Satloff Video Addresses the Complex Politics of Israel on Campus

Institute Director Offers Advice to Students and Parents

Washington, D.C. –  The Washington Institute for Near East Policy has released a new video by Segal Executive Director Dr. Robert Satloff to help students and parents navigate the complex politics of Israel on campus, a sequel to a version produced eight years ago.

Open image

“The problem is more serious, pressing and urgent than ever before,” said Satloff, who also holds the Institute's Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy. “Too often, calls for the genocidal annihilation of Israel are what passes for acceptable, legitimate academic discourse. And far too frequently, university presidents, chancellors and deans have responded with bland, spineless statements that fail to call out anti-Semitism or define guardrails for what should be beyond the pale at our institutions of higher education.”

He notes that William Davidson Distinguished Fellow Dennis Ross, Ziegler Distinguished Fellow David Makovsky, and Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow Ghaith al-Omari regularly visit with students and faculty members on college campuses to conduct dispassionate discussions on Middle East policy based on research rather than disinformation.

Satloff, who received degrees from Duke, Harvard, and Oxford universities, advises students to get informed about the Middle East through reputable sources; avoid courses with professors who have endorsed the academic boycott of Israel; learn how to decipher the often innocent-sounding names of some extremist Middle East-related campus groups; insist on being treated respectfully by instructors in the classroom and report any instances of bias or intolerance; and, finally, find support by joining with like-minded students on campus because “there is strength in solidarity.” For mothers and fathers of college students facing Israel-related impediments to their children’s education, he offers stark advice: “When warranted, be a university’s worst nightmare – an angry, outraged parent.”

The Washington Institute has created a special email address, campus@washingtoninstitute.org, for students and parents to contact the Institute for additional information. Additional contacts are below.

Resources

Hillel International -- Established in 1923, Hillel International is the world's largest and most inclusive Jewish campus organization, serving 140,000 college students each year.

Israel on Campus Coalition -- Our mission is to inspire American college students to see Israel as a source of pride and empower them to stand up for Israel on campus.

Report Campus Hate – A portal to report anti-Semitic and/or bias incidents targeting Jewish community members on North American college campuses. This site is not designed to report emergencies. The tool collects and shares information back to Hillel International, the ADL and the Secure Communities Network.

Campus Antisemitism Legal Line (CALL) -- A free legal protection helpline for students who have experienced anti-Semitism sponsored by Hillel International, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) -- Its mission is to promote the highest standards of academic research and teaching in the fields of Middle Eastern and African studies and related disciplines through programs, publications, and services that support our members, the international community of scholars, and interested members of the public.