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Fighting Hate + BDS at Amazon, RTX (Iron Dome) and Meta
Now that the 2024 ‘proxy season’ of corporate shareholder meetings has come to a close, we would like to recap three successful campaigns that ADL affiliate JLens ran to combat anti-Israel shareholder proposals and to address critical issues of online hate speech and cyberbullying.
At Amazon, a shareholder proposal defamed Israel as an apartheid state. After our activity, including outreach to most of Amazon’s largest shareholders, the resolution received just 16% of the vote, which is less than half of what a similar BDS proposal garnered last year.
Another anti-Israel shareholder proposal appeared on the ballot of RTX Corporation, the maker of Israel’s Iron Dome system, which has been crucial in defending civilians. JLens urged investors to vote against the anti-Israel proposal. The vote was particularly low, 5.48%.
We also urged Meta shareholders to provide greater transparency and address hate speech, cyberbullying and other issues related to protecting kids on its platforms. The proposal got more than 59% of votes not controlled by Mark Zuckerberg, enough to signal to Meta leadership that shareholders care deeply about this issue.
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| National SJP “Day of Resistance” image.
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SJP Deep Dive: Actions, Funding and Organization:
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) campus chapters have played an outsized role in the anti-Zionist campus upheaval and encampments since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, which SJP has justified and glorified. Some SJP chapters have shared pro-terror content and engaged in antisemitic rhetoric. As students head back to school, learn more about this group, which has vowed to “seize” college and university campuses until they divest from Israel. Read our report on SJP and its work.
The Hazards of BDS for University Endowment Leadership:
As universities are pressed by anti-Israel protesters, we release talking points from ADL affiliate JLens that explain the implications, risks and academic impact that schools face if they bow to pressure to divest from Israel, as well as the message this would send to Jewish alumni and students and other people for whom a connection to Israel is core to their identity. Read the talking points here for ways to talk to your university.
Questions for the Guy Who Wrote the Book (Literally) on Hamas: In the latest episode of the extremely
podcast, author and leading expert Matthew Levitt dives into the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Then, ADL’s James Pasch explores our groundbreaking lawsuit against Iran, Syria and North Korea for their roles in the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel. Here’s how to listen to extremely podcast episodes.
WEBINAR: Fostering Allyship for Jewish Students and Inclusive Classrooms: In this ADL webinar for educators, parents and the entire K-12 school community, learn practical strategies and scenarios to address antisemitism and all forms of hate and bias.
Register now for this essential discussion of how to cultivate a compassionate school community.
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Columbia. Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced her resignation yesterday, becoming the fourth Ivy League leader to step down in the last year amid the surge in antisemitism and anti-Israel activism. As ADL noted “We are saddened that
the leadership of another flagship university has crumbled under the weight of antisemitism on its campus. Columbia must act quickly to fill this leadership vacuum to ensure a safe and welcoming learning community for all students — including Jewish students.” ADL will be reaching out ASAP to the Interim President, Katrina Armstrong, about improving the campus climate.
UCLA. Judge Mark C. Scarsi found that “Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith.
This fact is so unimaginable and so abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.” Judge Scarsi wrote this stinging rebuke to the University of California, Los Angeles as he issued a preliminary injunction against the University in a case brought by a trio of Jewish UCLA students who filed the complaint against the school after the anti-Israel encampments and other protests during the last school year. This may set a key precedent for protecting Jewish students.
Backing Down on Boycotts. During the second intifada (in 2005) the American Association of University Professors
said that academic boycotts “strike directly at the free exchange of ideas.” Now, in a new statement that doesn’t mention calls by anti-Israel protesters for academic boycotts but comes at a time that doesn’t feel coincidental, the group has had a change of heart and is taking a position that legitimizes boycotts.
If you are concerned about the ongoing antisemitism crisis on our college campuses, and don't yet get ADL’s Campus Crisis alert, please click here to subscribe.
New bi-weekly editions will arrive in your inboxes next week and we will return daily after Labor Day. Stay informed about the latest news affecting students on campus and have ways to take action and make your voice heard.
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Make your voice heard! Tell your Member of Congress to take action to fight this historic level of antisemitism. As soon as Congress returns from its break, we need your Member of Congress to vote for the bipartisan Countering Antisemitism Act. Click here to join ADL in calling for this important legislation.
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