IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 12, 2019

Contact: Avi D. Gordon, Executive Director Alums for Campus Fairness

917-512-4585, [email protected]

Alums for Campus Fairness strongly condemns the antisemitic protest at Bard College during the Hannah Arendt Center Annual Fall Conference 2019 on racism and antisemitism. We will not stand by as Jews are protested for being Jewish and condemning antisemitism.

On Thursday, October 10th, Batya Ungar-Sargon was scheduled to speak on the “Racism and Zionism: Black-Jewish relations” panel during the conference. Instead of speaking peacefully about antisemitism at a conference for discussing antisemitism she was interrupted by protesters during the session and chastised by fellow conference speakers afterwards. We echo the same thoughts that Batya shared as she was introduced the next morning, “I’m horrified by your cowardice. By your self-justifications.” 

We will not allow a middle-ground on antisemitism. It must be condemned. Universities should be pillars of truth, academic freedom, and open discourse, and these values should not be compromised for any group, including Jewish students and their allies. ACF is proud to support Jewish communities and individuals across the country. We will continue our work to end antisemitism and promote honest and respectful discourse on campus.

About ACF: Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) is America’s unified alumni voice on issues of antisemitism, demonization of Israel, and bigotry. With over thirty-five chapters, ACF positions thousands of alumni on the front lines of key issues at their alma maters and works to ensure that universities remain pillars of open dialogue and equal opportunity for all students. For more information, please visit www.campusfairness.org.