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
Pinned
Massachusetts Jews Say Stop Weaponizing Our Identity
We are Massachusetts Jews who want to see an equitable and effective approach to addressing antisemitism in our state. Regardless of our views on Zionism, Israel, and how to define antisemitism, we ar...
actionnetwork.org
The MA Commission on Combating Antisemitism, in their invited testimony and k12 recommendations, have promoted a one-sided narrative in which antisemitism equates to criticism of Israel.
Add your signature to tell MA leaders to stop weaponizing our identity: actionnetwork.org/petitions/ma...
Add your signature to tell MA leaders to stop weaponizing our identity: actionnetwork.org/petitions/ma...
New report from @mesa1966.bsky.social and @aaup.org : Antisemitism lawsuits and investigations have skyrocketed over the past two years, largely driven by outside groups, and almost all focusing on criticism of Israel.
November 6, 2025 at 3:31 PM
New report from @mesa1966.bsky.social and @aaup.org : Antisemitism lawsuits and investigations have skyrocketed over the past two years, largely driven by outside groups, and almost all focusing on criticism of Israel.
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
The Heritage Foundation created an entire program, Project Esther, to use antisemitism as a pretext to shut down US higher education. They are now defending a guy who has friendly chats with Holocaust deniers.
Never take these people seriously when they say they care about fighting antisemitism.
Never take these people seriously when they say they care about fighting antisemitism.
Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts stands by Tucker Carlson after the former Fox News host release his controversial interview with Nick Fuentes.
"The Heritage Foundation didn't become the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement by canceling our own people" x.com/KevinRoberts...
"The Heritage Foundation didn't become the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement by canceling our own people" x.com/KevinRoberts...
October 31, 2025 at 2:28 AM
The Heritage Foundation created an entire program, Project Esther, to use antisemitism as a pretext to shut down US higher education. They are now defending a guy who has friendly chats with Holocaust deniers.
Never take these people seriously when they say they care about fighting antisemitism.
Never take these people seriously when they say they care about fighting antisemitism.
The ADL confirms it is no longer a civil rights organization.
We need to build up alternative Jewish orgs that recognize that none of us are free until we all are.
www.jta.org/2025/10/29/u...
We need to build up alternative Jewish orgs that recognize that none of us are free until we all are.
www.jta.org/2025/10/29/u...
ADL removes ‘Protect Civil Rights’ from website as it narrows its mission amid right-wing attacks - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The removal took place after FBI Director Kash Patel said he would cut ties with the ADL, though it is unclear if that has happened.
www.jta.org
October 30, 2025 at 1:15 PM
The ADL confirms it is no longer a civil rights organization.
We need to build up alternative Jewish orgs that recognize that none of us are free until we all are.
www.jta.org/2025/10/29/u...
We need to build up alternative Jewish orgs that recognize that none of us are free until we all are.
www.jta.org/2025/10/29/u...
Webinar TONIGHT on the overreach of the MA Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism
October 28, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Webinar TONIGHT on the overreach of the MA Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism
CJFS member Ben Allen testifies to the MA Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism: Drop the IHRA definition that equates criticism of Israel with hate speech.
I testified to the MA Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism to urge them to stop equating criticism of Israel with hate speech youtube.com/shorts/Kf8ei...
Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism Testimony, IHRA definition is dangerous
YouTube video by JVP Boston
youtube.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:56 PM
CJFS member Ben Allen testifies to the MA Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism: Drop the IHRA definition that equates criticism of Israel with hate speech.
Key passage from this decision: “Plaintiffs are entitled to their own interpretive lens equating anti-Zionism (as they define it) and antisemitism. But it is another matter altogether to insist that others must be bound by plaintiffs’ view."
Court finds Title VI does not require schools to quash protests:
“By gathering together in groups on campus, disrupting campus tranquility, and impeding travel for many students, the protestors did not render their speech antisemitic, much less unprotected”
www.courthousenews.com/first-circui...
“By gathering together in groups on campus, disrupting campus tranquility, and impeding travel for many students, the protestors did not render their speech antisemitic, much less unprotected”
www.courthousenews.com/first-circui...
First Circuit ends Jewish students’ lawsuit over Gaza protests at MIT
The appeals panel found that students’ accusations “do not plausibly rise to the level of actionable harassment” required for the discrimination claim.
www.courthousenews.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Key passage from this decision: “Plaintiffs are entitled to their own interpretive lens equating anti-Zionism (as they define it) and antisemitism. But it is another matter altogether to insist that others must be bound by plaintiffs’ view."
Depending on how "Zionism" is defined, the percentage of US Jews identifying as Zionist ranges all the way from 10% to 72%
theconversation.com/the-conflati...
theconversation.com/the-conflati...
The conflation problem: Why anti-Zionism and anti-semitism are not the same
Equating the two terms silences debate, when separating critique from prejudice is essential to justice for all.
theconversation.com
October 26, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Depending on how "Zionism" is defined, the percentage of US Jews identifying as Zionist ranges all the way from 10% to 72%
theconversation.com/the-conflati...
theconversation.com/the-conflati...
Court finds Title VI does not require schools to quash protests:
“By gathering together in groups on campus, disrupting campus tranquility, and impeding travel for many students, the protestors did not render their speech antisemitic, much less unprotected”
www.courthousenews.com/first-circui...
“By gathering together in groups on campus, disrupting campus tranquility, and impeding travel for many students, the protestors did not render their speech antisemitic, much less unprotected”
www.courthousenews.com/first-circui...
First Circuit ends Jewish students’ lawsuit over Gaza protests at MIT
The appeals panel found that students’ accusations “do not plausibly rise to the level of actionable harassment” required for the discrimination claim.
www.courthousenews.com
October 26, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Court finds Title VI does not require schools to quash protests:
“By gathering together in groups on campus, disrupting campus tranquility, and impeding travel for many students, the protestors did not render their speech antisemitic, much less unprotected”
www.courthousenews.com/first-circui...
“By gathering together in groups on campus, disrupting campus tranquility, and impeding travel for many students, the protestors did not render their speech antisemitic, much less unprotected”
www.courthousenews.com/first-circui...
The MA Commission on Combating Antisemitism, in their invited testimony and k12 recommendations, have promoted a one-sided narrative in which antisemitism equates to criticism of Israel.
Add your signature to tell MA leaders to stop weaponizing our identity: actionnetwork.org/petitions/ma...
Add your signature to tell MA leaders to stop weaponizing our identity: actionnetwork.org/petitions/ma...
Massachusetts Jews Say Stop Weaponizing Our Identity
We are Massachusetts Jews who want to see an equitable and effective approach to addressing antisemitism in our state. Regardless of our views on Zionism, Israel, and how to define antisemitism, we ar...
actionnetwork.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:51 PM
The MA Commission on Combating Antisemitism, in their invited testimony and k12 recommendations, have promoted a one-sided narrative in which antisemitism equates to criticism of Israel.
Add your signature to tell MA leaders to stop weaponizing our identity: actionnetwork.org/petitions/ma...
Add your signature to tell MA leaders to stop weaponizing our identity: actionnetwork.org/petitions/ma...
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
“Project Esther was not a strategy for fighting antisemitism,” Jonathan Jacoby, the Nexus Project’s president, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an interview. “Project Esther is the Heritage Foundation’s tool for implementing Project 2025.”
Project Esther has shaped Trump's antisemitism strategy. The Shofar Report is a liberal Jewish response. - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Nexus Project argues that liberal democracies are key to fighting antisemitism.
www.jta.org
October 17, 2025 at 9:58 PM
“Project Esther was not a strategy for fighting antisemitism,” Jonathan Jacoby, the Nexus Project’s president, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an interview. “Project Esther is the Heritage Foundation’s tool for implementing Project 2025.”
Urgently needed--A blueprint by the @nexusproject.bsky.social to combat the weaponization of antisemtism.
"For Nexus, democracy and Jewish safety are inseparable, and protecting democracy is a foundational strategy for combating antisemitism."
"For Nexus, democracy and Jewish safety are inseparable, and protecting democracy is a foundational strategy for combating antisemitism."
This just in: Today, we’re releasing our response to the weaponization of antisemitism by the Trump administration and Project Esther.
The Shofar Report is a new blueprint for combating antisemitism while defending democracy.
The Shofar Report is a new blueprint for combating antisemitism while defending democracy.
Project Esther created a blueprint for Trump to fight antisemitism. The ‘Shofar Report’ is a liberal response.
Sign up for Antisemitism Decoded, the Forward’s guide through the news and noise about Jewish safety, brought to you biweekly by investigative journalist Arno Rosenfeld.Most American Jews have taken a...
forward.com
October 18, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Urgently needed--A blueprint by the @nexusproject.bsky.social to combat the weaponization of antisemtism.
"For Nexus, democracy and Jewish safety are inseparable, and protecting democracy is a foundational strategy for combating antisemitism."
"For Nexus, democracy and Jewish safety are inseparable, and protecting democracy is a foundational strategy for combating antisemitism."
At Indiana University, the director of Jewish Studies is axed with no due process by the right-wing chancellor.
Apparently, "fighting antisemitism" means getting rid of the "wrong" kind of Jews and replacing them with the "right" kind.
www.idsnews.com/article/2025...
Apparently, "fighting antisemitism" means getting rid of the "wrong" kind of Jews and replacing them with the "right" kind.
www.idsnews.com/article/2025...
Jewish Studies director replacement ‘unprecedented,’ students and faculty say
Dean Rick Van Kooten later held a nomination process one faculty member called “symbolic.”
www.idsnews.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:53 PM
At Indiana University, the director of Jewish Studies is axed with no due process by the right-wing chancellor.
Apparently, "fighting antisemitism" means getting rid of the "wrong" kind of Jews and replacing them with the "right" kind.
www.idsnews.com/article/2025...
Apparently, "fighting antisemitism" means getting rid of the "wrong" kind of Jews and replacing them with the "right" kind.
www.idsnews.com/article/2025...
State Senator John Velis, as co-chair of the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism, has been one of the main forces pushing schools throughout MA to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
Constituents are starting to speak back about this: sites.google.com/view/shame-o...
Constituents are starting to speak back about this: sites.google.com/view/shame-o...
Shame On Velis
State Senator John Velis co-chairs the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism. And while combating antisemitism sounds like a good idea, Velis and his colleagues are trying to use ...
sites.google.com
October 8, 2025 at 3:41 PM
State Senator John Velis, as co-chair of the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism, has been one of the main forces pushing schools throughout MA to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
Constituents are starting to speak back about this: sites.google.com/view/shame-o...
Constituents are starting to speak back about this: sites.google.com/view/shame-o...
Harvard's Shaul Magid on how the past two years have changed Jews' relationship to Zionism
www.theguardian.com/world/commen...
www.theguardian.com/world/commen...
The Zionist consensus among US Jews has collapsed. Something new is emerging | Shaul Magid
Two years after the 7 October massacre and the onset of Israel’s slaughter in Gaza, American Jewry has been profoundly transformed
www.theguardian.com
October 7, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Harvard's Shaul Magid on how the past two years have changed Jews' relationship to Zionism
www.theguardian.com/world/commen...
www.theguardian.com/world/commen...
We mourn the lives cut short on Oct 7 2023, and every day since then, in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and beyond. May the memories of them all inspire us to work for a just peace.
October 7, 2025 at 2:35 PM
We mourn the lives cut short on Oct 7 2023, and every day since then, in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and beyond. May the memories of them all inspire us to work for a just peace.
How to address antisemitism allegations in k12 schools in a way that is constructive rather than punitive?
CJFS member Hilary Lustick of UMass Lowell lays out a hypothetical scenario in her testimony to the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism
CJFS member Hilary Lustick of UMass Lowell lays out a hypothetical scenario in her testimony to the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism
October 6, 2025 at 6:34 PM
How to address antisemitism allegations in k12 schools in a way that is constructive rather than punitive?
CJFS member Hilary Lustick of UMass Lowell lays out a hypothetical scenario in her testimony to the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism
CJFS member Hilary Lustick of UMass Lowell lays out a hypothetical scenario in her testimony to the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism
Standing by Our Colleagues in Gaza — A Plea to the U.S. Medical Community
coauthored by CJFS member Akiva Liebowitz
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
coauthored by CJFS member Akiva Liebowitz
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Standing by Our Colleagues in Gaza — A Plea to the U.S. Medical Community | NEJM
In the face of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza’s health system and the catastrophic famine caused by the devastation, U.S. physicians have an ethical obligation to respond and support immediate ch...
www.nejm.org
October 6, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Standing by Our Colleagues in Gaza — A Plea to the U.S. Medical Community
coauthored by CJFS member Akiva Liebowitz
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
coauthored by CJFS member Akiva Liebowitz
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
I was told not to teach a class on the intellectual histories of Zionism and Anti-Zionism next year - not because they doubted I could teach it fairly, but because it would attract too many politicians scrutinizing the syllabus.
A society where that is a valid fear is no longer fully democratic.
A society where that is a valid fear is no longer fully democratic.
October 5, 2025 at 7:15 PM
I was told not to teach a class on the intellectual histories of Zionism and Anti-Zionism next year - not because they doubted I could teach it fairly, but because it would attract too many politicians scrutinizing the syllabus.
A society where that is a valid fear is no longer fully democratic.
A society where that is a valid fear is no longer fully democratic.
Jeremy Burton, CEO of JCRC and member of MA Antisemitism Commission, is misrepresenting public testimony to the Commission.
He dismisses the >75% of testimony that was critical of their reliance on IHRA definition as "some used the space to air political grievances"
He dismisses the >75% of testimony that was critical of their reliance on IHRA definition as "some used the space to air political grievances"
October 5, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Jeremy Burton, CEO of JCRC and member of MA Antisemitism Commission, is misrepresenting public testimony to the Commission.
He dismisses the >75% of testimony that was critical of their reliance on IHRA definition as "some used the space to air political grievances"
He dismisses the >75% of testimony that was critical of their reliance on IHRA definition as "some used the space to air political grievances"
How the ADL's attempted alliance with the US far-right backfired, and what it means for all of us.
By @culturejamming.bsky.social
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
By @culturejamming.bsky.social
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
Yes, the ADL is a ‘political front masquerading as a watchdog’
And for the past two years, it has played well the ‘arsonist and the fireman’ scam.
www.aljazeera.com
October 5, 2025 at 5:52 PM
How the ADL's attempted alliance with the US far-right backfired, and what it means for all of us.
By @culturejamming.bsky.social
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
By @culturejamming.bsky.social
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
There’s lots of folks in Massachusetts who think they’re too smart to fall for propaganda. And unfortunately I must say that if you’re not seeing this issue of Christian nationalists pushing Israeli government propaganda as something they’re falling for right now.
October 4, 2025 at 1:33 PM
There’s lots of folks in Massachusetts who think they’re too smart to fall for propaganda. And unfortunately I must say that if you’re not seeing this issue of Christian nationalists pushing Israeli government propaganda as something they’re falling for right now.
Reposted by Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
"Blue" state Massachusetts is using a stacked "antisemitism" commission to join the Trump administration in suppressing criticism of Israel and its genocide and ethnic cleansing. Governor Healey should be ashamed.
jewishjournal.org/2025/10/03/p...
jewishjournal.org/2025/10/03/p...
Public commenters overwhelmingly reject antisemitism commission's findings and composition - Jewish Journal
BOSTON – Dozens of Jews and several legislators offered some suggestions for – but mostly criticisms of – the work of the state’s Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism at its public comment ses...
jewishjournal.org
October 4, 2025 at 1:14 PM
"Blue" state Massachusetts is using a stacked "antisemitism" commission to join the Trump administration in suppressing criticism of Israel and its genocide and ethnic cleansing. Governor Healey should be ashamed.
jewishjournal.org/2025/10/03/p...
jewishjournal.org/2025/10/03/p...
On September 8, CJFS members testified to the MA Special Commission on how to combat antisemitism without enabling the Trump administration's attacks on free speech and education.
See our testimony here: www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/video-testim...
See our testimony here: www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/video-testim...
Video Testimony | Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff
www.concernedjewishfaculty.org
October 4, 2025 at 1:59 PM
On September 8, CJFS members testified to the MA Special Commission on how to combat antisemitism without enabling the Trump administration's attacks on free speech and education.
See our testimony here: www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/video-testim...
See our testimony here: www.concernedjewishfaculty.org/video-testim...
The public showed up to overwhelmingly reject the MA Special Commission's IHRA-based recommendations for combating antisemitism in k12 schools.
Will they listen?
jewishjournal.org/2025/10/03/p...
Will they listen?
jewishjournal.org/2025/10/03/p...
Public commenters overwhelmingly reject antisemitism commission's findings and composition - Jewish Journal
BOSTON – Dozens of Jews and several legislators offered some suggestions for – but mostly criticisms of – the work of the state’s Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism at its public comment ses...
jewishjournal.org
October 4, 2025 at 1:04 PM
The public showed up to overwhelmingly reject the MA Special Commission's IHRA-based recommendations for combating antisemitism in k12 schools.
Will they listen?
jewishjournal.org/2025/10/03/p...
Will they listen?
jewishjournal.org/2025/10/03/p...
Anna Feder, fired from Emerson College for screening @israelismfilm.com , launches a "Faculty on the
Front Lines" series with @aaup.org documenting violations of academic freedom against educators who speak out on issues of social justice academicfreedomontheline.substack.com/p/a-new-proj...
Front Lines" series with @aaup.org documenting violations of academic freedom against educators who speak out on issues of social justice academicfreedomontheline.substack.com/p/a-new-proj...
A New Project Exploring Attacks on Academic Freedom
Faculty on the Front Lines: AAUP Members Share Stories of Repression and Resistance
academicfreedomontheline.substack.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Anna Feder, fired from Emerson College for screening @israelismfilm.com , launches a "Faculty on the
Front Lines" series with @aaup.org documenting violations of academic freedom against educators who speak out on issues of social justice academicfreedomontheline.substack.com/p/a-new-proj...
Front Lines" series with @aaup.org documenting violations of academic freedom against educators who speak out on issues of social justice academicfreedomontheline.substack.com/p/a-new-proj...