The incident dates back to 2011, where Jewish students said they — and pro-Israel students — were the only ones charged a fee to attend an on-campus event on Israeli-Palestinian relations. The Zionist Organization of America filed a complaint against the university, claiming the fee was discriminatory. In 2014, the Obama administration cleared Rutgers of any wrongdoing and closed the case. But the Zionist group filed an appeal.
Last week, the Department of Education announced that it would revive the investigation and look at whether a “hostile environment” exists at the university. The agency cited a definition of anti-Semitism that encompasses certain expressions of anti-Israel sentiment. Pro-Palestinian groups denounced the move. We examine what anti-Semitism encompasses and discuss how will this definition affect students on college campuses
GUESTS:
Miriam Elman, associate professor of political science at Syracuse University
Estee Chandler, founding member of the Los Angeles chapter for Jewish Voice for Peace, a national organization that seeks an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem; she was recently elected to their national board of directors
Omar Zahzah, member of the group “Students for Justice in Palestine” at UCLA, a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization; board member of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), a transnational network of young Palestinians worldwide