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U.S. education department opens antisemitism investigation at UC Berkeley, where pro-Israel advocates alleged ‘Jew-free zones’
(JTA) – For months, prominent pro-Israel and right-wing groups have pushed the narrative that the University of California-Berkeley’s law school is permitting antisemitism among its students.
Now the federal government is weighing in, as the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights says it will investigate claims that the school hasn’t done enough to protect its Jewish students — in a similar manner to the department’s investigations at other universities where watchdogs have raised alarm about campus debates over Israel.
In a letter, the department said this week it was opening an investigation into “whether the University failed to respond appropriately in the fall 2022 semester to notice from Jewish law students, faculty, and staff that they experienced a hostile environment at the law school based on their shared Jewish ancestry.”
The department emphasized that its investigation does not mean that the complaint has merit, only that it falls under the office’s purview.
The complaint, brought by the Israel-based legal group International Legal Forum and the Miami-based law firm LSN Law P.A., stems from a bylaw passed by a handful of pro-Palestinian law student groups in August. The bylaw stated that the groups would pledge not to invite to campus “speakers that have expressed and continued to hold views … in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.”
Even as the law school’s Jewish dean and various other members of the faculty condemned the bylaw, it became a rallying cry among pro-Israel groups after Kenneth Marcus, a Berkeley Law alum and founder of the pro-Israel legal group Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, alleged in an op-ed that the school had created “Jew-free zones.” The Brandeis Center has brought several other antisemitism complaints against universities for allegedly discriminating against Zionist students.
The op-ed led to increased criticism of Berkeley from sources ranging from Barbra Streisand and Israeli antisemitism envoy Noa Tishby to the antisemitism watchdog group JewBelong, even as Berkeley’s Jewish faculty insisted that school does not have “Jew-free zones.” Outside attention included a right-wing group driving a truck emblazoned with an image of Adolf Hitler through campus, in a move that was condemned by the Anti-Defamation League.
“We initiated this claim because we said ‘enough is enough’ and decided that we must stand up for the Jewish students at UC Berkeley, who have been facing an unprecedent[ed] wave of discrimination and antisemitism on campus,” International Legal Forum CEO Arsen Ostrovsky and LSN Law partner Gabriel Groisman said in a joint statement celebrating the investigation. The groups have said they hope to compel the university to either invalidate the students’ bylaws or end funding and hosting for “organizations that engage in such blatant discriminatory conduct.”
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has reached out to Berkeley Law for comment.
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The post U.S. education department opens antisemitism investigation at UC Berkeley, where pro-Israel advocates alleged ‘Jew-free zones’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Jailed Iranian Peace Laureate Mohammadi Moved to Hospital in Tehran
A picture of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi on the wall of the Grand Hotel in central Oslo before the Nobel banquet, in connection with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize 2023, in Oslo, Norway, Dec. 10, 2023. Photo: NTB/Javad Parsa via REUTERS
Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been moved to a hospital in the capital, Tehran, and has been granted a suspension of her sentence on heavy bail, a foundation run by her family said on Sunday.
Mohammadi, 54, won the prize in 2023 while in prison for a campaign to advance women’s rights and abolish the death penalty. She suffered a heart attack two weeks ago.
Her family had called for her to be transferred from Zanjan, northwest of Tehran, where she was serving her sentence and where she had been initially taken to a hospital, so that she could receive better medical care.
She is now at Tehran Pars Hospital for treatment by her own medical team after being transferred by ambulance, the Narges Mohammadi Foundation said in a statement.
Mohammadi was sentenced to a new prison term of 7-1/2 years, the foundation said in February, weeks before the US and Israel launched their war against Iran. The Nobel committee at the time called on Tehran to free her immediately.
She had been arrested in December after denouncing the death of a lawyer, Khosrow Alikordi. A prosecutor told reporters that she had made provocative remarks at Alikordi’s memorial ceremony.
The foundation gave no details of the bail arrangements or suspension of her sentence.
“However, a suspension is not enough,” it said. “Narges Mohammadi requires permanent, specialized care. We must ensure she never returns to prison.”
Iran shut down most of the internet in the country in January as authorities suppressed mass protests triggered by economic unease. Rights groups have reported ongoing executions of people involved in the unrest.
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Israel’s Attorney General Calls to Cancel Netanyahu’s Mossad Chief Appointment
Israeli Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara. Photo: Twitter
i24 News – Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara told the High Court of Justice on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to appoint Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman as the next Mossad chief must be canceled.
Baharav-Miara filed her position ahead of a Tuesday hearing on petitions challenging the appointment, telling the court that “substantial flaws” had been found both in the process conducted by the advisory committee and in the conclusions it drew. She said Netanyahu’s decision suffered from “extreme and blatant unreasonableness” and could not stand legally.
At the center of the dispute is the case of Ori Elmakayes, who was a 17-year-old minor when he was activated in 2022 by Division 210, without going through authorized intelligence channels. At the time, the division was commanded by Gofman. Elmakayes was arrested in May 2022 under espionage charges after two officers sent him classified information and told him to post it online as part of an “influence campaign,” despite not being authorized to do so. Gofman initiated this operation. Elmakayes was then held in full detention until July, spending an extended period under electronic monitoring and house arrest before the indictment against him was canceled in late 2023.
Baharav-Miara says Gofman’s involvement in leaking the classified information to the minor, “casts a heavy shadow on Gofman’s integrity and thus on his appointment to head the Mossad.” The attorney general also identified serious procedural failings in the advisory committee’s work. She notes that the majority members signed their opinion before committee chairman and former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis had written his dissent and before two members had reviewed several classified documents significant to the full picture. Grunis concluded that integrity flaws had been found and that it was not appropriate to appoint Gofman as Mossad chief.
The attorney general also says the committee failed to hear directly from Elmakayes or from a relevant senior military intelligence officer, instead relying in part on media interviews.
Netanyahu, who appointed Gofman to head the Mossad starting in early June, for a five-year term, submitted his own response to the court on this past Friday, arguing that the decision fell within his executive authority. The Prime Minister also said that his assessment of the matter was “dozens of times superior” to that of the court, adding that Gofman’s integrity was “found pure,” and describing him as the most qualified candidate.
Other coalition figures responded to the attorney general with sharp criticism, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir accused Baharav-Miara of fighting the state, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said her position was “one step too far” and vowed to advance legislation splitting the attorney general’s role in the Knesset’s summer session.
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Kuwait’s Army Says It Has Intercepted Hostile Drones Over Airspace
A drone is seen at an underground site at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on May 28, 2022. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Kuwait’s army said it had detected and dealt with several hostile drones in the country’s airspace at dawn on Sunday, the latest incident following similar cross‑border drone activity linked to the Iran conflict.
On April 25, Kuwait’s army said two drones launched from Iraq had targeted two northern border posts, causing damage.
Its air defenses also dealt with a wave of Iranian drones on April 8 that targeted vital infrastructure.
While hostilities during the conflict have largely been scaled down since a ceasefire came into effect in April, drones have been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.