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Jews in the D
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based on who they are, in air
travel or anywhere else,” Ryberg
said.
ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS
AT SAN FRANCISCO
STATE UNIVERSITY
The other lawsuit was against
San Francisco State University
(SFSU), an institution which
has had problems with
anti-Semitism for the past 30
years that hit an all-time high
when anti-Israel student pro-
testors disrupted a public event
featuring former Jerusalem
Mayor Nir Barkat. They were
yelling so loudly the event even-
tually had to be shut down, and
the school administration did
nothing to stop it.
“We learned there were cam-
pus police and administrators
on the scene, and the standard
practice was for the campus
police to remove the disruptors
and inform them they could
protest in a specified area that
would allow them to express
themselves without inhibiting
Barkat from conveying his mes-
sage to the audience,” Ryberg
explained. “However, it was
revealed that administration
broke from that protocol and
told the police to just let it
happen.”
Another anti-Semitic instance
at this university was when
Hillel — the only recognized
student organization at SFSU
that represents all Jewish stu-
dents as Jews, regardless of
political viewpoints or other
considerations — was excluded
from participating in a “Know
Your Rights” fair on campus
on the basis of Hillel’
s Zionist
viewpoint, a decision that was
sanctioned by high-ranking uni-
versity officials.
“I find a lot of people,
including a lot of Jews who
support Israel, really don’
t know
that Zionism is the belief in
Jewish self-determination,”
Ryberg said. “It’
s a Jewish civil
rights movement, the belief that
Jews deserve a homeland, and is
a core component of the Jewish
religion. That’
s widely misun-
derstood.”
With the pro bono help
of the law firm Winston and
Strawn LLP
, the case finally
reached a settlement in March
2019 after three years of tireless
work.
“The settlement is important
because it requires the entire
California State University
(CSU) system to publicly
acknowledge that Zionism is an
integral part of Jewish identity.
It is not merely a political view-
point for which students can be
excluded from participating in
campus activities,” Ryberg said.
“On top of that, the settlement
also requires SFSU to hire a
coordinator of Jewish student
life and to retain an indepen-
dent external consultant to
continuously review the school’
s
procedures for reinforcement of
the CSU system’
s anti-discrimi-
nation policies.”
In addition, the school is now
obligated to allocate $200,000
to support educational outreach
efforts to promote viewpoint
diversity.
ROI SUMMIT
Ryberg was accepted to partici-
pate in the annual ROI Summit
that took place in Jerusalem in
June. The ROI Summit gathers
150 Jewish changemakers from
around the world so they can
network, learn from one anoth-
er and share their stories. These
changemakers work in different
fields, including climate change,
world health issues, issues of
discrimination both in the
Jewish community and outside
of it, and technology.
“The common thread was
this tangible level of passion
and motivation to changing the
world in critical, strategically
identified ways,” Ryberg said.
“It was fascinating to learn what
all these people were doing, to
discuss how we could help one
another and collaborate in var-
ious ways. I was also honored
to be chosen to lead a peer-led
session to educate fellow ROI
attendees on their legal rights to
hold demonstrations.”
Ryberg left the conference
with a pool of new friends and
a strengthened sense of connec-
tion with the young professional
Jewish community.
“A core goal of ROI, as I see
it, is not just to have you show
up for a few days and then go
on your way, but rather to be
part of this global community
forever. I am beyond grateful for
the experience.”
GETTING INVOLVED
There are a few ways to get
involved with the Lawfare
Project.
If you’
re an attorney (no mat-
ter where you live), you can sign
up to be a part of the network
of attorneys. Non-attorneys
can learn more by going to the
Lawfare Project’
s website, host-
ing attorneys for educational
presentations or donating funds.
“It is incumbent upon the
Jewish people to demand and
ensure that our civil and human
rights be upheld, and that we be
treated equally under the law.
No one else is going to do it for
us,” Ryberg said.
Learn more at thelawfareproject.org.
Ryberg appeared on i24 News regarding the Kuwait Airways lawsuit.
Ryberg spoke at the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs’
Global Coalition
for Israel Conference.
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