“Without a culture of free inquiry, universities cease to be universities,” Robert Maynard Hutchins, former University of Chicago president, once said. The university is supposed to be a place of open inquiry and freedom of...
AEN in the News
Israel and Academic Freedom: An Exchange
In her essay, Katherine Franke of Columbia University shows a remarkably selective myopia. She seeks to persuade readers we have reached a significant turning point on public recognition of Israel’s suppression of Palestinian human rights—citing...
We Must Push Back Against BDS
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel is a public relations effort to demonize the Jewish state. In recent months, BDS tactics have intensified and diversified, with Jewish students in the crosshairs. Our...
ADL & AEN Craft Model Policy For Universities On Letters of Recommendation
After two students were denied letters of recommendation for study abroad programs by University of Michigan faculty members attempting to make a political statement against Israel, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Academic Engagement Network...
ADL Joins With Leading Scholars to Urge New Policy on Faculty Recommendations Following Recent University of Michigan BDS Scandals
University administrations in the US are being encouraged to adopt explicit guidelines that would prevent academics from refusing to write study-abroad recommendation letters for students based on their political or ideological beliefs.
Forty Academics to Headline Two-Day ‘Israel at 70’ Conference at Michigan State University
Michigan State University will host a two-day conference next month that aims to offer a multifaceted exploration of Israel as the country celebrates its 70th Independence Day.
Faculty Initiatives on Israel Help to Shift the Campus Climate
On-campus BDS campaigns in 2017-18 were notable for their extremist rhetoric and isolating actions. Everything from a coalition of pro-boycott groups refusing to collaborate with Jewish and pro-Israel organizations at NYU, to a demand from pro-BDS students at SUNY...
To pressure colleges into combating anti-Semitism, alumni become activists
NEW YORK — Vassar alum Mark Banschick was deeply troubled. It was 2014 and the American Studies Association had voted to boycott Israeli academics and academic institutions.
Where is the right to free speech for Israel advocates on campus, academics ask
Eight years ago a group of Muslim students shouted down Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, as he delivered a speech on US-Israel relations at University of California.
‘Defeating BDS is like running for governor’
As Jewish and pro-Israel students grapple with the multifaceted challenges posed by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, influential current and former university administrators from the UA and Israel unpacked the nature of the...
