APRIL 22 • 2021 | 17
J
ewish students at Michigan State are
estimated to number between 3,000
and 3,500. During the past several
years, a number of antisemitic incidents
have occurred — threatening phone mes-
sages, a defaced mezuzah and a swastika
painted in front of a fraternity house. In
addition, Hillel’s sukkah was damaged and
Jewish students have experienced some
casual antisemitic remarks. While these
were not considered major problems, Jewish
student leaders thought that being proactive
by defining antisemitism would be helpful.
Maddi Jackson, MSU Hillel’s director
of Israel Education and Programming,
explains that MSU has a broad anti-dis-
crimination policy. However, without a
clear official definition of antisemitism, she
thinks that some incidents on campus prob-
ably go unreported.
The Jewish Student Union decided to
propose adoption of the International
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA)
“working definition” of antisemitism,
which has been approved by 30 countries
and many universities. While approved by
many entities, it has generated criticism for
allegedly focusing too much on anti-Israel
actions rather than white supremacists,
who some contend pose a more immediate
threat to American Jews.
Jordan Robinson, 20, an undergraduate
from West Bloomfield, is the Jewish Student
Union representative to MSU’s student
governing body — Associated Students of
Michigan State University (ASMSU). The
antisemitism proposal (see excerpt on this
page) was submitted to ASMSU’s Policy
Committee, which passed it by a voice vote
and sent it on the full governing body. The
proposed definition was approved as a reso-
lution by 81 percent of members on March
18, 2021, and was scheduled to be signed.
However, Jewish student leaders were
soon told that some student government
representatives claimed that they hadn’t
had time to read it. According to Jules Levy,
MSU’s Jewish Student Union president,
Students United for Palestinian
Rights (SUPR) at MSU post-
ed a statement on Instagram
opposing the proposal. This
was posted and reposted
online, reports Levy, a 21-year-
old senior from New Jersey.
MISINFORMATION SPREAD
According to Jackson, several student
organizations, including SUPR and the
Black Students Alliance, started spreading
misinformation about the proposed defi-
nition of antisemitism.
“They claimed that Jewish students were
trying to silence them, which is not true
at all,
” she says. “Criticism of Israel is not
antisemitic. Hillel has brought Palestinian
speakers to campus. We don’t protest at
Palestinian events. They are politicizing this
and trying to make students take sides on
the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
”
ASMSU contradicted its official policies
by scheduling a “re-vote” to be held after
public comment sessions on Zoom on April
1 and 8. Jordan Robinson says that Jewish
student leaders were assigned
the initial comment period.
Then a flood of criticism and
negative comments followed
from students who chose
not to identify themselves on
Zoom.
According to Jules Levy,
opponents claimed that the
antisemitism definition would prohibit any
campus events that were critical of Israel,
which was inaccurate. “People were really
attacking us on Zoom. It was not expected,
and students felt very unsafe and upset
about this,
” she explains. “It was a very
intense night. I had never gone through
anything like that before and don’t want any
other students to experience it.
”
As a result of the intense pushback, the
Jewish Students Union decided to rescind
the proposed resolution. When asked in ret-
rospect if the antisemitism definition was a
good idea, Robinson focuses on the positive
side. “It was a huge learning experience,
” he
says, adding that there was a lot of empathy
for Jewish students from others on campus.
“This whole process shows that there are
a lot of areas that need work,
” Jackson states.
While there have been conversations with
MSU administration about the situation,
university officials have not commented
about it publicly. Robinson says that the
Jewish Student Union plans to form a work-
ing group of students and faculty to work
on the issue over the summer.
Read the official statement from the MSU Jewish
Student Union, signed by 42 students, at thejewishnews.
com/2021/04/12/jewish-students-at-msu-speak-out-on-
recent-harassment.
Jewish students get nasty pushback for
efforts to define antisemitism on campus.
Backlash at MSU
Jules Levy
Jordan
Robinson
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
An Excerpt from A Resolution
for: ASMSU to adopt the official
definition of Antisemitism as stated
by the International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)
WHEREAS, On May 26, 2016,
the International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)
adopted a “working definition”
of antisemitism that reads
“Antisemitism is a certain perception
of Jews, which may be expressed
as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical
and physical manifestations of
antisemitism are directed toward
Jewish or non-Jewish individuals
and/or their property, toward Jewish
community institutions and religious
facilities”; and,
WHEREAS, the IHRA definition
includes numerous examples
of antisemitic acts, including
delegitimization, dehumanization,
and demonization of the Holocaust,
Jewish self-determination, and
accusations of dual loyalty that, in its
totality, are inextricably linked with,
and cannot be severed from, what
constitutes modern antisemitism.