Oliver explained that implementing the
recommendation would harm the college,
violate students’ academic freedom, and constitute
an academic boycott of Israel, which
he “categorically opposes.” In addition, the
recommendation was “prejudiced,” Oliver
stated, because it singled out Israel, would
unnecessarily “alienate a large cross section of
the College’s constituencies,” and irreparably
harm Pitzer’s reputation.
Anti-Semites and Israel-bashers at Pitzer
called for Oliver’s immediate resignation or
removal from office unless he retracted his
decision. They even stooped to public and
ugly name-calling. But Oliver and Pitzer
stayed principled and firm.
NYU could also learn from Maud Mandel,
the president of Williams College, who overruled
the student government and granted
registered student organization (RSO) status
to a student group called Williams Initiative
for Israel (WIFI). WIFI had followed the
appropriate protocol in applying to be an
RSO; as Mandel acknowledged, the student
government’s decision to reject WIFI “was
made on political grounds.”
The ZOA publicly praised Mandel and her
administration for remedying the student
government’s astounding discrimination.
Mandel and Pitzer’s Melvin Oliver are models
for other college leaders who have the moral
and legal duty to protect Jewish and pro-Israel
students from harassment and discrimination.
After a Challenge
by ZOA and Others,
California’s Anti-
Semitic Ethnic Studies
Curriculum is Rejected
After the ZOA and others condemned a
proposed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum
(ESMC) for California students that was
anti-Semitic and anti-Israel, the California
State Board of Education rejected the ESMC,
stating that it “falls short and needs to be substantially
revised.”
The ESMC essentially ignored Jews as an
ethnic group and actually disparaged them
instead. In addition, it omitted anti-Semitism
from the many forms of hatred and
bigotry defined in the ESMC’s Glossary, and
promoted the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel
boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
In a statement issued in August 2019, the
Board of Education explained its decision to
reject the ESMC: “Ethnic studies can be an
important tool to improve school climate and
increase our understanding of one another. A
model curriculum should be accurate, free of
bias, appropriate for all learners in our diverse
state, and align with Governor Newsom’s
vision of a California for all.”
In a public statement praising the Board’s
decision, the ZOA expressed its intention
to review the next draft of the model curriculum,
“which we hope and expect will
provide California students with an accurate,
balanced and scholarly understanding of Jews
and other ethnic groups.” In addition, the
ZOA joined in a letter co-signed by over 90
other organizations, urging the California
Department of Education to ensure that the
drafting of a new model curriculum not be
used as a tool for political indoctrination.
Mandel and
Pitzer’s Melvin
Oliver (right)
are models for
other college
leaders who
have the moral
and legal duty
to protect Jewish
and pro-Israel
students from
harassment and
discrimination.
36 Center For Law & Justice