House Republicans Release Report on Antisemitism

Yesterday, Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership released the 42-page U.S. House of Representatives Staff Report on Antisemitism. (Full text). The Report says in part:

The House-wide investigation has uncovered deeply troubling realities about how antisemitism has been allowed to fester unchecked, including in universities and institutions across the country, with little to no accountability or oversight to prevent its continued spread. The events of the past year have laid bare the systemic failures of many universities, other nonprofit organizations, public officials, higher education administrators, and the federal government in addressing antisemitism – a pervasive issue they can no longer ignore. 

The findings expose a disturbing pattern of defensiveness and denial among institutions. Rather than confronting the severity of the problem, many institutions have dismissed congressional and public criticism and abdicated responsibility for the hostile environments they have enabled. This refusal to acknowledge or address the issue has allowed antisemitism to take root and thrive in spaces that contravene the values of this great nation. 

The House-wide effort has culminated in a set of recommendations for schools, Congress, and the executive branch to consider. These actionable steps are designed to ensure that the rising tide of antisemitism is confronted and eradicated at its core. By holding institutions accountable and fostering an environment of responsibility, these measures aim to restore safety and respect for Jewish Americans across the country.

Suit Challenging Anti-Zionist Proposed Curriculum Is Dismissed

In Concerned Jewish Parents and Teachers of Los Angeles v. Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium, (CD CA, Nov. 30, 2024), a California federal district court dismissed both for jurisdictional reasons and on the merits a suit by plaintiffs who were Jewish Zionists against a group that developed a set of teaching materials that the group hoped Los Angeles Public Schools would adopt. The court said in part:

According to plaintiffs, the challenged curriculum "denounces capitalism, the nuclear family, and the territorial integrity of the lower 48 states of the United States[,]"... and is designed "to expunge the idea of Zionism, and the legitimacy of the existence of the State of Israel, from the public square[.]"... Plaintiffs allege there is "rank discrimination embedded in the LESMC," ... because the challenged curriculum, among other things, "includes statements that the existence of the State of Israel is based on ethnic cleansing and land theft, apartheid and genocide" and that "Zionism is distinct from Judaism."... Because the challenged curriculum contains anti-Zionist material, plaintiffs allege that the curriculum is antisemitic.,,,

The court held that plaintiffs' claims were not ripe for judicial review and that plaintiffs lacked standing to bring their claims. It went on to also reject plaintiffs' equal protection and free exercise challenges on additional grounds. It held first that the defendants other than the school district were not state actors for purposes of the 14th Amendment. It went on to hold:

... [I]t is clear that the [complaint] is a direct "attack on curricula" — and "absent evidence of unlawful intentional discrimination, parents are not entitled to bring Equal Protection claims challenging curriculum content."... In short, plaintiffs' equal protection claims under both the California and United States constitutions must be dismissed....

In effect, the only hardship plaintiffs allege is that the existence of the challenged curriculum — and its possible adoption — offends them. But mere offense is insufficient to allege a burden on religious exercise....

In short, plaintiffs' claim that the challenged curriculum violates the Free Exercise Clause because it is intended "to suppress public expression of, and public support for, Zionist beliefs and to prevent Zionists from acting on their sincerely held religious belief[,]" ... must be dismissed, as plaintiffs have not adequately alleged a substantial burden on their religious exercise or practice.

The court also rejected claims under Title VI and the California Education Code. It then concluded:

... [I]t must also be noted that significant First Amendment concerns underlie plaintiffs' claims and requested relief.... In effect, plaintiffs seek to litigate the propriety and legality of a potential curriculum with which they disagree. Their claims thus conflict with the First Amendment in several respects, and are largely barred on that basis as well.

Various state law claims were also stricken under California's anti=SLAPP statute.

Noticias Newswire reports on the decision.

House of Representatives Passes Resolution Condemning Rise of Antisemitism

On Nov. 20, the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 388-21 gave final approval to House Resolution 1449 (full text) condemning the rise of antisemitism in countries around the world and encouraging states and international bodies to endorse and embrace the July 2024 Global Guidelines for Combatting Antisemitism. The "no" votes were triggered by a reference in one of the Whereas clauses of the resolution to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's “working definition” of antisemitism.  JNS reports on the House action. The Algemeiner reports on the opposition votes.

Parents Sue California High School Alleging Long History of Tolerating Antisemitism

Suit was filed last week in a California federal district court by parents of six high school students in the Sequoia Union High School District charging the high school with tolerating antisemitism expressed by students and teachers.  The complaint (full text) in Kasle v. Puttin, (ND CA, filed 11/15/2024), alleges in part:

SUHSD has a long history of tolerating casual antisemitism on its campuses.  Students and faculty have openly joked about Nazis and the Holocaust, while certain teachers have peddled antisemitic falsehoods about Middle East history without facing consequences.  District leadership has consistently turned a blind eye to such behavior.  SUHSD’s antisemitism problem worsened significantly after October 7, 2023, when Hamas—a U.S.-designated terrorist organization—invaded southern Israel and then mutilated, raped, and murdered more than 1,200 people.  Although quick to address other global injustices, SUHSD remained conspicuously silent about this historic massacre of Jews, contradicting the District’s professed commitment to equity....

The 64-page complaint alleges violation of Title VI, of the 1st and 14th Amendments as well as of parallel provisions of California law and asks for an injunction in part:

prohibiting Defendants’ discriminatory and harassing treatment of Plaintiffs in violation of Plaintiffs’ constitutional and statutory rights; 

prohibiting the District, its employees, agents, and representatives from engaging in any form of antisemitic behavior or conduct, including, but not limited to, verbal, written, or physical actions that demean, harass, or discriminate against individuals based on their Jewish identity or their identification with and commitment to Israel;

ordering the District to adopt and implement a clear and comprehensive policy specifically addressing antisemitism, as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism....

It also asks the court to appoint a Special Master to monitor the district's implementation of policies against antisemitism. 

Ropes & Gray issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit. 

Texas Top Court Gives New Trial to Death Row Inmate Because of Trial Judge's Antisemitism

 In Ex Parte Halprin, (TX Ct. Crim. App., Nov. 6, 2024), the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in a 6-3 decision granted a new trial to one of the so-called Texas Seven prison escapees who had been sentenced to death for murdering a police officer during the robbery of a sporting goods store shortly after their escape. The court concluded that the trial judge, Vickers Cunningham, was biased against Halprin because Halprin is Jewish.  The court said in part:

The evidence adduced in these habeas proceedings concerning Halprin’s judicial bias claim consists primarily of anti-Semitic statements attributed to Cunningham that, according to the witnesses, he made in generally private or semi-private settings rather than from the bench in open court or in chambers....

The uncontradicted evidence supports a finding that Cunningham formed an opinion about Halprin that derived from an extrajudicial factor—Cunningham’s poisonous anti-Semitism. Cunningham’s references to Halprin are not to “the fucking [murderer]” or “the filthy [criminal]” or “the [murderer] Halprin,” which might be fairly said to derive from the evidence presented at Halprin’s capital murder trial. Rather, Cunningham’s derogatory references to Halprin are expressly tied to Halprin’s Jewish identity.

Judge Richardson, joined by Judges Newell and Walker filed a concurring opinion, saying in part:

This is not a case in which the action of a trial judge may just “look bad.” This is not a case in which there is merely the “appearance of impropriety.” This is a case where a person’s lifelong hatred and prejudice against Jews made him unfit to preside over this case. And that toxic viewpoint runs counter to our concept of the Rule of Law because “[o]ur law punishes people for what they do, not who they are.”

Thus, no precedent, rule, technicality, or excuse can justify allowing such a demonstrably biased person to constitutionally stand in judgment over a member of a class of people the judge espouses to hate. It violates our fundamental sense of fair play and the Supreme Court’s motto “Equal Justice Under Law” beneath which our precedent arises.

Judge Yeary filed a concurring opinion saying that the majority reached the correct result but used the wrong standard to reach it.  He said in part: 

... [T]he question is “not whether the judge is actually, subjectively biased, but whether the average judge in [the challenged judge’s] position is ‘likely’ to be neutral, or whether there is an unconstitutional ‘potential for bias.’”

Presiding Judge Keller, joined by Judges Keel and Slaughter filed a dissenting opinion saying in part:

The Court misunderstands the law regarding disqualification of a judge for bias.  It grants Applicant relief on the basis of the trial judge’s personal views and out-of-court comments about Applicant’s religion.  But under Supreme Court precedent, in order for a judge who holds derogatory views about a defendant’s religion to be disqualified, there must be a showing that the judge’s conduct in the criminal proceedings was influenced by his derogatory views.  What a judge does can violate the Constitution.  What he thinks cannot.  Nothing in the record on habeas or at trial shows, or even suggests, that the trial judge’s views influenced how he conducted the criminal proceedings in this case.

Texas Public Radio and AP report on the decision. [Thanks to Thomas Rutledge for the lead.]

Biden Addresses Call to Jewish Leaders Ahead of Yom Kippur

The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur begins at sundown this evening.  Last Wednesday, President Biden spoke for over ten minutes (full text of remarks) during a White House Call with Jewish Faith Leaders for High Holidays. The President said in part:

In the last three years, it’s been the honor to do this High Holiday with all of you from the White House in a season of joy and a season of pain....

... I know this year’s call is very different, and it’s a ... difficult time for the Jewish community and for Jews around the world.  In the midst of the High Holidays, two days ago, we commemorated the first anniversary of October 7th, the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust....

I also want you to know that I see you, I hear you, I see your pain from the ferocious surge of antisemitism in America and, quite frankly, around the world — absolutely despicable.  And I hope ... we learned a lesson from our parents’ generation.  We have to stand up.  We have to call it out.  It has to be stopped....

My administration is calling on the social media companies to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward antisemitism and other hateful content, including the vile antisemitic attacks online that we’ve seen in recent days against public officials leading responses to recovery efforts to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton....

Let me close with this.  I think about the wisdom I’ve learned from Jewish communities in Delaware and across the country that I’ve gotten to know over the years.  It seems to me there is a delicate yet profound balance between joy and pain to the High Holidays....

From my perspective, Jewish people have embodied this duality of pain and joy for generations.  It’s your strength.  The Jewish people have always chosen to find joy and happiness and light, despite centuries of suffering, persecution, and pain. 

... [I]t’s an enduring lesson and legacy for the Jewish people and for all of America to understand.

Jewish Students Sue Haverford College Alleging Title VI Violations

Suit was filed last week in a Pennsylvania federal district court by Jewish students as Haverford College alleging that the college has violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by discriminatory application of its nondiscrimination policy and willful failure to enforce its nondiscrimination policy to protect Jewish students. The complaint also alleges breach of contract. The complaint (full text) in Jews at Haverford v. The Corporation of Haverford College, (ED PA, filed 5/13/2024), alleges in part:

Haverford has become an illiberal institution fixated on appeasing the demands of anti-Israel students and faculty.  Haverford refuses to tolerate ideas about Israel that are at odds with its new political orthodoxy—in particular, the Jewish people’s ethnic, historical, shared ancestral and religious claims to their ancestral homeland in Israel.  This intolerance is enforced through shunning of Jewish students committed to the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish state, and through the lauding and accepting of antisemitic student demands by Haverford’s President Wendy Raymond and her administration....

Haverford has violated Title VI by failing to protect the rights of Jewish Haverford students to participate fully in college classes, programs, and activities, without fear of harassment if they express beliefs about Israel that are anything less than eliminationist.  In this pervasively hostile environment, Jewish students hide their beliefs, as well as their attendance at religious services or even secular events at which support for the existence of Israel is articulated or defended.  While Israel-hating students march across the campus chanting quotes from the terrorist group Hamas calling for Israel’s destruction—as they have done frequently and without any restraint or interference from the Administration— these Jewish students hide in their rooms, feeling unable even to go to class or to engage in any of the other activities that constitute the life of an undergraduate....

The Deborah Project has more information on the lawsuit.

PA Supreme Court: Yard Signs Responding to Neighbors' Antisemitism Protected by Pennsylvania Constitution

In a 4-2 decision in Oberholzer v. Galapo, (PA Sup. Ct., Aug. 20, 2024), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, relying on the broad free speech protections in Art. I, Sec. 7 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, dissolved an injunction issued by a trial court in an unusual dispute between neighbors. As described by Justice Dougherty's majority opinion:

In November 2014, a brewing feud between the neighbors over landscaping issues reached a boiling point after Dr. Galapo confronted Mr. Oberholzer about a resurveyed property line and Mrs. Oberholzer responded by calling him a “fucking Jew.”  This prompted the Galapos in June 2015 to erect the first of many signs primarily displaying anti-hate and anti-racist messages “along the back tree-line directly abutting [the Oberholzers’] property line, pointed directly at [the Oberholzers’] house, and in direct sight of [other] neighbors’ houses.” ...  All told, the Galapos posted twenty-three signs over a years-long span, during which the neighbors continued to quarrel over other minor nuisances.

Among other things, the Oberholzers sued claiming the signs placed them in a false light. The majority concluded:

We hold the Galapos engaged in protected speech when they posted in their own yard stationary signs decrying hatred and racism.  We further hold the Oberholzers failed to prove that substantial privacy interests are being invaded in an essentially intolerable manner by the Galapos’ pure residential speech.  As such, Article I, Section 7 of the Pennsylvania Constitution and this Court’s precedents precluded the trial court from enjoining the signs, regardless of the nature of the torts alleged.  The injunction imposed an improper prior restraint on speech in violation of Article I, Section 7.

Justice Wecht filed a dissenting opinion, saying in part:

The Galapos argue that the present injunction violates the no-injunction rule, that it is an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech, and that it fails strict scrutiny.  These arguments are unpersuasive.  The no-injunction rule does not exist in Pennsylvania.  Moreover, even if it did exist, it would not apply here because the equity court did not purport to enjoin defamatory speech.... The argument that the injunction constitutes a prior restraint is also mistaken because the injunction does not restrict speech in advance of its publication.  Finally, the injunction withstands application of strict scrutiny because it is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.

Justice Brobson also filed a dissenting opinion, saying in part:

I would conclude that the trial courts of this Commonwealth have the authority to enjoin residential speech protected by Article I, Section 7 of the Pennsylvania Constitution that rises to the level of a private nuisance and disrupts the quiet enjoyment of a neighbor’s home.  I would further find that the Injunction is content neutral, furthers the Commonwealth’s significant interest in protecting the privacy and quiet enjoyment of the Oberholzers’ home, and burdens no more of the Galapos’ speech than necessary to protect the Oberholzers’ right to residential privacy.

AP reports on the decision.

Court Dismisses Title VI Suit Claiming Hostile Environment Affecting Jewish Students At MIT

In StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (D MA, July 30, 2024), a Massachusetts federal district court dismissed a suit against MIT that alleged deliberate indifference to a hostile educational environment impacting Jewish and Israeli students in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court said in part:

The [complaint] compellingly depicts a campus embroiled in an internecine conflict that caused Jewish and Israeli students great anguish.  Plaintiffs frame MIT’s response to the conflict largely as one of inaction.  But the facts alleged tell a different story.  Far from sitting on its hands, MIT took steps to contain the escalating on-campus protests that, in some instances, posed a genuine threat to the welfare and safety of Jewish and Israeli students, who were at times personally victimized by the hostile demonstrators.  MIT began by suspending student protestors from non-academic activities....while suspending one of the most undisciplined of the pro-Palestine student groups.  These measures proved ineffective when, in April of 2024, protestors erected the Kresge lawn encampment.  MIT immediately warned students of impending disciplinary action, but its threat went unheeded....  When MIT’s attempt to peacefully clear the encampment proved futile, it suspended and arrested trespassing students. In hindsight, one might envision things MIT could have done differently.  Indeed, some campus administrators elsewhere ... reacted to the protests differently (and with more positive results) than MIT.  But that is not the applicable standard.  That MIT’s evolving and progressively punitive response largely tracked its increasing awareness of the hostility that demonstrators directed at Jewish and Israeli students shows that MIT did not react in a clearly unreasonable manner.

The court also dismissed conspiracy, negligence and breach of contract claims. Bloomberg Law reports on the decision.

Leader in International Neo-Nazi Group Indicted for Soliciting Hate Crimes and Mass Violence

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced last week the federal indictment of the leader of an international neo-Nazi group. The press release said in part:

A federal grand jury in Brooklyn yesterday returned a four-count indictment charging Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as ... “Commander Butcher” ... with soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City.  Chkhikvishvili was arrested in Chișinău, Moldova on July 6, 2024 pursuant to an Interpol Wanted Person Diffusion.... Chkhikvishvili is alleged to be a leader of the Maniac Murder Cult,... an international racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist group.  Chkhikvishvili allegedly recruited others to commit violent acts in furtherance of MKY’s ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City....

Beginning in approximately November 2023, Chkhikvishvili solicited [an FBI undercover agent ("UC")] ... to commit violent crimes....  Chkhikvishvili provided detailed plans and materials such as bomb-making instructions and guidance on making Molotov cocktails.... In November 2023, Chkhikvishvili began planning a mass casualty attack in New York City to take place on New Year’s Eve.  The scheme involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities.  The scheme also involved providing candy laced with poison to children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn.  Chkhikvishvili drafted step-by-step instructions to carry out the scheme and shared with the UC detailed manuals on creating and mixing lethal poisons and gases.  He also instructed the UC on methods of making ricin-based poisons in powder and liquid form....

Prison Sentences Imposed in Two Separate Antisemitism Cases

Yesterday, an Indiana federal district court sentenced 67-year-old Andrezj Boryga to 24 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release after Boryga pleaded guilty to transmitting antisemitic threats in interstate commerce.  According to a Justice Department press release:

... [B]etween July 9 and Dec. 14, 2022, Boryga left voicemails at Anti-Defamation League offices located in New York, Texas, Colorado, and Nevada. Boryga used antisemitic slurs on eight voicemails as he threatened to assault or kill Jewish people.

Yesterday a New Jersey federal district court sentenced 29-year-old Dion Marsh to 40 years in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release after Marsh pleaded guilty to committing a series of violent assaults on visibly identifiable members of the Lakewood, New Jersey, Orthodox Jewish community.  According to a Justice Department press release:

[Marsh] pleaded guilty... to ... five counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and one count of carjacking. With respect to the Shepard Byrd Act violations, Marsh admitted to willfully causing bodily injury to five victims and attempting to kill and cause injuries with dangerous weapons to four of the victims because they are Jewish.

International Representatives Release Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism

On Wednesday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, representatives of 36 nations and international organizations, including U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, released a set of legally nonbinding Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism (full text). Thursday was the 30th anniversary of the 1994 Hizballah bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires in which 85 people were killed. On Thursday, Secretary of State Blinken issued a statement (full text) announcing the Guidelines, saying in part:

The United States is pleased to play a leadership role, together with the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Government of Argentina, and other governments and international bodies, in advancing these guidelines and we invite others across the international community to endorse and implement them.  The Guidelines identify practical actions that governments, international bodies, civil society organizations, and people of conscience everywhere can take against antisemitism wherever and whenever it occurs.

Claims That College Encouraged Jewish Plaintiffs to File Antisemitism Claims Are Dismissed

As previously reported, five Orthodox Jewish faculty members at New York's Kingsborough Community College are suing the school, the faculty union and various faculty members asserting religious hostile work environment and retaliation claims. Two of the faculty member defendants in turn filed cross claims against the school (which is part of City University of New York) alleging breach of contract and First Amendment violations. They alleged that the school was complicit with plaintiffs in attempting to retaliate against them for their expression of anti-Israel views. In Lax v. City University of New York, (Kings Cty. NY Sup. Ct., July 5, 2024), a New York state trial court dismissed the cross claims. The court said that cross claimants had not alleged any retaliatory animus or adverse action taken by the school. The court said in part:

CUNY, as a governmental entity, cannot be held liable for failing to prevent plaintiffs from allegedly violating Wetzel and Perea's right to free speech since CUNY was not charged with any affirmative duty to silence plaintiffs regarding their complaints of discrimination and anti-Semitism....

Having an anti-Israel political agenda is not a protected group under the NYSHRL or the NYCHRL....

... Wetzel and Perea have not alleged that CUNY instigated or encouraged plaintiffs to file their EEOC complaints or to otherwise accuse them of anti-Semitism. 

--[CORRECTED] 

[Thanks to Volokh Conspiracy for the lead.] 

UCLA Students Sue University For Failing to Protect Jewish Students

Three Jewish students at UCLA yesterday filed a civil rights lawsuit in a California federal district court alleging that the University, by tolerating widespread antisemitic behavior, has violated a lengthy list of state and federal statutory and constitutional provisions.  The complaint (full text) alleges in part:

1.  The University of California, Los Angeles ..., has deteriorated into a hotbed of antisemitism. This rampant anti-Jewish environment burst into view on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel....

2. In the wake of these horrifying events, UCLA should have taken steps to ensure that its Jewish students were safe and protected from harassment and undeterred in obtaining full access to campus facilities. Instead, UCLA officials routinely turned their backs on Jewish students, aiding and abetting a culture that has allowed calls for the annihilation of the Jewish people, Nazi symbolism, and religious slurs to go unchecked....

4. Starting on April 25, 2024, and continuing until May 2, 2024, UCLA allowed a group of activists to set up barricades in the center of campus and establish an encampment that blocked access to critical educational infrastructure on campus....

6. With the knowledge and acquiescence of UCLA officials, the activists enforced what was effectively a “Jew Exclusion Zone,” segregating Jewish students and preventing them from accessing the heart of campus, including classroom buildings and the main undergraduate library....

11. Yet even as the activists continued to enforce the Jew Exclusion Zone, Defendants not only failed to marshal resources to intervene— they adopted a policy facilitating the Jew Exclusion Zone.....

19. The administration’s cowardly abdication of its duty to ensure unfettered access to UCLA’s educational opportunities and to protect the Jewish community is not only immoral—it is illegal.  

20. Specifically, it violates numerous federal and state constitutional guarantees, including the Equal Protection Clause, the Free Exercise Clause, and the freedom of speech.  

21. And it contravenes the basic guarantee of equal access to educational facilities that receive federal funding, as well as numerous other statutory guarantees of equality and fair treatment.

Fox 11 reports on the lawsuit. Becket Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the suit.

 

Neo-Nazi Sentenced for Defacing Michigan Synagogue

 In a press release, the Department of Justice announced yesterday:

A Michigan man was sentenced today to 26 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring with other members of a white supremacist group, The Base, to victimize Black and Jewish people, and for defacing Temple Jacob, a Jewish synagogue in Hancock, Michigan, using swastikas and symbols associated with The Base....

The evidence at trial established that, in September 2019, Weeden, Tobin and Barasneh, all members of The Base, used an encrypted messaging platform to discuss vandalizing property associated with Black and Jewish Americans. Weeden and his co-conspirators dubbed their plan, "Operation Kristallnacht” — a term that means "Night of Broken Glass,” and refers to events that took place on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, when Nazis murdered Jews and burned and destroyed their homes, synagogues, schools and places of business. Weeden carried out this plan on Sept. 21, 2019, when he spray-painted swastikas and symbols associated with The Base on the outside walls of Temple Jacob....

Rabbi Sues Homeowners' Association for Blocking Synagogue Construction

Suit was filed last week in a Florida federal district court by a Chabad rabbi and related plaintiffs charging a Homeowners' Association with religious discrimination in violation of state and federal Fair Housing Acts and civil rights protections. The complaint (full text) in Hertzel v. Loggers' Run, Inc., (SD FL, filed 5/17/2024), alleges in part:

This action arises out of a campaign by the HOA... to discriminate against the Hertzels and, more broadly, to slow the growth of Jews within the Loggers’ Run planned residential community..... 

The campaign began when the Hertzels began exploring the possibility of constructing a synagogue within Loggers’ Run, which they proposed locating near multiple similarly situated churches attended by HOA board members and residents. This synagogue is essential to the growth of the Orthodox Jewish community within Loggers’ Run because central tenets of that faith prohibit driving to religious services on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. Members of the HOA Board intervened to prevent the HOA from even considering the Hertzels’ proposal.... Although the HOA would eventually muster pretextual reasons for the rejection, individual members of the HOA and its agents were shockingly honest, explaining that the HOA “didn’t want Jews” in Loggers’ Run and, more recently, that a synagogue would be constructed over then-HOA Board President Harp’s “dead body.”

First Liberty issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Congressional Committee Releases Staff Report on Harvard's Response to Antisemitism on Campus

Yesterday the House Committee on Education and the Workforce released a Staff Report titled Investigative Update-- The Antisemitism Advisory Group and Harvard’s Response: Clarity and Inaction (full text). The Report's Executive Summary says in part:

On October 27, 2023, Harvard University’s then-President Claudine Gay announced the formation of an eight-member Antisemitism Advisory Group (AAG, or the Group) amidst considerable scrutiny of the University’s response to increased antisemitism on its campus following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel....

The Committee on Education and the Workforce investigation has found that in mid-December 2023 the AAG presented Harvard’s leaders with a robust set of significant recommendations on combating antisemitism at Harvard, which were not made public and remain unimplemented. 

These recommendations include “zero tolerance” of classroom disruptions; protecting shared learning environments; holding student organizations accountable for adhering to University rules; countering antisemitic speech; reviewing the academic rigor of classes and programs with antisemitic content; reviewing Harvard’s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging’s (OEDIB) inadequacy in addressing antisemitism; increasing intellectual diversity; and investigating the potential influence of “dark money” from Iran, Qatar, and associates of terrorist groups on campus....

The failure to implement the AAG’s advice did not come from a lack of engagement by Harvard’s seniormost leaders.... Unfortunately, this involvement, even if well-intentioned, did not translate to taking the actions required to address the explosion of virulent antisemitism at Harvard in a meaningful way.

JNS has a lengthy report on reactions to the release of the Congressional committee staff report.

President Speaks at Holocaust Museum's Ceremony

President Biden yesterday spoke for nearly 15 minutes at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Annual Days of Remembrance Ceremony. (Full text of remarks.) He said in part:

This ancient hatred of Jews didn’t begin with the Holocaust; it didn’t end with the Holocaust, either, or after — or even after our victory in World War Two.  This hatred continues to lie deep in the hearts of too many people in the world, and it requires our continued vigilance and outspokenness.    

That hatred was brought to life on October 7th in 2023.  On a sacred Jewish holiday, the terrorist group Hamas unleashed the deadliest day of the Jewish people since the Holocaust.  

Driven by ancient desire to wipeout the Jewish people off the face of the Earth, over 1,200 innocent people — babies, parents, grandparents — slaughtered in their kibbutz, massacred at a musical festival, brutally raped, mutilated, and sexually assaulted.  Thousands more carrying wounds, bullets, and shrapnel from the memory of that terrible day they endured.  Hundreds taken hostage, including survivors of the Shoah.  

Now, here we are, not 75 years later but just seven and a half months later, and people are already forgetting.  They’re already forgetting that Hamas unleased this terror, that it was Hamas that brutalized Israelis, that it was Hamas who took and continues to hold hostages.  I have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget....

President Biden Issues Passover Statement

Passover begins this evening. Yesterday President Biden issued a Statement on Passover (full text) which says in part:

Tomorrow night, Jews around the world will celebrate Passover, recounting their miraculous Exodus story from hundreds of years of enslavement in Egypt and their journey to freedom. This holiday reminds us of a profound and powerful truth: that even in the face of persecution, if we hold on to faith, we shall endure and overcome....

My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad. My Administration is working around the clock to free the hostages, and we will not rest until we bring them home. We are also working to establish an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza as a part of a deal that releases the hostages and delivers desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. We will continue to work toward a two-state solution that provides equal security, prosperity, and enduring peace for Israelis and Palestinians. And we are leading international efforts to ensure Israel can defend itself against Iran and its proxies, including by directing the U.S. military to help defend Israel against Iran’s unprecedented attacks last weekend.

The ancient story of persecution against Jews in the Haggadah also reminds us that we must speak out against the alarming surge of Antisemitism – in our schools, communities, and online. Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country. My Administration will continue to speak out and aggressively implement the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, putting the full force of the federal government behind protecting the Jewish community....

House Brands Palestinian Slogan as Antisemitic

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 377-44 adopted House Resolution 883 (full text) stating that the slogan, "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'" is antisemitic. After 29 "Whereas" clauses, the Resolution reads:

That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that—

(1) the slogan, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, is outrightly antisemitic and must be strongly condemned; 

(2) this slogan is divisive and does a disservice to Israelis, Palestinians, and all those in the region who seek peace;

(3) this slogan rejects calls for peace, stability, and safety in the region;

(4) this slogan perpetuates hatred against the State of Israel and the Jewish people; and

(5) anyone who calls for the eradication of Israel and the Jewish people are antisemitic and must always be condemned.