UPDATED: National leaders call for end to DEI officers' anti-Semitism
The Heritage Foundation published a study that tracked anti-Semitic comments made by Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officers at different American colleges and universities.
In response, Coalition for Jewish Values issued a statement calling for a 'comprehensive review' of the programs and initiatives.
Campus Reform recently reported on a study published by the Heritage Foundation that highlighted anti-Semitic tweets made by staffers of multiple college and university Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.
The study showed that 96% of the 741 Twitter feeds examined expressed a negative opinion of Israel. In comparison, the tweets reflected 62% positive reviews of China.
Those findings raised concerns over whether or not DEI programs succeed in establishing an inclusive environment on college campuses.
In the past year, for example, there were 244 anti-Semitic attacks reported on college campuses, up 34.8% from the 2019-2020 school year.
On Dec. 19, Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV) responded to the Heritage study by outlining the hypocrisy its leaders view within DEI offices, programs, and initiatives.
“If you’re not against all forms of bigotry, you’re not against bigotry,” said CJV Israel Regional Vice President Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, “yet so-called ‘diversity’ leads have responded to a dramatic spike in antisemitism by engaging in openly hateful rhetoric against Jews themselves, often using Israel as a convenient foil.”
The CJV represents approximately 2,000 American rabbis.
The statement responded to a finding of the study that displayed a central use of the words “genocide” and “apartheid” in tweets interacted by members of DEI staff by declaring it an “irrational hatred.”
“Repeatedly accusing the Jewish state of Israel of ‘genocide,’ ‘apartheid,’ and other fictitious crimes while praising China, a country that is putting Muslims in internment camps, indicates an irrational hatred of Jews and not a concern for human rights,” CJV Managing Director Rabbi Yaakov Menken stated.
[RELATED: Promotions at University of Illinois might depend on professors’ devotion to DEI]
Speaking with Campus Reform, Menken called for the suspension of DEI offices pending a revaluation of those departments.
”An office of ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ led by bigots obviously defeats the purpose,” Menken said. “This is why these programs must be suspended until there is a better understanding of how DEI departments came to be filled with bias and hate.”
This is not the first time that the coalition has had to step in and express their support for students on campus.
At Duke University, an ongoing debate has stalled the process for recognizing a Students Supporting Israel chapter. The coalition responded to the incident by calling it a “double-standard”.
