ADL Statement to US Commission on Civil Rights: Anti-Semitic Incidents on College Campuses
Other Challenges to Jewish Life on Campus
Posted: November 18, 2005
Jewish college students are also facing other challenges that are worth mentioning. These flashpoints more frequently reflect insensitivity, rather than anti-Semitism, but clearly impact Jewish students and faculty deeply.
- Holiday Observance: Many Jewish college students report incidents where a test or paper was scheduled on the day of an important religious holiday (usually Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur) and the professor is unwilling initially to provide a reasonable accommodation. Students have been forced to go to their dean or the Anti-Defamation League in order to make their case. Many other students choose to compromise their religious beliefs in order not to rock the boat, fearing that by speaking out they will jeopardize their grade.
- Kosher Food: Students have spoken to the ADL about their campus refusing to provide Kosher food for them, but requiring them to have a meal plan.
- Holocaust-Denial Ads: Campus papers are continually being sent Holocaust-denial advertisements. With campus newspaper staff changing from year to year it is important to remind newspaper staff that they are under no legal or moral obligation to accept unsolicited advertising which is false, misleading and/or offensive.
Religious Intolerance at Military Schools: Religious intolerance in the form of inappropriate religious expression, combined with a general climate of hostility towards Jewish students because they are not part of the dominant religious group has led Jewish students to feel they are outsiders at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, which was at the center of a significant controversy earlier this year. On June 28, 2005, the League submitted testimony on the religious climate at the Air Force Academy at hearings before the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee On Military Personnel.
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