“The spiritual father of the fanatical incitement against the Jews was Abner of Burgos, a Jewish kabbalist and scholar who converted to Christianity in about 1321, upon experiencing a deep religious and spiritual crisis, and became known as Alfonso of…
read moreThere was a time when people looking for intellectual debate turned away from politics to the university. Political backrooms bred slogans and bagmen; universities fostered educated discussion. But when students in the 1960s began occupying university property like the thugs…
read moreThe “Fight BDS” app is a 21st-century PR tool. In the battle to win hearts and minds for the Jewish state, it is designed to revamp Zionism, build a worldwide online activism network and empower lovers of Israel with the…
read moreDespite their perfect grade-point averages and SAT scores and stellar extracurricular activities, the number of top-achieving high school seniors who made the cut at the most elite universities reached record lows this year. Stanford, for example, only admitted 5 percent of…
read moreAs soon as an African American student at San Jose State University who was racially harassed and bullied by his dormitory roommates came forward, university, county, and state officials began an investigation. Within days, prosecutors labeled it a hate crime,…
read moreApril saw the focus of BDS activities pivot back to academia. It is no coincidence that Passover and Easter were celebrated in April; indeed, the timing of BDS resolutions in student government settings has long centered around holidays when attention,…
read moreHarvard student Sandra Y.L. Korn recently proposed in The Harvard Crimson that academics should be stopped if their research is deemed oppressive. Arguing that “academic justice” should replace “academic freedom,” she writes: “If our university community opposes racism, sexism, and heterosexism, why…
read moreNearly thirty years ago, as protests and tensions over Apartheid South Africa gripped the international community, the Institute of Politics hosted activist and archbishop Desmond Tutu. Tutu turned his focus to Harvard’s investments in South African companies. He called for the university…
read moreThe distinguished intellectual historian Jeffrey Herf, whose Ph.D. is from Brandeis, has written an eloquent and powerful letter to Brandeis president Fred Lawrence. Prof. Herf concludes: That the president of a university founded by Jews in the immediate aftermath of…
read moreOn Thursday, March 27, I spoke at the University of Pennsylvania at a Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia- sponsored event entitled “What It Means to be Pro-Israel.” The event featured a new film called The J Street Challenge and the…
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