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Stanford University Committee Releases Report on ‘Widespread and Pervasive’ Campus Antisemitism

Students are seen at an anti-Israel protest encampment at Stanford University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Stanford, California, US, April 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Stanford University in California has found itself embroiled in controversy after a university-commissioned task force revealed widespread antisemitism on campus following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. 

The Subcommittee on Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias published a 148-page report on Thursday detailing a toxic environment for Jewish and Israeli students at the elite university. The 12-member committee argued that Jewish and Israeli students at Stanford have endured exclusion and harassment on the Palo Alto campus since October. 

Some of this bias is expressed in overt and occasionally shocking ways,” the report read, “but often it is wrapped in layers of subtlety and implication, one or two steps away from blatant hate speech.”

In several instances, the degree of antisemitism was so overwhelming that Jewish students decided to leave their residence halls. The report found that some Stanford Jews had their mezuzahs — small parchment scrolls containing Hebrew verses from the Torah that members of the Jewish community fix to their doorposts — ripped down from their doors. Others claimed to find swastikas scribbled on their doors.

Jewish students also reported having their residences vandalized with the phrases “Free Palestine” or “F—k Zionism.” In some cases, residential assistants (RAs) posted virulently antisemitic and anti-Israel content on their social media pages, fostering a “culture of fear and suppression” for Jewish students, according to the report. Some RAs have gone as far as to encourage students to participate in anti-Israel protests and encampments on campus. 

Stanford faculty and staff have sounded alarms over the allegedly rampant and unchecked antisemitic rhetoric and behaviors on campus. Though Stanford faculty have overwhelmingly expressed support for the free speech rights of anti-Israel protesters, many have lamented the ease with which some Stanford community members spew viciously antisemitic rhetoric on campus. One faculty member alleged in the report that a Stanford professor uses the word “Zionist” as a euphemism for Israelis, an act he claims should constitute “hate speech.”

Israeli and Jewish faculty also reported a sense of “alienation” at the university in the months following Oct. 7. An unnamed Israeli professor stated that none of his colleagues reached out to share condolences after the Hamas terrorist attacks, in which 1,200 people were murdered and over 250 taken hostage during the Palestinian terrorist group’s rampage through southern Israel. The same professor said that the unchecked pro-Hamas demonstrations on campus have left Jews and Israelis feeling rattled and unsafe. 

I was happy living here before Oct. 7. I knew there were antisemites and there were people who hated Israel, but it was striking how there were banners celebrating Oct. 7 on campus,” an unnamed faculty member stated. 

For several weeks beginning in April, anti-Israel activists erected a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus, refusing to leave unless the school condemned and boycotted the Jewish state. While the school declined to negotiate terms with the demonstrators, Jewish Stanford faculty assert that the university’s administration has been “cowardly” in its response to the antisemitic campus climate. 

“The university’s silence suggests that Jews don’t count; the university leadership is cowardly,” an unnamed Stanford faculty member explained. “The university should take a stand, articulate its values, and enforce them in a consistent manner regardless of who it’s about”

The report detailed many complaints about the structure of Stanford’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. University affiliates lamented that Jews have been mostly excluded from these initiatives, arguing that Jewish and Israeli students and faculty are among the most marginalized on campus. The committee suggested that Stanford consider removing DEI programs, insisting that they “tend to propagate oversimplified histories and promulgate ideologies about social justice without subjecting them to the critical inquiry that is a core aspect of a university education.”

Matthew Wigler, co-president of the Stanford Jewish Law Students Association, said that antisemitism was “already a deeply rooted problem” on campus for years prior to Oct. 7. 

“I will never forget how during my first year at Stanford in Spring 2016, when a coalition of Jewish student groups tried to address the toxic antisemitism of the time with a student government resolution, a student senator dismissed the issue and suggested Jews control the media, government, and economy,” Wigler told The Algemeiner

Wigler explained that antisemitism has become much more “widespread and pervasive” on campus following the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

“Now, eight years later, in 2024, when Stanford Jewish students gathered to address antisemitism at a town hall in the same place, we had other students yelling at us outside the event to ‘Go back to Brooklyn!’ while simultaneously shouting that antisemitism isn’t real and we need to stop ‘playing the victim,’” Wigler added. 

Stanford President Richard Saller assembled the Subcommittee on Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias in November amid backlash over widespread anti-Jewish incidents on campus. Less than a week removed from the Oct. 7 attacks, a Stanford teacher reportedly forced Jewish students to stand in a corner and told them the action was analogical to the Palestinian experience. Stanford sophomore Theo Baker published a long-form piece in The Atlantic alleging that several campus parties forced students to say “F—k Israel” or “Free Palestine” to gain entry. 

However, Stanford has recently taken more forceful action to quell antisemitism on campus. Several anti-Zionist protesters were handed felony burglary charges earlier this month for occupying Saller’s office and refusing to leave. Stanford announced that the demonstrators would be  immediately suspended and, if any were seniors, barred from graduating and receiving their degrees.

The post Stanford University Committee Releases Report on ‘Widespread and Pervasive’ Campus Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Netflix Premieres Adult Animated Comedy Series About Jewish Family

A scene from “Long Story Short.” Photo: Screenshot

Netflix premiered on Friday an adult animated comedy series from “BoJack Horseman” creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg that follows a Jewish family over the course of several decades.

“Long Story Short” revolves around Naomi Schwartz (Lisa Edelstein), Elliot Cooper (Paul Reiser), and their three children – Avi (Ben Feldman), Shira (Abbi Jacobson), and Yoshi (Max Greenfield). The series jumps between time, and viewers follow the Schwooper siblings “from childhood to adulthood and back again, chronicling their triumphs, disappointments, joys, and compromises,” according to a synopsis provided by Netflix.

The extended cast includes Nicole Byer as Shira’s partner and Angelique Cabral. Dave Franco and Michaela Dietz are recurring guest stars. The first episode starts in 1996 and focuses on Avi bringing his girlfriend home to meet his family the same weekend as Yoshi’s bar mitzvah celebration. The episode also addresses Jewish-related topics such as the laws of kosher and the Holocaust.

“I think the show in some ways is about Jewish joy, and I think a lot of Jews will enjoy having a place for the Jews, and I think a lot of antisemites might learn a thing or two,” Bob-Waksberg told Variety on Monday at the show’s premiere at the Tudum Theater in Hollywood, California.

“Long Story Short” – which is Bob-Waksberg’s fourth animated show (“BoJack Horseman,” “Undone,” and “Tuca & Bertie”) and his third with Netflix – was renewed for a second season ahead of its season one premiere. The showrunner told The Hollywood Reporter that “Long Story Short” is “absolutely the most explicitly Jewish thing by a wide margin.”

The show is already facing antisemitic criticism.

“We’ve never not had antisemitism,” he told Variety. “The harassment is already there. I don’t think there’s a Jew in Hollywood, a public, a visible person that doesn’t get constantly harassed on Instagram all day long. An article came out this morning, it was a profile of the show, and I stupidly skimmed the first few comments and they were all … just nothing I want to repeat. But it’s just a buzzkill.”

“People are going to want to talk about the greater global geopolitical issues that are happening around this show, but this show is not about that,” he added.

“Long Story Short” is also from “Samurai Jack” creator Genndy Tartakovsky and “Rick and Morty” writer Matt Roller. Bob-Waksberg is an executive producer alongside Noel Bright and Steven A. Cohen. Corey Campodonico and Alex Bulkley are co-executive producers.

Watch the trailer for “Long Story Short” below.



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Iran, European Powers Agree to Resume Nuclear, Sanctions Talks Next Week

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and his French, British, and German counterparts agreed on Friday to resume talks next week on nuclear and sanctions issues, Iranian state media reported.

The three major European powers have threatened to re-activate United Nations sanctions on Iran under a “snapback” mechanism if Tehran does not return to negotiations on a deal to curb its disputed uranium enrichment program.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul confirmed talks next week and warned Iran that sanctions would snap back into effect unless it reached a verifiable and durable deal to defuse concerns about its nuclear ambitions. He reiterated that time was very short and Iran needed to engage substantively.

Iranian state media said Araqchi and the British, French, and German foreign ministers agreed during a phone call for deputy foreign ministers to continue the talks on Tuesday.

During the call, Araqchi “emphasized the legal and moral incompetence of these countries to resort to the [snapback] mechanism, and warned of the consequences of such an action,” Iranian media reported.

The European trio, along with the US, contend that Iran is using the nuclear energy program to potentially develop weapons capability in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran says it seeks only civilian nuclear power.

The Islamic Republic suspended nuclear negotiations with the United States, which were aimed at curbing its accelerating enrichment program, after the US and Israel bombed its nuclear sites during a 12-day war in June.

Since then, inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, have been unable to access Iran‘s nuclear installations, despite IAEA chief Rafael Grossi stating that inspections remain essential.

Iran and the three European powers last convened in Geneva on June 20, while the war was still raging, and there were few signs of progress.

Iran‘s state broadcaster said an Iranian delegation was due to travel to Vienna on Friday to meet with IAEA officials. It gave no further details.

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German Government Calls Recognition of Palestinian State ‘Counterproductive’

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a joint press conference with Finnish Prime Minister in Turku, Finland, on May 27, 2025. Photo: Lehtikuva/Roni Rekomaa via REUTERS

A German government spokesman said on Friday that Berlin has no current plans to recognize a Palestinian state because that would undermine any efforts to reach a negotiated two-state solution with Israel.

“A negotiated two-state solution remains our goal, even if it seems a long way off today … The recognition of Palestine is more likely to come at the end of such a process, and such decisions would now be rather counterproductive,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.

Countries including Australia, United Kingdom, France, and Canada have recently said they would recognize a Palestinian state under different conditions.

Israel has responded that such recognition would be a “reward” for terrorism following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel. During the ensuing war in Gaza, Hamas has embedded its weapons and military operation centers among civilian sites, a strategy that critics have decried as employing the use of “human shields” against Israel.

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