CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM WATCHDOG GROUP AMCHA INITIATIVE APPLAUDS SACRAMENTO RALLY
Calls on CA Legislature to Pass Bill to Curb Antisemitism on UC Campuses Immediately
Contact: Nicole Rosen
202-309-5724
communications@AMCHAinitiative.org
Sacramento, CA, March 9, 2015– Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, AMCHA Initiative co-founder and director, issued the following statement after today’s rally at the state Capitol in Sacramento:
“Campus antisemitism is at an all time high. Swastikas discovered at UC Davis. A UCLA student was almost prevented from joining student government solely because she was Jewish. Just last week swastikas were found at George Washington University in our nation’s Capitol and at Cleveland State University in Ohio. And a study recently released by Trinity College and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law revealed that a majority of Jewish American college students witnessed or experienced antisemitism on campus in the last year. Unfortunately the list goes on and on.
“This type of bigotry and hatred would never be tolerated if it targeted students from other races, cultures or sexual preference but for some reason it is tolerated when directed at Jewish students. This must stop. University presidents must come out of hiding and protect Jewish students.
“Anti-discrimination education is an important first step in addressing the problem of anti-Jewish bigotry on California campuses. We applaud Sacramento leaders and community members for calling attention to this escalating problem that is threatening the safety of our students. And we commend state legislators for proposing legislation which would mandate training in discrimination and civil rights for all student government bodies.”
AMCHA Initiative is a non-profit organization, based in California, dedicated to monitoring, investigating and combating antisemitism at institutions of higher education in America. AMCHA Initiative’s efforts are bolstered by a network of more than 5,000 members and supporters of the Jewish community — including university alumni, parents and grandparents, rabbis, religious school principals and synagogue members — who have joined together to speak in one voice to ensure the safety and well-being of Jewish students on college and university campuses across the country.
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