Confronting campus antisemitism - Harvard Gazette

Scholars examined antisemitism through history and its relationship to universities at a conference at Harvard. Universities were described as reflecting broader social movements and biases, which helps explain antisemitism on campus but does not provide a clear plan for countering it. Higher education leaders were urged to address antisemitism forcefully. The conference included perspectives on Jews and antisemitism in the arts, in U.S. academia, and in relation to the Christian roots of many universities. Discussions also connected antisemitism to debates about the importance of place. A historical framework of “occlusion” and “extrusion” described how Jews can be blocked or hidden, or made visible while altered.

"“Academic conferences don't solve things ordinarily: That's not their function.” said Noah Feldman, Harvard's Arthur Kingsley Porter University Professor, who introduced the event. “The function of an academic conference is to explore, study, and seek to get a better understanding. Our objective - always in this University - should be to pursue the truth and to do that in an open-minded way that welcomes all different points of view and perspectives.”"

"Universities reflect movements and biases in broader society, speakers noted - a reality that helps explain antisemitism on campus but doesn't provide a clear roadmap for countering it. Even so, they said, it's important that higher ed leaders confront the issue in the strongest terms. The symposium was seen as a key step along those lines."

"“Antisemitism and Universities” drew scholars from Harvard, Dartmouth College, the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. It was sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard Law School, and the Office of the President and Provost. The conference included discussions about Jews and antisemitism in the arts, in U.S. academia, in tension with the Christian roots of many universities, and as a factor in conversations about the importance of place."

"James Loeffler, the Felix Posen Professor in Modern Jewish History at Johns Hopkins, described a history of “occlusion” and “extrusion” for Jews at universities. Extrusion occurs when Jews are visible but altered in some way. Occlusion occurs, he said, when Jewish scholars are blocked or hidden from vie"

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