondoweiss.net/2014/06/scholarship-discussing-palestinian/ | access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> The day before Abdulhadi's campus event, AMCHA sent a letter to university president [[Leslie Wong]], claiming that the event would "contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students." On March 26, AMCHA sent another letter, claiming that following the event, observers had seen Jewish students "in tears."<ref name="amcha2014mar26">{{cite web | title=AMCHA AND JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS WRITE WONG ABOUT PROF ABDULHADI AND EVENT CONDONING TERRORISM | website=AMCHA Initiative | date=March 26, 2014 | url=https://amchainitiative.org/amcha-and-jewish-organizations-write-wong-about-abdulhadi-event-condoning-terrorism/ | access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> |
||
Rossman-Benjamin accused Abdulhadi of having defrauded the state of California: "We believe that there was some fraud going on in order to get the money, approval, insurance, she essentially defrauded the state and the taxpayers of California."{{ |
AMCHA Initiative co-founder Tammi Rossman-Benjamin also accused Abdulhadi of having defrauded the state of California: "We believe that there was some fraud going on in order to get the money, approval, insurance, she essentially defrauded the state and the taxpayers of California."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/30/calif-taxpayers-funded-professors-meeting-terroris/?page=all|title= Calif. taxpayers funded professors’ meeting with terrorists |first= |last= |author= | work=The Washington Times|accessdate= }}</ref> Her primary complaint was that Abdulhadi had met with the controversial Islamic preacher [[Raed Salah]] and Leila Khaled. She therefore coordinated a letter from eight pro-Israel organizations to the university administration demanding an investigation into the matter. Abdulhadi defended herself by noting that on the trip they met with 198 individuals from 89 organizations and that dialogue with controversial figures was an important part of academia.<ref name="mw2014jun23"/> |
||
The university reviewed the records for Abdulhadi's travel and issued a statement in June dismissing the allegations as meritless. The statement underscored that "Abdulhadi’s academic work in race and resistance studies requires examination of some of the world’s most challenging and controversial issues" and that the university "will not censor our scholars nor condone censorship by others."{{ |
The university reviewed the records for Abdulhadi's travel and issued a statement in June dismissing the allegations as meritless. The statement underscored that "Abdulhadi’s academic work in race and resistance studies requires examination of some of the world’s most challenging and controversial issues" and that the university "will not censor our scholars nor condone censorship by others."<ref>{{cite web|title=Allegations of improper faculty travel investigated; no merit found|url=http://news.sfsu.edu/news/allegations-improper-faculty-travel-investigated-no-merit-found|accessdate=24 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019052718/http://news.sfsu.edu/news/allegations-improper-faculty-travel-investigated-no-merit-found|archive-date=19 October 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Dissatisfied, AMCHA recited the allegations against Abdulhadi in a June 24 letter addressed to the [[California State Controller]] but the Controller's office took no action on the complaint.<ref name="pefs"/> |
||
=== UC Events featuring Omar Barghouti (2014) === |
=== UC Events featuring Omar Barghouti (2014) === |
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== Criticism == |
== Criticism == |
||
AMCHA has been criticized for conflating anti-Semitism with condemnation of Israel |
AMCHA has been criticized for conflating anti-Semitism with condemnation of Israel.<ref name="hz2017mar30"/> |
||
In 2013, a video surfaced showing parts of a presentation AMCHA's president, Rossman-Benjamin had held the previous year in a synagogue. In the presentation, she described members of the campus groups [[Muslim Student Association]] (MSA) and [[Students for Justice in Palestine]] (SJP) as "generally motivated by very strong religious and political convictions, they have a fire in their belly, they come to the university, many of them are foreign students who come from countries and cultures where anti-Semitism is how they think about the world," adding that "[t]hese are not your ordinary student groups like College Republicans or Young Democrats." She further asserted that students in these groups had ties to terrorist organizations such as [[Hamas]], [[Hezbollah]], and the [[Muslim Brotherhood]].{{sfn|Abunimah|2014|p=194}}{{sfn|Barrows-Friedman|2013}} |
|||
Many students reacted strongly to the video and students petitioned the university president [[Mark Yudof]] to condemn Rossman-Benjamin's statement and to cut ties with AMCHA. Rossman-Benjamin responded by claiming that the petition constituted harassment and that she feared for her safety.<ref name="pefs"/> She wrote to Yudof claiming that her words were being misconstrued and asked him to "carefully investigate" MSA and SJP to see if there were any policies that they violated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amchainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Letter-to-Yudof-with-appendix8final_updated2.pdf|title=Letter to Mr. Mark G. Yudof}}</ref> |
|||
In February 2014, the [[National Lawyers Guild]] accused AMCHA of concocting "demonstrably false narratives about specific campus events involving criticism of Israeli government policies, describing them as if they targeted, even violently so, Jewish students," for painting a picture of campuses "in which Jewish students are under constant attack," for attacking "academic freedom of faculty members," and for "proffering outlandish accusations against academic departments that sponsor speakers with whom they disagree".{{sfn|''National Lawyers Guild''|2014}} |
In February 2014, the [[National Lawyers Guild]] accused AMCHA of concocting "demonstrably false narratives about specific campus events involving criticism of Israeli government policies, describing them as if they targeted, even violently so, Jewish students," for painting a picture of campuses "in which Jewish students are under constant attack," for attacking "academic freedom of faculty members," and for "proffering outlandish accusations against academic departments that sponsor speakers with whom they disagree".{{sfn|''National Lawyers Guild''|2014}} |
||
In June 2014, the Dean of Ethnic Studies at SFSU, Kenneth Monteiro, accused AMCHA of bullying one of the faculty's professors:{{ |
In June 2014, the Dean of Ethnic Studies at SFSU, Kenneth Monteiro, accused AMCHA of bullying one of the faculty's professors:<ref name="eth2014jun25">{{cite web | title=Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies Commentary on Free Speech and AMCHA Initiative’s attacks on students and faculty across California Campuses. | website=College of Ethnic Studies | date=June 25, 2014 | url=https://ethnicstudies.sfsu.edu/content/application-statement-current-or-going-circumstances | access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref> |
||
{{quote|text=AMCHA has gone well beyond just expressing its views, and developed a reputation for misrepresentation of facts against individuals and institutions. Moreover, it appears to also try to provoke very powerful people to punish those with whom it disagrees. It has done that to individuals at San Francisco State University and campuses across California. Recently, AMCHA has made a number of sensationalized and false claims about students and faculty at our campus.... AMCHA has publicly singled out one of our faculty, Professor Rabab Abdulhadi, for uniquely malicious bullying. Therefore I am compelled to repudiate their claims publicly.... Historically, AMCHA’s awareness of fact has not discouraged its unrelenting and mean-spirited attacks. Without dignifying AMCHA’s claims with recitation here, in brief, I admonish them for their continued ill intent and propaganda style tactics. Moreover, I recommend that AMCHA cease its bullying and encourage it to find a more productive, collegial and humane manner with which to express its political views without sensationalism, vitriol or malice.}} |
{{quote|text=AMCHA has gone well beyond just expressing its views, and developed a reputation for misrepresentation of facts against individuals and institutions. Moreover, it appears to also try to provoke very powerful people to punish those with whom it disagrees. It has done that to individuals at San Francisco State University and campuses across California. Recently, AMCHA has made a number of sensationalized and false claims about students and faculty at our campus.... AMCHA has publicly singled out one of our faculty, Professor Rabab Abdulhadi, for uniquely malicious bullying. Therefore I am compelled to repudiate their claims publicly.... Historically, AMCHA’s awareness of fact has not discouraged its unrelenting and mean-spirited attacks. Without dignifying AMCHA’s claims with recitation here, in brief, I admonish them for their continued ill intent and propaganda style tactics. Moreover, I recommend that AMCHA cease its bullying and encourage it to find a more productive, collegial and humane manner with which to express its political views without sensationalism, vitriol or malice.}} |
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Palestine Legal in 2016 wrote about its founder: "Tammi Rossman Benjamin, have a demonstrated record of demanding that universities restrict, punish, and censor speech in favor Palestinian rights. Under the banner of 'combating antisemitism at institutions of higher education,' AMCHA’s single-minded mission is a concerted anti-intellectual effort to silence any criticism of Israel on campuses."<ref name="pl2016sep26">{{cite web | last=Campion | first=Angela | title=What was behind the suspension of a UC Berkeley course on Palestine? | website=Palestine Legal | date=September 26, 2016 | url=https://palestinelegal.org/news/2016/9/26/who-was-behind-the-suspension-of-a-uc-berkeley-course-on-palestine-a-look-at-the-amcha-initiative | access-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref> In 2020, a group calling themselves California Scholars for Academic Freedom wrote a letter to the [[California Department of Education]] complaining about AMCHA:<ref name="mw2020jul21">{{cite web | last=Deger | first=Allison | title=Academics back inclusion of Arab American Studies into Ethnic Studies – Mondoweiss | website=Mondoweiss | date=July 21, 2020 | url=https://mondoweiss.net/2020/07/academics-back-inclusion-of-arab-american-studies-into-ethnic-studies/ | access-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref> |
Palestine Legal in 2016 wrote about its founder: "Tammi Rossman Benjamin, have a demonstrated record of demanding that universities restrict, punish, and censor speech in favor Palestinian rights. Under the banner of 'combating antisemitism at institutions of higher education,' AMCHA’s single-minded mission is a concerted anti-intellectual effort to silence any criticism of Israel on campuses."<ref name="pl2016sep26">{{cite web | last=Campion | first=Angela | title=What was behind the suspension of a UC Berkeley course on Palestine? | website=Palestine Legal | date=September 26, 2016 | url=https://palestinelegal.org/news/2016/9/26/who-was-behind-the-suspension-of-a-uc-berkeley-course-on-palestine-a-look-at-the-amcha-initiative | access-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref> In 2020, a group calling themselves California Scholars for Academic Freedom wrote a letter to the [[California Department of Education]] complaining about AMCHA:<ref name="mw2020jul21">{{cite web | last=Deger | first=Allison | title=Academics back inclusion of Arab American Studies into Ethnic Studies – Mondoweiss | website=Mondoweiss | date=July 21, 2020 | url=https://mondoweiss.net/2020/07/academics-back-inclusion-of-arab-american-studies-into-ethnic-studies/ | access-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref> |
||
{{quote|text=The AMCHA Initiative, is, in fact, well known for harassing Palestinian students, attacking and falsely accusing Palestinian professors of antisemitism and terrorism, and otherwise working to silence Palestinian perspectives on California campuses. Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, Executive Director and co-founder of AMCHA, has a long history of racism on California campuses, particularly in the Bay Area. Benjamin has long demonized Muslim student groups and falsely labeled Students for Justice in Palestine as a terrorist organization. Benjamin has launched smear campaigns against professors who support Palestinian rights.}} |
{{quote|text=The AMCHA Initiative, is, in fact, well known for harassing Palestinian students, attacking and falsely accusing Palestinian professors of antisemitism and terrorism, and otherwise working to silence Palestinian perspectives on California campuses. Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, Executive Director and co-founder of AMCHA, has a long history of racism on California campuses, particularly in the Bay Area. Benjamin has long demonized Muslim student groups and falsely labeled Students for Justice in Palestine as a terrorist organization. Benjamin has launched smear campaigns against professors who support Palestinian rights.}} |
||
== See also == |
|||
* [[StandWithUs]] |
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* [[The David Project]] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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=== Notes === |
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{{Reflist|group=fn}} |
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=== Citations === |
=== Citations === |
||
{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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| date = February 21, 2014 |
| date = February 21, 2014 |
||
| ref = {{sfnref | National Lawyers Guild | 2014}} |
| ref = {{sfnref | National Lawyers Guild | 2014}} |
||
}} |
|||
* {{cite book |
|||
| first=Ali |
|||
| last=Abunimah |
|||
| title=The Battle for Justice in Palestine |
|||
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r70cAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA281 |
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| date=March 3, 2014 |
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| publisher=Haymarket Books |
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| isbn=978-1-60846-347-3 |
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| pages=281– |
|||
}} |
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* {{cite web |
|||
| title=US university lecturer's shocking hate speech against Arab, Muslim students condemned |
|||
| website=The Electronic Intifada |
|||
| date=February 12, 2013 |
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| url=https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/us-university-lecturers-shocking-hate-speech-against-arab-muslim |
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| first=Nora |
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| last=Barrows-Friedman |
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| access-date=September 20, 2020 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| title=Documents reveal Zionist group spied on US student delegation to Palestine |
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| website=The Electronic Intifada |
|||
| date=January 29, 2014 |
|||
| url=https://electronicintifada.net/content/documents-reveal-zionist-group-spied-us-student-delegation-palestine/13130 |
|||
| last=Winstanley | first = Asa |
|||
| last2=Barrows-Friedman | first2 = Nora |
|||
| access-date=November 29, 2020 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite journal |
|||
| title=Documents and Source Material |
|||
| journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |
|||
| volume=43|issue=3|year=2014|pages=186–208 |
|||
| issn=0377-919X|doi=10.1525/jps.2014.43.3.186 |
|||
| ref={{sfnref|Journal of Palestine Studies|2014}} |
|||
}} |
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* {{cite web |
|||
| url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/30/calif-taxpayers-funded-professors-meeting-terroris/?page=all |
|||
| date = May 30, 2014 |
|||
| title= Calif. taxpayers funded professors’ meeting with terrorists |
|||
| first=Adam |last=Kredo |
|||
| work=The Washington Times |
|||
| accessdate= |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| last=Abdulhadi |
|||
| first=Rabab Ibrahim |
|||
| title=‘AMCHA aims to suppress scholarship honestly discussing Israel’s violation of Palestinian rights’: Prof. Rabab Abdulhadi responds to Israel lobby smear campaign |
|||
| website=Mondoweiss | date=June 23, 2014 |
|||
| url=https://mondoweiss.net/2014/06/scholarship-discussing-palestinian/ |
|||
| access-date=September 20, 2020 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| url = https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/09/Palestine%20Exception%20Report%20Final.pdf |
|||
| title = The Palestine Exception to Free Speech: a Movement Under Attack in the US |
|||
| publisher = Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights |
|||
| date = September 2015 |
|||
| ref = {{sfnref|PL+CCR|2015}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| title=Allegations of improper faculty travel investigated; no merit found |
|||
| url=http://news.sfsu.edu/news/allegations-improper-faculty-travel-investigated-no-merit-found |
|||
| accessdate=24 November 2014 |
|||
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019052718/http://news.sfsu.edu/news/allegations-improper-faculty-travel-investigated-no-merit-found |
|||
| archive-date=19 October 2014 |
|||
| url-status=dead |
|||
| df=dmy-all |
|||
| ref = {{sfnref|SFSU|2014}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite book |
|||
| first=Kenneth S. |
|||
| last=Stern |
|||
| title=Conflict over the Conflict: The Israel/Palestine Campus Debate |
|||
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vIncDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA116 |
|||
| date=13 May 2020 |
|||
| publisher=University of Toronto Press |
|||
| isbn=978-1-4875-0736-7 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| title=83 Jewish and Pro-Israel Organizations Call for ‘Safeguards’ in Response to Drafted Anti-Israel Curriculum |
|||
| website=Jewish Journal | date=August 7, 2019 |
|||
| url=https://jewishjournal.com/news/united-states/302602/83-jewish-and-pro-israel-organizations-call-for-safeguards-in-response-to-drafted-anti-israel-curriculum/ |
|||
| access-date=September 19, 2020 |
|||
| first = Aaron | last = Bandler |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| last=Maltz | first=Judy |
|||
| title=Jewish group releases blacklist of U.S. professors who back academic boycott of Israel |
|||
| website=Haaretz.com | date=March 30, 2017 |
|||
| url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/jewish-group-releases-blacklist-of-u-s-professors-who-back-academic-boycott-of-israel-1.5454948 |
|||
| access-date=September 19, 2020 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| title=Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies Commentary on Free Speech and AMCHA Initiative’s attacks on students and faculty across California Campuses |
|||
| website=College of Ethnic Studies | date=June 25, 2014 |
|||
| url=https://ethnicstudies.sfsu.edu/content/application-statement-current-or-going-circumstances |
|||
| access-date=September 20, 2020 |
|||
| ref = {{sfnref|College of Ethnic Studies|2014}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| title=Opinion - The B.D.S. Movement and Anti-Semitism on Campus |
|||
| website=The New York Times | date=March 29, 2016 |
|||
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/opinion/the-bds-movement-and-anti-semitism-on-campus.html |
|||
| access-date=September 20, 2020 |
|||
| last = Alterman |
|||
| first = Eric |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| title=Could California Ban Anti-Israel Campus Protests as 'Anti-Semitic' Hate? |
|||
| website=The Forward |
|||
| date=June 10, 2015 |
|||
| url=https://forward.com/news/national/309450/what-is-anti-semitism/ |
|||
| access-date=September 20, 2020 |
|||
| first=Nathan | last = Guttman |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| url=http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=2534 |
|||
| title=Over 100 Middle East Studies Scholars and Librarians Call for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions |
|||
| date = August 6, 2014 |
|||
| ref={{sfnref|PACBI|2014}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| title=Jewish Professors Hit Back Against Pro-Israel Campus 'Blacklist' |
|||
| website=The Forward |
|||
| date=October 1, 2014 |
|||
| url=https://forward.com/news/israel/206628/jewish-professors-hit-back-against-pro-israel-camp/ |
|||
| first=Paul | last=Berger |
|||
| access-date=September 19, 2020 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite book |
|||
| first=Jamil E. |
|||
| last=Effarah |
|||
| title=Think Palestine: Volume Iii |
|||
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A3DKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT227 |
|||
| date=January 9, 2020 |
|||
| publisher=AuthorHouse |
|||
| isbn=978-1-72833-730-2 |
|||
| pages=227– |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| url=http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_24698142/thomas-d-elias-whitewashing-anti-semitism-leads-more |
|||
| title= Whitewashing anti-Semitism leads to more hate |
|||
| work=San Jose Mercury News |
|||
| first=Thomas D. |
|||
| last = Elias |
|||
| date = December 10, 2013 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/sf-state-president-slams-pro-palestinian-placards/ |
|||
| title = SF State president slams pro-Palestinian placards |
|||
|work=Times of Israel |
|||
| accessdate= |
|||
| ref = {{sfnref|JTA|2013}} |
|||
| date = November 23, 2013 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/anti-semitic-writing-alleged-at-s-f-state-event/ |
|||
| title= Anti-Semitic writing alleged at S.F. State event |
|||
| work = San Francisco Examiner |
|||
| ref = {{sfnref|San Francisco Examiner|2013}} |
|||
| date = November 22, 2013 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| url=http://www.jta.org/2013/11/22/news-opinion/united-states/sf-stat-president-condemns-placards-at-palestinian-event |
|||
| title= S.F. State president condemns placards at Palestinian event |
|||
| work = JTA |
|||
| date = November 22, 2013 |
|||
| ref = {{sfnref|JTA|2013b}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| last=Smith | first=Noah |
|||
| title=UCLA chancellor condemns effort to ban student leader trips to Israel |
|||
| website=Haaretz.com | date=May 19, 2014 |
|||
| url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-ucla-slams-bid-to-stop-israel-visits-1.5248742 |
|||
| access-date=September 20, 2020 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| title=Seven pro-Israel groups urge administrative response to UCLA anti-Israel pledge |
|||
| website=JNS.org | date=May 15, 2014 |
|||
| url=http://archive.jns.org/news-briefs/2014/5/15/seven-pro-israel-groups-urge-administrative-response-ucla-anti-israel-pledge |
|||
| ref={{sfnref | JNS | 2014}} |
|||
| access-date=November 29, 2020 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| url= http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2014/05/19/ucla-chancellor-opposes-israel-trip-pledge/ |
|||
| title= UCLA Chancellor opposes ‘no-Israel-trip’ pledge |
|||
| work=[[San Diego Jewish World]] |
|||
| date=May 19, 2014 |
|||
| ref={{sfnref | San Diego Jewish World | 2014}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{cite web |
|||
| title=President Napolitano's statement on civil discourse at UCLA |
|||
| website=University of California |
|||
| date=May 16, 2014 |
|||
| url=https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/napolitano-statement-civil-discourse-ucla |
|||
| last=Napolitano | first = Janet |
|||
| access-date=November 29, 2020 |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
{{refend}} |
{{refend}} |
Revision as of 07:32, 29 November 2020
Founded | 2012[1] |
---|---|
Founders | Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and Leila Beckwith |
Type | 501(c)(3)[2] |
Location |
|
Area served | California and the United States |
President | Tammi Rossman-Benjamin[3] |
Revenue (2018) | $339,064[3] |
Expenses (2018) | $341,253[3] |
Website | amchainitiative.org |
The AMCHA Initiative is an American campus group. AMCHA was founded in 2012 by University of California Santa Cruz lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and University of California Los Angeles Professor Emeritus Leila Beckwith. The term Amcha is Hebrew for "your people" or "your nation."
Finances
In 2014, The Forward wrote that AMCHA raised $200,000 in its first year and spent $100,000.[1] In 2018 Israeli-American journalist Mairav Zonszein reviewed of San Francisco Jewish Federation's tax filings. According to her review, the Federation and the Helen Diller Family Foundation has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to AMCHA in recent years.[4]
Adam Milstein's Milstein Family Foundation is also one of AMCHA's donors.[5]
Mission statement
AMCHA describes its mission as "investigating, documenting, educating about, and combating antisemitism at institutions of higher education in America."[6] The organization has a "research arm" that "carries out systematic, in-depth research and analysis of antisemitic activity and has developed a comprehensive method for defining, documenting, and analyzing manifestations of antisemitic behavior on campus, as well as the institutional structures that legitimize it and allow it to flourish." The organization further writes that:[7]
AMCHA Initiative is a non-partisan organization whose sole mission is to document, investigate, and combat antisemitism on U.S. college campuses. AMCHA is not an Israel advocacy organization, nor does it take a position on current or past Israeli government policies. AMCHA uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and U.S. State Department definitions to identify incidents of antisemitism. These definitions recognize certain extreme types of anti-Israel behavior as antisemitism, including blaming Jews for actions taken by Israel or targeting Israel as the Jewish collective, and incidents that meet that criteria are included in AMCHA’s documentation. Criticism of the Israeli government or its policies that does not meet these criteria is not considered antisemitic by our organization.
Publications
Reports
As of 2020, AMCHA has produced 15 reports which it lists on its website.[8] Those that have been mentioned in media are:
- Bringing BDS into the Classroom, a report from 2020 which claimed that faculty who support BDS are promoting that agenda in classrooms.[9][10][11]
- The Harassment of Jewish Students on U.S. Campuses, a report from 2019 which claimed that anti-Semitic harassment of pro-Israel students had increased by 70%, to its highest level ever.[12]
- An annual report from 2018, which claimed that "anti-Israel harassment on college campuses in 2017 were more likely to create an antagonistic environment against Jewish students on campus than ‘classic’ anti-Semitic incidents."[13]
- An annual report from 2017, which claimed to have uncovered a correlation between anti-Semitism and pro-BDS activism on campuses.[14]
- Another report from 2017 that claimed that 70% of pro-BDS professors were associated with gender studies, ethnic studies, or Middle East studies.[15]
- Two reports in 2015 and 2016, both claimed that anti-Semitism on campuses were correlated with BDS activity.[16][17]
Database of anti-Semitism on campuses, as defined by AMCHA
AMCHA publishes a database of incidents on American campuses that it defines as anti-Semitic, starting with incidents from 2015.[18] The database and other trackers by the organization have been used by media to cite anti-Semitic activity and swastika sightings on various campuses including at Stanford University,[19] Bowdoin College as well as across the nation.[20][21]
Student Voices webpage
AMCHA maintains a webpage that lists quotes detailing the experiences of Jewish students on American campuses who have been "targeted, intimidated or frightened because they are Jewish." [22] The quotes were collected starting in 2014. The webpage had more than 100 students, located at 47 different schools, in 20 states as of June 24, 2015. The quotes are gathered from publications nationwide including school papers.[23]
List of Professors Who Publicly Endorse an Academic Boycott of Israel
In 2014, AMCHA began a list of professors who publicly supported the academic boycott of Israel.[24] In criticism of this initial list, a group of 40 Jewish Studies professors signed a statement calling AMCHA's actions "deplorable".[1]. Despite the criticism, the list of continues to be updated. In 2017, Haaretz reported that the list included hundreds of names. The universities that topped the list were UC Berkeley with 47 names and UC Davis with 46.[24] Critics feared that AMCHA's list would be used by the Israeli government to deny entry to boycott supporters.[24] The organization defends the use of such a list noting on the list itself, "Faculty on U.S. college and university campuses who sign onto an anti-Israel academic boycott statement or petition are not only endorsing a campaign that targets Israeli universities for harm, but one that directly subverts the educational opportunities and academic freedom of students and faculty at their own American institutions. For example, faculty signatories to the academic boycott of Israel are urged to carry out the following actions on their own campuses, and many have done so: 1) Boycott their own university’s education abroad program in Israel, 2) Refuse to publicize the program among their students, and refuse to write letters of recommendation for students wishing to study in Israel; 3) Attempt to shut down collaborative research between scholars at their own university and in Israel; 4) Attempt to cancel or shut down events organized by students or faculty at their own university that feature Israeli leaders or Israeli scholars who come as representatives of their universities; 5) Boycott academic programs or projects organized by students or faculty at their own university that 'bring together Palestinians/Arabs and Israelis so that they can present their respective narratives or perspectives, or to work toward reconciliation' or that promote 'co-existence.'”[25]
Campaigns
CSUN Complaint about professor's website (2012-2014)
Over several years, AMCHA campaigned against mathematics professor David Klein at California State University Northridge (CSUN) who used the CSUN website and resources to publish information critical of Israel and pro-BDS. AMCHA submitted memos and complaints, first to CSUN administrators and later to Californian legal authorities regarding Klein's page, but the professor was found not to have violated any CSUN rules nor any law.[26][27] CSUN president Dianne F. Harrison addressed the complaints in May 2012, writing: "To censor the website would be contrary to the important value of free speech and send the disturbing message that the university is willing to restrict an individual’s right to personal expression due to disagreement with those views."[28]
SFSU Killing colonizers stencil (2013)
In 2013, the General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS) and an indigenous group at San Francisco State University had set up a table at an event honoring an Edward Said memorial. At the table they had brought stencils for passerbys to make signs with. One of the stencils read: "My heroes have always killed colonizers,"[29]. There was also images of Leila Khaled holding a gun.[30]
AMCHA accused GUPS of "glorifying the murder of Jews" and demanded that the university must investigate and punish the students.[31][32] The university released a statement supportive of AMCHA's charges, stating that "celebrating violence or promoting intolerance, bigotry, antisemitism or any other form of hate mongering" would not be tolerated at SFSU.[33] But following a public outcry, the university issued a second statement underscoring "that social justice is a strategic priority and our commitment to free speech runs deep."[31]
SFSU Threatening Tumblr posts (2013)
In 2013, AMCHA Initiative uncovered threatening Tumblr posts by the President of GUPS at SFSU.[34] One was a photo of the student holding a knife, with the caption: "I love this blade... it makes me want to stab an Israeli soldier.”[35][36] Another was of an Israeli soldier with the caption "the only “peace” I'm interested in is the head of this f**cking scum on a plate, as well as the heads of all others like her, and all others who support the IDF."[37]
AMCHA forwarded the material to the university and the police. In February 2014, university officials announced that the student had withdrawn from the university before the spring semester had begun on January 23 and that he was no longer enrolled nor living in campus housing.[34] [38]
UCLA Opposition to pledge against sponsored Israel-trips (2014)
In 2014 Students for Justice in Palestine and allied groups at UCLA asked candidates for student government positions to pledge to not go on trips to Israel sponsored by AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League, or Hasbara Fellowships.[39]
In response, AMCHA Initiative organized a letter with six other organizations condemning the pledge as an "outrageous and impermissible violation of students’ right to free expression, their right to free association and their fundamental right to travel and move freely." The letter was delivered to the UC Board of Regents, University President Janet Napolitano and Chancellor Gene Block.[40] Soon thereafter, Block[41] and Napolitano [42] condemned the pledge and asked the VP of Student Affairs to intervene.
SFSU Complaint about scholar's trip (2014)
On March 6, 2014, San Francisco State University (SFSU) Professor Rabab Abdulhadi held a campus event to discuss with students what she had learned from a trip funded by the university to Palestine and Jordan. The purpose of the trip had been to attend an international conference and to network, research, and collaborate with potential university partners in Palestine. [43] The day before Abdulhadi's campus event, AMCHA sent a letter to university president Leslie Wong, claiming that the event would "contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students." On March 26, AMCHA sent another letter, claiming that following the event, observers had seen Jewish students "in tears."[44]
AMCHA Initiative co-founder Tammi Rossman-Benjamin also accused Abdulhadi of having defrauded the state of California: "We believe that there was some fraud going on in order to get the money, approval, insurance, she essentially defrauded the state and the taxpayers of California."[45] Her primary complaint was that Abdulhadi had met with the controversial Islamic preacher Raed Salah and Leila Khaled. She therefore coordinated a letter from eight pro-Israel organizations to the university administration demanding an investigation into the matter. Abdulhadi defended herself by noting that on the trip they met with 198 individuals from 89 organizations and that dialogue with controversial figures was an important part of academia.[43]
The university reviewed the records for Abdulhadi's travel and issued a statement in June dismissing the allegations as meritless. The statement underscored that "Abdulhadi’s academic work in race and resistance studies requires examination of some of the world’s most challenging and controversial issues" and that the university "will not censor our scholars nor condone censorship by others."[46] Dissatisfied, AMCHA recited the allegations against Abdulhadi in a June 24 letter addressed to the California State Controller but the Controller's office took no action on the complaint.[31]
UC Events featuring Omar Barghouti (2014)
In mid-January 2014, the co-founder of BDS, Omar Barghouti, was scheduled to speak at three UC schools; UCLA, UC Riverside, and UC Davis. AMCHA alleged that sponsoring Barghouti's presentations violated UC policies and state law.[27] UC leadership responded by stating that they were not in support of a boycott of Israel, but considered Barghouti's presentations to be free speech.[47]
In a meeting with UC Board of Regents following Barghouti's speaking arrangements, Tammi-Benjamin alleged that the three events included "appalling anti-Semitic statements."[48]
UC Berkeley course on Palestine (2016)
In 2016, AMCHA led a campaign involving 43 Jewish and pro-Israel organizations in opposing a student-led course titled "Ethnic Studies 198: Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis." AMCHA alleged that the course was "political indoctrination" and that the guest speakers were "politically motivated, meet our government’s criteria for antisemitism, and are intended to indoctrinate students to hate the Jewish state and take action to eliminate it."[49] Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League joined in on the criticism and called the course a "travesty" and "distortion of history."[50] One fierce critic, professor emeritus Abraham H. Miller of the Haym Salomon Center, called the course faculty sponsor, Hatem Bazian, "a street orator whose disgust with America is such that he called for an American Intifada."[51]
The campaign was initially successful and the course was suspended. University Chancellor Nicholas Dirks wrote:[51]
The facilitator for the course in question did not comply with policies and procedures that govern the normal academic review and approval of proposed courses for the Decal program. As a result, the proposed course did not receive a sufficient degree of scrutiny to ensure that the syllabus met Berkeley’s academic standards before it was opened for enrollment to students... For that reason, approval for the course has been suspended pending completion of the mandated review and approval process.
But following criticism from Palestine Legal and other pro-Palestinian organizations the University reinstated the course.[52]
UC Linking anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism (2015-2016)
AMCHA led a year-long lobbying campaign, uniting over 50 pro-Israeli organizations,[53] to get UC to label anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Semitism.[54][55] On March 22, 2016, the Regents of UC passed a Statement of Principles Against Intolerance which included the statement, "Anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at the University of California." Rossman-Benjamin celebrated the statement, calling it huge," while critics condemned it. Dima Khalidi, the director of Palestine Legal, said that pro-Israeli groups had "succeeded in convincing the regents that Palestine advocacy is inherently anti-Semitic, and should be condemned."[56]
Campaign against the academic boycott of Israel (2018-2019)
AMCHA Initiative launched a campaign involving more than 100 Jewish pro-Israel organizations to get American education-leaders to sign a letter voicing their opposition to BDS.[57] In response to the campaign, on December 13, 2019, all ten UC Chancellors [58] signed onto a statement [59] that reaffirmed their opposition to the academic boycott of Israel.[60]
Criticism
AMCHA has been criticized for conflating anti-Semitism with condemnation of Israel.[24]
In February 2014, the National Lawyers Guild accused AMCHA of concocting "demonstrably false narratives about specific campus events involving criticism of Israeli government policies, describing them as if they targeted, even violently so, Jewish students," for painting a picture of campuses "in which Jewish students are under constant attack," for attacking "academic freedom of faculty members," and for "proffering outlandish accusations against academic departments that sponsor speakers with whom they disagree".[27]
In June 2014, the Dean of Ethnic Studies at SFSU, Kenneth Monteiro, accused AMCHA of bullying one of the faculty's professors:[61]
AMCHA has gone well beyond just expressing its views, and developed a reputation for misrepresentation of facts against individuals and institutions. Moreover, it appears to also try to provoke very powerful people to punish those with whom it disagrees. It has done that to individuals at San Francisco State University and campuses across California. Recently, AMCHA has made a number of sensationalized and false claims about students and faculty at our campus.... AMCHA has publicly singled out one of our faculty, Professor Rabab Abdulhadi, for uniquely malicious bullying. Therefore I am compelled to repudiate their claims publicly.... Historically, AMCHA’s awareness of fact has not discouraged its unrelenting and mean-spirited attacks. Without dignifying AMCHA’s claims with recitation here, in brief, I admonish them for their continued ill intent and propaganda style tactics. Moreover, I recommend that AMCHA cease its bullying and encourage it to find a more productive, collegial and humane manner with which to express its political views without sensationalism, vitriol or malice.
In October 2014, a group of Jewish studies professors wrote in The Forward:[62]
Its technique of monitoring lectures, symposia and conferences strains the basic principle of academic freedom on which the American university is built, ... Moreover, its definition of anti-Semitism is so undiscriminating as to be meaningless. Instead of encouraging openness through its efforts, AMCHA’s approach closes off all but the most narrow intellectual directions and has a chilling effect on research and teaching. AMCHA’s methods lend little support to Israel, whose very survival depends on free, open, and vigorous debate about its future. ... AMCHA’s tactics are designed to stifle debate on issues debated in Israel and around the world, and the presumption that students must be protected from their own universities is misguided and destructive. Efforts such as these do not promote academic integrity, but rather serve to deaden the kind of spirited academic exchange that is the lifeblood of the university.
Palestine Legal in 2016 wrote about its founder: "Tammi Rossman Benjamin, have a demonstrated record of demanding that universities restrict, punish, and censor speech in favor Palestinian rights. Under the banner of 'combating antisemitism at institutions of higher education,' AMCHA’s single-minded mission is a concerted anti-intellectual effort to silence any criticism of Israel on campuses."[63] In 2020, a group calling themselves California Scholars for Academic Freedom wrote a letter to the California Department of Education complaining about AMCHA:[64]
The AMCHA Initiative, is, in fact, well known for harassing Palestinian students, attacking and falsely accusing Palestinian professors of antisemitism and terrorism, and otherwise working to silence Palestinian perspectives on California campuses. Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, Executive Director and co-founder of AMCHA, has a long history of racism on California campuses, particularly in the Bay Area. Benjamin has long demonized Muslim student groups and falsely labeled Students for Justice in Palestine as a terrorist organization. Benjamin has launched smear campaigns against professors who support Palestinian rights.
References
Citations
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