ACF Condemns the UIUC Student Gov for Erroneously Legislating Antisemitism

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 24, 2019

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

917-512-4585, [email protected]

Alums for Campus Fairness strongly condemns the Illinois Student Government (ISG) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for passing a resolution that erases the connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism and silences the voices of the Jewish community on campus.

On Wednesday, October 23rd, the ISG Senate discussed the resolution, “Condemning Ignorance of Racism and Equating Anti-Zionism with Anti-Semitism”, and proceeded to a vote on the resolution without the recommendations or support of the campus Jewish community. In response to this blatant disregard for Jewish thoughts on an explicitly Jewish issue, Jewish student leaders empowered hundreds of students to stage a walk-out and protest the vote.

We will not allow a middle-ground on antisemitism and we will not allow antisemitism to be defined by the perpetrators of such bigotry. Antisemitism must be condemned by all campus leaders and, as with any oppressed groups, Jews must be allowed to define their own oppression.

We stand with the campus Jewish community as they face this horrendous display of bigotry. We will not remain silent as ISG tramples on the agency of Jewish voices and we will continue our work to end antisemitism 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.