Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
@concernedjfaculty.bsky.social
We believe that the fight against antisemitism cannot be separated from the struggle against all forms of oppression.
Learn more and join us:
https://concernedjewishfaculty.org
Our statements:
https://www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/statements
Learn more and join us:
https://concernedjewishfaculty.org
Our statements:
https://www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/statements
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CJFS Commission Shadow Report | Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
www.concernedjewishfaculty.org
The MA Antisemitism Commission has approved its final report conflating Judaism with Zionism.
We respond: "The Commission has done more to fuel rising authoritarianism and antisemitism than to create the conditions that promote Jewish safety"
www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/commission-s...
We respond: "The Commission has done more to fuel rising authoritarianism and antisemitism than to create the conditions that promote Jewish safety"
www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/commission-s...
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
Zach Shemper, the congregation’s president, has vowed to rebuild the damaged Beth Israel Congregation. Already, nearby churches are opening their doors, offering to let the congregation worship inside. Other synagogues have offered the Beth Israel Congregation new Torahs.
Mississippi Synagogue Congregant Shares Story of 1967 Ku Klux Klan Bombing
Members of the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, recall when the Ku Klux Klan bombed the building in 1967.
buff.ly
January 17, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Zach Shemper, the congregation’s president, has vowed to rebuild the damaged Beth Israel Congregation. Already, nearby churches are opening their doors, offering to let the congregation worship inside. Other synagogues have offered the Beth Israel Congregation new Torahs.
"Bassett's removal therefore signals not merely a personnel change but an erosion of institutional ethics and academic freedom; Harvard has made clear that universal principles are tolerated only when they do not threaten power."
Basset should be reinstated immediately.
Basset should be reinstated immediately.
In The Lancet, on Harvard's firing of Mary Bassett: "a university that disciplines scholars for applying established methods to politically inconvenient realities does not merely betray its ideals; it actively reshapes itself in the service of repression."
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Health, human rights, and the Palestine exception
In December, 2025, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health announced that Mary T
Bassett would be stepping down as Director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center
for Health and Human Rights. Fr...
www.thelancet.com
January 17, 2026 at 5:07 PM
"Bassett's removal therefore signals not merely a personnel change but an erosion of institutional ethics and academic freedom; Harvard has made clear that universal principles are tolerated only when they do not threaten power."
Basset should be reinstated immediately.
Basset should be reinstated immediately.
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
The Trump administration is demanding "lists of Jews" from the University of Pennsylvania.
The AAUP condemns this as “a profoundly invasive & dangerous demand that intrudes deeply into the freedoms of association, religion, speech and privacy enshrined in the First Amendment.”
Read more below 👇
The AAUP condemns this as “a profoundly invasive & dangerous demand that intrudes deeply into the freedoms of association, religion, speech and privacy enshrined in the First Amendment.”
Read more below 👇
UPenn faculty condemn Trump administration’s demand for ‘lists of Jews’
Groups say EEOC demand for names and personal details echoes dark history and threatens safety and civil rights
www.theguardian.com
January 14, 2026 at 3:54 PM
The Trump administration is demanding "lists of Jews" from the University of Pennsylvania.
The AAUP condemns this as “a profoundly invasive & dangerous demand that intrudes deeply into the freedoms of association, religion, speech and privacy enshrined in the First Amendment.”
Read more below 👇
The AAUP condemns this as “a profoundly invasive & dangerous demand that intrudes deeply into the freedoms of association, religion, speech and privacy enshrined in the First Amendment.”
Read more below 👇
CJFS member @omerbartov.bsky.social on @revdem2020.bsky.social podcast:
On Genocide: Omer Bartov in Conversation about Palestine, Israel, and Germany
revdem.ceu.edu/2026/01/15/o...
On Genocide: Omer Bartov in Conversation about Palestine, Israel, and Germany
revdem.ceu.edu/2026/01/15/o...
On Genocide: Omer Bartov in Conversation about Palestine, Israel, and Germany | Review of Democracy
Over the last two years, the world has witnessed atrocities beyond imagination. The killing of approximately 1,200 people by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023, was followed by a war in which the Isra...
revdem.ceu.edu
January 16, 2026 at 10:26 PM
CJFS member @omerbartov.bsky.social on @revdem2020.bsky.social podcast:
On Genocide: Omer Bartov in Conversation about Palestine, Israel, and Germany
revdem.ceu.edu/2026/01/15/o...
On Genocide: Omer Bartov in Conversation about Palestine, Israel, and Germany
revdem.ceu.edu/2026/01/15/o...
From @sikevin99.bsky.social: "If you want proof that stemming criticism of Israel is the motive of IHRA’s key backers, look no further than how a Senate committee scuttled a federal bill codifying it because it also noted that criticism of the Israeli government is not itself antisemitic."
"Here I am, once again, explaining why codifying a contested definition into law was always a bad idea—not because antisemitism isn’t real, but because there isn’t consensus on a single definition, and the definition some groups keep trying to enshrine has serious problems." @sikevin99.bsky.social
The Blogs: Here We Go Again: Why We’re Still Fighting about Antisemitism Definitions
From the blog of Kevin Rachlin at The Times of Israel
blogs.timesofisrael.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:22 PM
From @sikevin99.bsky.social: "If you want proof that stemming criticism of Israel is the motive of IHRA’s key backers, look no further than how a Senate committee scuttled a federal bill codifying it because it also noted that criticism of the Israeli government is not itself antisemitic."
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
"Here I am, once again, explaining why codifying a contested definition into law was always a bad idea—not because antisemitism isn’t real, but because there isn’t consensus on a single definition, and the definition some groups keep trying to enshrine has serious problems." @sikevin99.bsky.social
The Blogs: Here We Go Again: Why We’re Still Fighting about Antisemitism Definitions
From the blog of Kevin Rachlin at The Times of Israel
blogs.timesofisrael.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:03 PM
"Here I am, once again, explaining why codifying a contested definition into law was always a bad idea—not because antisemitism isn’t real, but because there isn’t consensus on a single definition, and the definition some groups keep trying to enshrine has serious problems." @sikevin99.bsky.social
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
And here are some of the slides, meant to capture what the hard question is, what I think the bottom line is, and why the IHRA definition, as it's been construed, is problematic:
January 16, 2026 at 8:45 PM
And here are some of the slides, meant to capture what the hard question is, what I think the bottom line is, and why the IHRA definition, as it's been construed, is problematic:
Excellent discussion yesterday in Concord on protecting free speech in education, and dangers posed by the IHRA definition of antisemitism
I spoke yesterday at a local event here in MA about efforts to restrict criticism of Israel in K-12 schools and how schools should think about defining antisemitism in light of the 1st Amendment. Here's the video (~20 minutes): www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNaT...
CC @concernedjfaculty.bsky.social
CC @concernedjfaculty.bsky.social
Protecting Free Speech in K 12 & Beyond - January 15, 2026
YouTube video by Minuteman Media Network
www.youtube.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Excellent discussion yesterday in Concord on protecting free speech in education, and dangers posed by the IHRA definition of antisemitism
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
This is a welcome relief for the many New Yorkers harassed, targeted, and threatened by these fascists. And it is refreshing to see actual legal consequences for anti-Palestinian & anti-Arab racism, Islamophobia & antisemitism specifically targeting Jewish Leftists.
We’re all betar off now (sorry)
We’re all betar off now (sorry)
NEW: Far-right Zionist group Betar US will disband following an investigation by NY State Attorney General Letitia James into the group's "violence against and harassment of Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish activists" and failure to register as a charity in NY despite soliciting donations.
January 14, 2026 at 4:02 PM
This is a welcome relief for the many New Yorkers harassed, targeted, and threatened by these fascists. And it is refreshing to see actual legal consequences for anti-Palestinian & anti-Arab racism, Islamophobia & antisemitism specifically targeting Jewish Leftists.
We’re all betar off now (sorry)
We’re all betar off now (sorry)
“Part of what sets off alarm bells for people like me is a history of people using Jewish lists against Jews. The Nazi campaign against Jews depended on institutions like universities handing over information about their Jewish members to the authorities.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
UPenn faculty condemn Trump administration’s demand for ‘lists of Jews’
Groups say EEOC demand for names and personal details echoes dark history and threatens safety and civil rights
www.theguardian.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:31 PM
“Part of what sets off alarm bells for people like me is a history of people using Jewish lists against Jews. The Nazi campaign against Jews depended on institutions like universities handing over information about their Jewish members to the authorities.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
A horrifying reminder that antisemitism is real and growing. We can and must fight this in solidarity with all other communities that are coming under attack.
Mississippi’s largest synagogue was set on fire before dawn Saturday. Fire department ruled it arson, and a suspect has been arrested.
It is the same synagogue that the Ku Klux Klan bombed in 1967 because the rabbi supported civil rights. mississippitoday.org/2026/01/10/f...
It is the same synagogue that the Ku Klux Klan bombed in 1967 because the rabbi supported civil rights. mississippitoday.org/2026/01/10/f...
Predawn fire reduces parts of Mississippi's largest synagogue to charred ruins - Mississippi Today
A fire heavily damaged Jackson’s only synagogue before dawn Saturday – the same house of worship that was firebombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967 because the rabbi had been an advocate for civil rights...
mississippitoday.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:05 PM
A horrifying reminder that antisemitism is real and growing. We can and must fight this in solidarity with all other communities that are coming under attack.
Bill Ackman has been a primary driver of what Harvard says is its response to antisemitism on campus--most notably, the ouster of Claudine Gay.
This is where his values lie.
This is where his values lie.
NEW: It appears billionaire Bill Ackman has donated $10k to a GoFundMe for Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed Renee Good.
Ackman has reposted the fundraiser but hasn’t posted about his own donation.
Ackman has reposted the fundraiser but hasn’t posted about his own donation.
January 11, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Bill Ackman has been a primary driver of what Harvard says is its response to antisemitism on campus--most notably, the ouster of Claudine Gay.
This is where his values lie.
This is where his values lie.
Regarding Harvard's cowardly firing of one of the leading figures in public health:
"The charges of antisemitism are, bluntly, bullshit."
"The charges of antisemitism are, bluntly, bullshit."
January 10, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Regarding Harvard's cowardly firing of one of the leading figures in public health:
"The charges of antisemitism are, bluntly, bullshit."
"The charges of antisemitism are, bluntly, bullshit."
Powerful piece on Basset' removal:
"Universities are no longer about open inquiry and debate if they are willing to close programs, shutter departments, shift away from priorities that arouse the ire of the state, and purge those who run afoul of those in power."
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
"Universities are no longer about open inquiry and debate if they are willing to close programs, shutter departments, shift away from priorities that arouse the ire of the state, and purge those who run afoul of those in power."
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Harvard’s Ouster of Mary Bassett Is a Revolting Act of Cowardice
The public health icon was brutally removed from her job for one reason: her opposition to genocide in Gaza.
www.thenation.com
January 10, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Powerful piece on Basset' removal:
"Universities are no longer about open inquiry and debate if they are willing to close programs, shutter departments, shift away from priorities that arouse the ire of the state, and purge those who run afoul of those in power."
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
"Universities are no longer about open inquiry and debate if they are willing to close programs, shutter departments, shift away from priorities that arouse the ire of the state, and purge those who run afoul of those in power."
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
For most of my life, I really thought "Hitler was bad" was one of the few political beliefs all Americans beyond a tiny fringe shared. Sure, we might disagree on what made him bad, and many misunderstood his broader ideological framework, but we all agreed he was really bad. No longer, apparently.
From a focus group of Gen Z Republicans. (www.city-journal.org/article/manh...)
Tell me again about how Zohran Mamdani is the big threat to Jewish thriving in the US today.
Tell me again about how Zohran Mamdani is the big threat to Jewish thriving in the US today.
January 6, 2026 at 5:02 PM
For most of my life, I really thought "Hitler was bad" was one of the few political beliefs all Americans beyond a tiny fringe shared. Sure, we might disagree on what made him bad, and many misunderstood his broader ideological framework, but we all agreed he was really bad. No longer, apparently.
From @joshuashanes.bsky.social at @slate.com
The ADL's obsessive focus on Mamdani (rather than any of the rapidly growing right-wing strains of antisemitism) is "not about antisemitism but rather about preserving Israeli power over Palestinians"
slate.com/news-and-pol...
The ADL's obsessive focus on Mamdani (rather than any of the rapidly growing right-wing strains of antisemitism) is "not about antisemitism but rather about preserving Israeli power over Palestinians"
slate.com/news-and-pol...
The Country’s Self-Appointed Antisemitism Watchdog Is Ignoring Its Biggest Source of Antisemitism
Calling for Palestinian equality is not antisemitism, no matter what the ADL says.
slate.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:05 PM
From @joshuashanes.bsky.social at @slate.com
The ADL's obsessive focus on Mamdani (rather than any of the rapidly growing right-wing strains of antisemitism) is "not about antisemitism but rather about preserving Israeli power over Palestinians"
slate.com/news-and-pol...
The ADL's obsessive focus on Mamdani (rather than any of the rapidly growing right-wing strains of antisemitism) is "not about antisemitism but rather about preserving Israeli power over Palestinians"
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
It’s so fucking sick that Stanford is *felony* prosecuting their own students for a ONE HOUR PROTEST inside the president‘s office. Crime? Barricading themselves for ONE HOUR
January 5, 2026 at 11:05 PM
It’s so fucking sick that Stanford is *felony* prosecuting their own students for a ONE HOUR PROTEST inside the president‘s office. Crime? Barricading themselves for ONE HOUR
Felony charges and six-figure fines for a one-hour nonviolent protest is outrageous. An institution that does this is not an institution of education.
And Stanford is trying to squeeze $329,000 of restitution out of the students, some of whom are couch surfing and sleeping in cars, to bankroll their ✨building renovation✨ when Stanford’s facilities director has testified that the damage was UNDER $10K.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
January 6, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Felony charges and six-figure fines for a one-hour nonviolent protest is outrageous. An institution that does this is not an institution of education.
More on Harvard's unjustified firing of Mary Basset and others: "In no instance has the Harvard administration provided any justification for these highly irregular actions, which have threatened the reputations of well-regarded and principled colleagues."
www.aaup-hfc.org/aaup-harvard...
www.aaup-hfc.org/aaup-harvard...
On the Termination of the Director of the Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights — AAUP - Harvard Faculty Chapter
The Executive Committee of AAUP-Harvard Faculty Chapter is alarmed by the abrupt termination of Professor Mary T. Bassett as Director of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights ...
www.aaup-hfc.org
January 3, 2026 at 3:22 PM
More on Harvard's unjustified firing of Mary Basset and others: "In no instance has the Harvard administration provided any justification for these highly irregular actions, which have threatened the reputations of well-regarded and principled colleagues."
www.aaup-hfc.org/aaup-harvard...
www.aaup-hfc.org/aaup-harvard...
It bears emphasizing: The same admin that is attacking and defunding our universities, over what they call an antisemitism crisis, is now saying antisemitism isn't a problem at all.
This is wrong. There is widespread antisemitism in the US, AND there is also deliberate conflation by Democrats and GOP of criticism of the genocidal, apartheid Israeli government and its occupation of Palestinian lands with antisemitism––itself an ultimately antisemitic move.
December 23, 2025 at 2:52 AM
It bears emphasizing: The same admin that is attacking and defunding our universities, over what they call an antisemitism crisis, is now saying antisemitism isn't a problem at all.
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
The new travel ban issued by President Trump halts people with Palestinian Authority-issued passports from entering the United States. Immigration law expert Samah Sisay (of
@ccrjustice.org) says the new restrictions are about politics, not security.
@ccrjustice.org) says the new restrictions are about politics, not security.
Trump’s New Travel Ban Targets Palestinians
Immigration law expert Samah Sisay says the new restrictions are about politics, not security.
jewishcurrents.org
December 22, 2025 at 7:44 PM
The new travel ban issued by President Trump halts people with Palestinian Authority-issued passports from entering the United States. Immigration law expert Samah Sisay (of
@ccrjustice.org) says the new restrictions are about politics, not security.
@ccrjustice.org) says the new restrictions are about politics, not security.
The choice by ADL and other legacy institutions, to demonize protest against Israel as antisemitic, created a wide opening for Vance et al to deny that antisemitism exists, while at the same time welcoming anti-semites like Fuentes into their fold.
This is wrong. There is widespread antisemitism in the US, AND there is also deliberate conflation by Democrats and GOP of criticism of the genocidal, apartheid Israeli government and its occupation of Palestinian lands with antisemitism––itself an ultimately antisemitic move.
December 22, 2025 at 7:55 PM
The choice by ADL and other legacy institutions, to demonize protest against Israel as antisemitic, created a wide opening for Vance et al to deny that antisemitism exists, while at the same time welcoming anti-semites like Fuentes into their fold.
From CJFS co-founder Eve Spangler:
Ceasefires in the Gaza Genocide: A Historical Perspective
www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/19/c...
Ceasefires in the Gaza Genocide: A Historical Perspective
www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/19/c...
Ceasefires in the Gaza Genocide: A Historical Perspective
What is new in the current situation and particularly ominous, is that, formerly, even the most exclusivist version of Zionism did not rely on genocide as a tool: generations of Zionists have tried to...
www.counterpunch.org
December 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
From CJFS co-founder Eve Spangler:
Ceasefires in the Gaza Genocide: A Historical Perspective
www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/19/c...
Ceasefires in the Gaza Genocide: A Historical Perspective
www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/19/c...
CJFS joins 2000+ demanding that Harvard's School of Public Health reverse the ouster of Mary Bassett as director of the FXB Ctr for Health & Human Rights.
We are outraged that FXB's webinars on the public health crisis in Gaza have been smeared as antisemitic.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
We are outraged that FXB's webinars on the public health crisis in Gaza have been smeared as antisemitic.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A Harvard scholar’s ouster exposes a crisis of institutional integrity | Eric Reinhart
The dismissal of a a renowned health leader who refused to ignore Palestine highlights false claims of universality in human rights, global health and academia
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 7:13 PM
CJFS joins 2000+ demanding that Harvard's School of Public Health reverse the ouster of Mary Bassett as director of the FXB Ctr for Health & Human Rights.
We are outraged that FXB's webinars on the public health crisis in Gaza have been smeared as antisemitic.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
We are outraged that FXB's webinars on the public health crisis in Gaza have been smeared as antisemitic.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
"To foster a campus climate of real inclusion, we need to convene and converse, not record and report... Our administrations and governments just have to give us the respect, job security and academic freedom to do so." www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
A Better Way to Approach Antisemitism on Campus (opinion)
Policing speech about Israel is counterproductive.
www.insidehighered.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:25 PM
"To foster a campus climate of real inclusion, we need to convene and converse, not record and report... Our administrations and governments just have to give us the respect, job security and academic freedom to do so." www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...