[rad-green] Jewish students and faculty oppose Trump ’s executive order

*https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/trump-eo-2/
<https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/trump-eo-2/>*

*JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE          11 DECEMBER 2019*

*ACADEMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL/PRESS RELEASE*
*Jewish students and faculty oppose Trump’s executive order*

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2019
Contact: Sonya E Meyerson-Knox | [email protected] | 929-290-0317

*“This EO doesn’t fight antisemitism – and it makes me feel less safe on
campus”*

*December 11, 2019 (New York City, NY):* As President Trump signs an
Executive Order on antisemitism on college campuses, Jewish students and
faculty cry foul. Jewish Voice for Peace students and academics know that
this EO doesn’t address the terrifying rise of antisemitism across college
campuses, but instead is a dangerous, authoritarian attempt to silence
student activism in support of Palestinian rights.

Trump’s EO is the latest attempt in an ongoing strategy to shut down
solidarity with Palestinian rights, one of the fastest-growing movements on
college campuses and arguably the start of a nationwide and international
anti-apartheid movement targeting Israel’s violations of Palestinian human
rights. For the past few years, Jewish and Palestinian students especially
have faced high-level attacks for their activism on Palestinian rights,
with cases at UMass Amherst, Duke/UNC, and NYU being the most recent
examples.

“This executive order won’t protect Jewish students against Nazis or Nazi
recruitment, it won’t prevent campuses from scheduling important events on
Jewish holidays, and it won’t protect Jewish religious spaces,” *said
Tallie Ben Daniel, Research and Education Manager at Jewish Voice for
Peace. *“But it will target the incredible student movement for Palestinian
rights, which is principled and diverse, and has always included a lot of
Jewish students.”

*Here are some reactions by Jewish Voice for Peace students and academics
and allies – still more are available to speak with the media.*
*STUDENT VOICES*

“I am outraged and horrified by Trump’s Executive Order. Two years ago, as
a Jewish student at Barnard, I campaigned for the successful student vote
to get my college to divest from companies that profited from Israel’s
human rights violations against Palestinians. Although the student body
voted 64% in favor of the measure, we were immediately silenced and accused
of antisemitism. This move by President Trump will codify this silencing
into law and make our activism a criminal offense. But we know we’re on the
right side of history and we’re fighting back!”

   - *Sophie Edelhart, Barnard class of ‘19. She was a member of the
   Barnard/Columbia Jewish Voice for Peace chapter and majored in Histor*y

“This EO is trying to silence student voices who support Palestinian rights
by falsely claiming to fight antisemitism. It’s very clear that the EO will
not make my Jewish friends safer, and in fact endangers all of us. I’ve
watched the growth of all forms of white nationalism on college campuses,
and I’m fighting back. Trump’s EO won’t help. Instead, Trump is trying to
censor my right to talk about my family and our struggle for our rights.”

   - *Hasan Abdel-Nabi, Sophomore, Tufts University. He is majoring in
   clinical psychology and is a member of Tufts Students for Justice in
   Palestine*

“Trump’s Executive Order will not make me safer. As a Jewish student
activist who supports Palestinian rights, it’s very clear that this EO is
trying to silence student voices like mine by pretending to fight
antisemitism, while actively contributing to actual antisemitism – like we
just heard from the President over the weekend! I’ve watched the growth of
antisemitism on college campuses, and it’s scary and I’m part of the fight
against it. But this EO doesn’t fight antisemitism, in fact, it puts Jewish
students like me at further risk – along with Palestinian, Arab and Muslim
students.”

   - *Miriam Saperstein, Junior at the University of Michigan. They are
   majoring in Judaic studies and are a member of Jewish Voice for Peace*


*JEWISH STUDIES FACULTY*

“Trump’s Executive Order is part of a longstanding strategy to shut down
debate one of the fastest-growing movements on college campuses – the
campaign for Palestinian rights – by falsely claiming that criticism of
Israel is antisemitic. As a professor of Jewish Studies, it is beyond
apparent that this EO fails to increase the safety of Jewish students or
fight the growth of antisemitism. It will, however, silence debate and
endanger the freedom of speech.”

   - *Barry Trachtenberg, Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History at
   Wake Forest University*

“As a professor of U.S. history and a scholar of American Jewish life, I
have traced the history of attempts to silence debate over
Israel/Palestine, and it is clear that this EO will not fight the growth of
antisemitism or make Jewish students safer on campus. Instead, it will
prevent essential collaborations and will, without question, have a
chilling effect on our freedom of speech.”

   - *Marjorie N. Feld, Professor of History, Babson College*

“The Executive Order is a deliberate strategy to stifle debate on campuses
around the country and to shut down learning opportunities. As a professor
I value even heated discussion of ideas, seeing them as the powerful tools
by which students can learn. Anything that declares what can and cannot be
a fit subject is a danger to the point of university life, education in the
broadest sense of the word.

   - *Hasia R. Diner, Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American
   Jewish History, Director, Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish
   History, New York University*


*JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE STAFF*

“This Executive Order, actually, perpetuates a white nationalist
understanding that all non-white Christians are lesser and “others”—and we
know where this leads: To marginalization, exclusion, and, ultimately to
ethnic cleansing. This EO is bad for Jews, no question, but the real impact
of it will be felt by Palestinian and Jewish students on campuses who will
be silenced and reprimanded for speaking up for Palestinian freedom. This
is unacceptable.”

   - *Rabbi Alissa Wise, Acting Co-Executive Director of Jewish Voice for
   Peace*

“I work with college students daily, and I’ve fought against the terrifying
rise of antisemitism on college campuses. I’ve also watched the repeated
attempts to intimidate students by falsely accusing them of antisemitism.
This EO is nothing more than an attempt to silence student activism in
support of Palestinian rights – it’s appalling and utterly predictable,
coming from a President who peddles in antisemitic stereotypes and brings
white nationalists to the White House.”

   - *Maya Edery, Jewish Voice for Peace Student Organizer*

###

*Jewish Voice for Peace <http://www.jvp.org/> is a national, grassroots
organization inspired by Jewish tradition to work for a just and lasting
peace according to principles of human rights, equality, and international
law for all the people of Israel and Palestine. JVP has over 500,000 online
supporters, over 70 chapters, a youth wing, a Rabbinic Council, an Artist
Council, an Academic Advisory Council, and an Advisory Board made up of
leading U.S. intellectuals and artists.*

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