Antisemitism, Higher Education, and the Law (Part 1)

Title: “Antisemitism, Higher Education, and the Law” (Part 1) Date: December 3, 2013 Speaker: Kenneth Marcus Affiliation: President and General Counsel, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. Location: Harvard University Conveners: Dr. Charles Asher Small, Founder and Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) Charles Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Description: Kenneth Marcus examines the decisions by the United States Office of Education for Civil Rights (OCR), which simultaneously issued four rulings dismissing major cases regarding antisemitism pending before it. The decisions left many wondering whether the body is serious about dealing with allegations of antisemitism. He notes that the OCR is one of the most important federal institutions set with ensuring non-discrimination in educational institutions and therefore asks how all of the cases dealing with antisemitism were closed. Marcus goes on to explain that while the agency deals with all other types of discrimination, it does not deal with religion. Religious discrimination is therefore not prohibited. Marcus makes the case that while some antisemitism is religious, other forms are racial and ethnic. He therefore makes the case that while a group may have religious characteristics, it does not divest the OCR of its jurisdiction that it would otherwise have.