NU Complaint HouseCommittee2024

February 25, 2024
Hon. Virginia Foxx Hon. Bobby Scott

Chairwoman Ranking Member
Committee on Education and the Workforce Committee on Education and the Workforce
U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
2176 Rayburn House Office Building 2176 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-6100 Washington, DC 20515-6100
Dear Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member Scott,

We are Jewish students at Northwestern University and write regarding antisemitism and
discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students at Northwestern University. We are well aware
that the House Committee on Education and the Workforce (the “Committee”) is investigating
various universities for their respective responses to antisemitism on their campuses and the
failure to protect Jewish students attending their universities. We are also aware that the U.S.
Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is already investigating Northwestern
for alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We sincerely urge you to
include Northwestern in your investigation.
We would like to make you aware of our own observations of what has taken place on our
campus since October 7, 2023. Northwestern has bypassed its obligations and has signaled to
Jewish students and the Department of Education that it is not serious about protecting its Jewish
population from harassment, discrimination, and of their targeting based on their shared Jewish
ancestry or Israeli national origin. Issues at Northwestern include not only traditional antisemitic
tropes, blatantly false blood libels and incitement, but also antisemitic discrimination masked as
“anti-Zionism” that targets Jews on the basis of their shared religious, ethnic and ancestral
connection to the Land of Israel. Zionism, the belief in the right of Jewish people to self-
determine in their ancestral homeland, is used as pretext to call for violence against Jews on
Northwestern’s campus and globally.
Northwestern’s President Michael H. Schill oversees a campus that has seen an unacceptable
spike in antisemitism and sustained activity since the October 7 terrorist attack. His response, or
lack of response, has made it clear that Northwestern is not a welcoming place for Jewish
students. The university’s major power centers (President, Board, bias/hate crime reporting
centers, police department, DEI system, tenured faculty establishment, etc.), create a counter-
institution that suppresses the civil rights of Jewish students. We have documented a serious
record of systemic racism, discrimination, double standards, failure to protect Jewish students,
silencing of students for whom Israel is central to their Jewish identity, harassment, and
corresponding lack of attention or action by the administration.
1
Thus, we respectfully call on the Committee to exercise its oversight powers and investigate
Northwestern’s: (i) pervasive antisemitism on its campus; and (ii) failure to protect and hostile
environment toward Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and staff.
Northwestern’s Failure to Address Antisemitic Conduct and Mitigate a Hostile
Environment
1. Leadership Lapses & Governance Gaps; Failure to Protect Civil Rights
Leadership at Northwestern continues to ignore and delay fully addressing the safety concerns of
its Jewish students and taking steps to protect them. This stands in marked contrast to
allegations of code of conduct violations that involve other minority groups, when Northwestern
has acted swiftly. This toxic climate is especially concerning given the scale of Northwestern’s
Jewish community: according to Hillel International, Jewish students represent approximately
21% of the student body.1
The double standards are glaring. In a recent example, when Northwestern’s chapter of the
Northwestern University College Republicans (NUCR) invited a speaker for a May 2, 2023
event who did not agree with “critical race theory” (titled “The Dangers of Identity Politics and
Intersectionality with James Lindsay”) and published a flyer that was perceived to be anti-
LGBTQA+, Northwestern’s Associated Student Government (ASG) passed emergency
legislation on May 4, 2023 (within 48 hours of the announcement), that wholly cut off funding
for NUCR.2 Molly Whalen, a Northwestern junior who served as co-president of ASG,
confirmed to the Daily Northwestern that “they froze the funds because the flyers were allegedly
in violation of the university's Policy on Discrimination & Harassment, which prohibits the
display of ‘offensive objects and pictures that are based on a protected class.’”34 Regardless of
one’s feelings on this issue, this is just one illustration of different standards being applied on the
identity of the aggrieved party. This example illustrates that offensive speech against some
groups is deemed a violation of policy, but offensive speech against Jews is not.5
Northwestern’s leadership has failed to take meaningful, concrete actions to address
discrimination against Jewish students. President Schill consistently invokes constitutional
considerations pertaining to free speech in a manner that is arbitrary, while public messages
1
Northwestern University. (n.d.). Hillel Interna/onal. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://www.hillel.org/college/northwestern-university/
2
Brown, J. (2023, May 9). Northwestern student government freezes College Republicans funding over poster
cri<cal of LGBTQ community. Fox News. h?ps://www.foxnews.com/us/northwestern-student-government-freezes-
college-republicans-funding-poster-cri/cal-lgbtq-community
3
Policy on Discrimina<on, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct. (2023, September 1). Northwestern University.
h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/civil-rights-office/policies-procedures/policies/policy-on-discrimina/on-
harassment-and-sexual-misconduct.pdf
4
Andreone, J. (2023, May 4). ASG freezes NUCR fund transac<ons. The Daily Northwestern.
h?ps://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/05/04/lateststories/asg-senate-passes-legisla/on-freezing-funds-for-nucr-
indefinitely/
5
Piro, G. (2023, May 11). Northwestern must reverse student government’s freeze on College Republicans’ funding.
The Founda/on for Individual Rights and Expression. h?ps://www.thefire.org/news/northwestern-must-reverse-
student-governments-freeze-college-republicans-funding
2
pertaining to antisemitic acts are consistently watered down with 1) opaque references to free
speech, 2) redirected statements pertaining to “all forms of hate,” 3) vague administrative
promises of action without any firm commitments or deadlines, and 4) a lack of commitment to
reasonable time, place and manner restrictions for protesting and on campus.
It is clear that President Schill places a higher value on freedom of speech and freedom of
expression for all, than he does on freedom from discrimination for Jews. Freedom of speech
and freedom from discrimination are both essential human rights. Anti-discrimination laws and
policies protect individuals and groups from harmful or prejudiced treatment. According to Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the boundary of free speech and free expression is when
discrimination takes place based on race, color, or national origin in programs and activities that
receive federal financial assistance. Northwestern receives hundreds of millions from U.S.
federal agencies annually and enjoys full exemption from income taxes. It is most concerning
that the President of Northwestern University had to form an “Advisory Committee on Free
Expression and Institutional Speech” in February 2024, to seek advice on this matter of morality.
President Schill should be able to identify the distinction between right and wrong, and good or
bad behavior.
Northwestern’s leadership pays deference to free speech and academic freedom only when the
topic involves antisemitism, but not other hate speech. This treatment explains why
Northwestern ranks at the very bottom of the 254 institutions surveyed by the non-partisan
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).6 Slotted at the 242nd spot,
Northwestern’s “speech climate” was labeled as poor by FIRE and it additionally ranked 225th
spot in “disruptive conduct.” Northwestern demonstrates a clear double standard by tolerating
antisemitic vandalism, harassment, and intimidation, but not tolerating hateful actions that
involve other minority groups.
Northwestern spends millions of dollars annually on its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
initiatives which is centralized in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (OIDI).
Some of Northwestern’s DEI initiatives have included antisemitism (see the January 28, 2024
incident below). OIDI claims to offer protections focused on race, ethnicity, gender, political
beliefs, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion or belief system, and nation of origin.7
Yet, Northwestern fails to protect Jewish students based on religion, ethnicity, belief system, and
nation of origin; this is partially because antisemitism is not defined in the University’s policies.8
Northwestern’s leadership has failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students’ civil rights. A
detailed description is included in Appendix A and includes, among other things:
6
Free Speech Rankings. (n.d.). The Founda/on for Individual Rights and Expression.
h?ps://rankings.thefire.org/rank
7
Climate Study for Diversity Undergraduate Students Only. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/diversity/docs/climate-study-for-diversity-ugrd.pdf
8
2022 – 2023 Northwestern Student Handbook. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/communitystandards/student-handbook/22-23studenthandbook.pdf
3
o Double standard with respect to how the leadership traditionally regulates free speech and
protects victims of hate speech or other code of conduct violations for other marginalized
groups as compared to its Jewish and Israeli students.
o Senior administrative leadership’s inability or unwillingness to provide consistent and clear
communication with respect to the University’s stated value system and beliefs.
o A decentralized governance structure that allows university officials to skirt responsibility for
the safety and wellbeing of their students.
o Limited consistency in bias incident reporting and complaint response time, as Zionism is
treated as a mere political belief and not an identity bridging protected category.
o Unwillingness to denounce and address antisemitism without equating it with other unrelated
forms of hate, such as Islamophobia.
o A DEI program which focuses on supporting many discriminated groups (including Asians,
Blacks, LGBTQIA+, Latinx, Native Americans, women, etc.), except for Jews. Antisemitism
is not formally defined, trained on, or addressed by the DEI office.
o Consistent refusal to apply the University’s non-discrimination policy to address the type of
harassment and discrimination experienced by Jewish students at Northwestern.
o Rejection of adoption of any definition of antisemitism, despite the fact that the U.S. State
Department, many countries, and some peer institutions have accepted the International
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (“IHRA”) working definition of antisemitism, which many
in the Northwestern community have explicitly proposed.9
2. Discriminatory Ecosystem and Hostile Environment
Northwestern’s failure to adequately address rising antisemitism on campus has created a hostile
environment. A timeline and detailed description of incidents is included in Appendix B, which
includes the following:
o Incidents involving intimidation, bigotry, vandalism, and other alleged hate crimes (see
Appendix B, sections within pertaining to a mezuzah being torn off from a door post,
assault/battery/harassment, and broadly disseminated antisemitic parody student newspaper).
o Extremist Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter, which organizes anti-Israeli and
anti-Jewish events that cross the line from protected speech to violations of the rights of other
students, pushing antisemitic boycott campaigns and “anti-normalization” tactics, including
the whitewashing of terrorism and the comparison of supporters of Israel’s right to exist, on
the one hand, to Nazis, on the other.
o The presence of a faculty-led Middle East Center (“MENA”) that fosters a xenophobic and
anti-Israeli program, unsurprisingly led by an anti-Zionist radical professor and staffed with
antisemites who have published academic papers attempting to demonize even the slightest
connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism (see Appendix B, sections within
pertaining to Professor Wendy Pearlman, Professor Elizabeth Hurd, and Professor Jessica
Winegar).
9
Defining An<semi<sm. (2016, May 26). United States Department of State. h?ps://www.state.gov/defining-
an/semi/sm/
4
o Emboldened participation by affiliated entities and the community in the antisemitic global
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which, among other things calls for
unlawful discrimination against Israelis and Jews. The BDS movement is considered
antisemitic according to the Anti-Defamation League.10
o The uninvestigated influence of Northwestern’s Qatar campus (NU-Q) and relationship with
Qatar, resulting in legitimizing antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American hate (see Appendix
B, sections within pertaining Professor Justin Martin and Professor Khaled AL-Hroub).
o A student government and student newspaper that have exhibited a clear bias against Zionist
(i.e. Jewish) voices. Approximately 80% of American Jews identify as pro-Israel (i.e.
Zionist) and approximately 70% of younger Jews are very emotionally connected to Israel.11
o An environmental culture of intolerance which does not allow for any productive fact-based
discourse on the Hamas-Israel War or the Israel-Palestine issue.
We are grateful for the unwavering support of the Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF), Coalition
Against Antisemitism at Northwestern (CAAN), Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC), and
StandWithUs (SWU) for their commitment to helping us combat antisemitism at Northwestern.
Sincerely,
Michael Rutsky
J.D. Candidate, Class of 2025
Northwestern University
Pritzker School of Law (Pritzker Law)
michael.rutsky@law.northwestern.edu
Max Strozenberg
B.A. Candidate, Class of 2027
Northwestern University
School of Communication (SoC)
maxstrozenberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
We have spoken with alumni representatives and understand that thousands of Jewish alumni are
also outraged at Northwestern University’s deliberate indifference to antisemitism and
discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students.
10
The BoycoT, Divestment and Sanc<ons Campaign (BDS) (2022, May 24). ADL.
h?ps://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/boyco?-divestment-and-sanc/ons-campaign-bds
11
American Jewry Posi<on Survey (2020, December 21). Ruderman Family Founda/on. Retrieved February 24, 2024
from h?ps://rudermanfounda/on.org/white_papers/american-jewry-survey/.
5
Appendix A – Leadership Lapses & Governance Gaps; Failure to Project Civil Rights
NORTHWESTERN’S TROUBLING HISTORY OF ANTISEMITISM
• October 20, 2016, Brandeis University published a report tracking antisemitic activity
across U.S. college campuses (the “Brandeis Report”).12 Northwestern ranked as the
worst university in the survey of 50 colleges. Approximately 3-of-4 students said that
Northwestern has a hostile environment toward Israel and 1-in-3 said that Northwestern
has a hostile environment towards Jews. Approximately 1-in-5 Jewish students said that
they felt unwelcome at Northwestern because of their Jewish identity and 1-in-10 were
victims of anti-Jewish social media insults. The Brandeis Report also identified the
presence of an active SJP chapter as a material factor in creation of a hostile environment
toward both Jews and Israelis. Not only did Northwestern fail to act to remedy the
antisemitism reported in 2016, but it allowed an atmosphere in which antisemitism could
flourish.
• On December 14, 2023, Brandeis University released a ranking of 51 colleges based on
antisemitism and perceived hostility since the start of the Hamas-Israel war.13
Northwestern was ranked as having “above average antisemitic hostility” (second highest
25% of schools sample) on the Antisemitic Hostility Index. This category was
immediately below the group of universities with “highest antisemitic hostility,” which
included Columbia and Penn.
• On January 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into
Northwestern for potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.14
NORTHWESTERN’S DOUBLE STANDARD AND INCONSISTENT
COMMUNICATION REGARDING HATE SPEECH DIRECTED TOWARDS JEWS
• On October 12, 2023, five days after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, President Schill
issued a personal statement pertaining to the “conflict in Israel and Gaza.”15 Recusing
himself from a moral institutional perspective, President Schill issued a nihilistic public
letter that suggested he would not issue a formal institutional statement in his capacity as
President. The letter made reference to President Schill’s personal views on freedom of
12
Saxe, L., Wright, G., Hecht, S., Shain, M., Sasson, T., & Chertok, F. (2016, October). Hotspots of An<semi<sm and
An<-Israel Sen<ment on US Campuses. Brandeis University, Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish
Studies. h?ps://hdl.handle.net/10192/33070
13
Wright, G. W., Volodarsky, S., Hecht, S., & Saxe, L. (2023, December 14). In the Shadow of War: Hotspots of
An<semi<sm on US College Campuses. Brandies Scholar Works. h?ps://doi.org/10.48617/rpt.1072
14
Fox 32 Digital Staff. (2024, January 24). Northwestern University under inves<ga<on by U.S. Department of
Educa<on for alleged Title VI viola<on. Yahoo News. h?ps://news.yahoo.com/northwestern-university-under-
inves/ga/on-u-235345949.html
15
Schill, M. (2023, October 12). Message from President Schill to Senior Leadership. Www.northwestern.edu.
h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/leadership-notes/2023/message-from-president-schill-to-senior-leadership.html
6
speech and the anti-censorship Chicago Principles.16 Schill did offer a condemnation in
his personal capacity or otherwise.
o Despite his claims of free speech on the topic of antisemitism, as recently as in
July 2020 and April 2021, President Schill made formal statements on social
justice issues during his prior tenure as the President of University of Oregon.17 18
o After arriving at Northwestern, President Schill made a formal statement in
November 2022, titled “Recent Incidents Involving the Palestinian-Israeli
Conflict on Campus.”19
o On October 13, 2023, one day after refusing to make a statement, President Schill
issued a new statement where he further clarified that the actions of Hamas were
“clearly antithetical to Northwestern’s values.” 20
• On November 13, 2023, President Schill reversed his prior position and labeled the
slogan, “From the River to the Sea,” as a “statement or banner that significant parts of our
community interpret as promoting murder and genocide.” Schill urged the community to
“emphatically reject” these hurtful statements or banners.
• On February 19, 2024, President Schill announced the formation of the “Advisory
Committee on Free Expression and Institutional Speech,” which was tasked with
reviewing “boundaries” for “free speech and academic freedom in teaching, research and
public discourse.”21 The committee included:
o English Department’s Professor Natasha Trethewey, who has been affiliated with
the Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), a radical anti-Israel and anti-Zionist activist
group that advocates for the boycott of Israel and eradication of Zionism.22 JVP’s
statements have included classic antisemitic tropes and JVP has expressed support
for violence and terrorism.23
16
Andersson, M. G. (2023, May 12). The University of Chicago Isn’t Living Up to Its “Principles.” The James G. Mar/n
Center for Academic Renewal. h?ps://www.jamesgmar/n.center/2023/05/the-university-of-chicago-isnt-living-up-
to-its-principles/
17
Schill, M. (2020, July 15). Schill on George Floyd Protests, Black Lives MaTer, Deady Renaming. Around the O.
h?ps://around.uoregon.edu/content/schill-george-floyd-protests-black-lives-ma?er-deady-renaming
18
President calls George Floyd verdict “just a step toward jus<ce.” (2021, April 20). Around the O.
h?ps://around.uoregon.edu/content/president-calls-george-floyd-verdict-just-step-toward-jus/ce
19
Schill, M. (2022, November 18). Recent Incidents Involving the Pales<nian-Israeli Conflict on Campus.
Www.northwestern.edu. h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/leadership-notes/2022/recent-incidents-involving-the-
pales/nian-israeli-conflict-on-campus.html
20
Schill, M. (2023b, October 13). Our Northwestern Values. Www.northwestern.edu.
h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/leadership-notes/2023/our-northwestern-values.html
21
Schill, M. (2024, February 19). President’s Advisory CommiTee on Free Expression and Ins<tu<onal Speech.
Www.northwestern.edu. h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/leadership-notes/2024/presidents-advisory-commi?ee-
on-free-expression-and-ins/tu/onal-speech.html
22
Dann, N. (2016, July 12), Poetry is Not a Crime: Nine Pulitzer-Winners among 150+ Literary Figures Calling for
Israel to Release Pales<nian Poet. Www.jewishvoicesforpeace.org.
h?ps://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2016/07/12/poetry-not-crime-nine-pulitzer-winners-among-150-literary-
figures-calling-israel-release-pales/nian-poet/
23
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP): What You Need to Know. (2022, November 17). ADL.
h?ps://www.adl.org/resources/blog/jewish-voice-peace-jvp-what-you-need-know
7
o Medill School of Journalism’s Professor Peter Slevin, who honored the one-
month anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack by co-hosting an anti-Zionist
event on November 7, 2023 with Northwestern’s MENA department, titled
“Storytelling and the Israel-Palestine Conflict: Nathan Thrall in Conversation.24
DECENTRALIZED GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE ALLOWS UNIVERSITY
LEADERSHIP AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO SKIRT RESPONSIBILITY FOR
ANTISEMITISM
• On November 7, 2023, Michal Cotler-Wunsch, an Israeli-Canadian human rights activist
who is currently serving as Israel’s Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, visited
Northwestern and met with President Schill. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss
antisemitism. Later that evening, Ms. Cotler-Wunsch met with approximately 35
Northwestern Jewish students. The meeting included all leaders of Northwestern’s
primary Jewish organizations (Hillel, Chabad, and the Crown Family Center for Jewish
and Israel Studies) and an independent observer from the Jewish Agency for Israel, who
transcribed these testimonials. In a town hall format, Northwestern students stated the
following with respect to Jewish life on campus:
o “Since he arrived on campus, President Schill has normalized antisemitism. He
published a university-wide letter, where he openly said that ‘From the River to
the Sea’ is commonly and acceptably viewed as a call for the plight of the
Palestinian people and liberation.”
§ The student’s reference was to a November 18, 2022, statement issued by
President Schill. (Schill, 2022)
§ After on-campus antisemitism exploded, President Schill reversed his
statement on November 13, 2023.25
o “The President [Schill] has been ‘digging his heels in’ on the topic of
antisemitism. He feels that if he ‘admits defeat’ and acknowledges that there is a
problem with antisemitism here, then he ‘lost.’”
o “I don’t feel protected here. The University’s leadership is unable to make clear
public statements that antisemitism is unacceptable at Northwestern.”
o “I can’t practice Jewish life freely.”
o “I don’t feel safe being a Zionist.”
o “I feel like Jews have become a marginalized community on campus. There are
many minority groups on campus, but most of them have aligned with anti-Israel
minority groups.”
24
Pearlman, W. [@Wendy_Pearlman]. (2023, November 1) Chicago & Evanston, join us for a special event on Israel,
Pales/ne & the power of human stories. @MENAprogramNU & @MedillSchool host @NathanThrall, presen/ng his
acclaimed new book in conversa/on with @peterdslevin. Tuesday, Nov. 7, @5pm at @NorthwesternU. [Image
a?ached] [Post]. X h?ps://twi?er.com/Wendy_Pearlman/status/1719752617843097975/photo/1
25
Schill, M. (2023c, November 13). Announcing New CommiTee on Preven<ng An<semi<sm and Hate: Leadership
Notes - Northwestern University. Www.northwestern.edu. h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/leadership-
notes/2023/announcing-new-commi?ee-on-preven/ng-an/semi/sm-and-hate.html
8
o “Professors do nothing to protect Jewish students [or reject] anti-Israel comments
in class.”
o “I’m scared and am embarrassed of this University.”
o “We have had meetings with the administration (President Schill & Deans) - they
know about all these issues. They don’t care.”
o “Some faculty members are openly anti-Zionist and have extremist views.”
o “I don’t know of any issues with Islamophobia or anti-Islam hate on our campus,
but that’s what the administration seems to be concerned about. Antisemitism is
the problem here.”
o “President Schill took days to condemn the Hamas attacks.”
o “SJP constantly violates all sorts of university hate policies, but there is zero
accountability. There is no adult in the room.”
o “The President seems to view antisemitism as a political issue, not as a religious
one.”
o “I have filed several formal complaints about hate language at Northwestern. No
administrative changes were made.”
• On December 20, 2023, Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF), announced the “launch of a
six-figure digital and TV ad campaign exposing Northwestern’s refusal to protect Jewish
students.” ACF accused Northwestern’s students and faculty of “intimidating Jews with
‘resounding support’ for Hamas terrorism while university leadership says and does
nothing to protect the Jewish community.” ACF demanded that Northwestern “adopt the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and
hold students and faculty accountable for violations of Northwestern Community
Standards.”26 ACF further added, “The U.S. State Department first adopted the IHRA
definition of antisemitism during the Obama administration.” Northwestern has made no
public statements pertaining to its willingness to formally define antisemitism, which is a
prerequisite for clarity with respect to policies and enforcement. Northwestern is a
private university and has material control over how it interprets harassment and
discrimination.
• On February 1, 2024, Crain’s Chicago Business profiled a Jewish advocacy ad campaign
targeting President Schill and two Jewish members of the school’s Board of Trustees over
“concerns of rising hostility toward Jewish students on campus.” Schill’s outspoken
apologist, Gordon Segal (founder and former CEO of Crate & Barrel), a Northwestern
Trustee who has been deliberately indifferent to antisemitism at Northwestern, is quoted
in the article as stating: “There is no antisemitism going on at Northwestern’s campus.”27
Gordon’s statement in Crain’s was 99 days after antisemitic “Fake Daily” was broadly
26
ACF-Northwestern Launches Ad Campaign. (2023, December 20). Alums for Campus Fairness.
h?ps://www.campusfairness.org/acf-northwestern-launches-ad-campaign/
27
Dupré, B. (2024, February 1). Ad campaign targets Northwestern trustees over school’s stance on an<semi<sm.
Crain’s Chicago Business. h?ps://www.chicagobusiness.com/educa/on/northwestern-university-trustees-targets-
an/semi/sm-ads
9
distributed across the campus (a national news story) and 80 days after Schill broadly
announced the formation of the Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate.
FLAWED BIAS REPORTING SYSTEM
• On November 13, 2023, a Northwestern Pritzker School of Law student filed a complaint
with Coalition Against Antisemitism at Northwestern (CAAN).28 The complaint stated,
“During previous academic years, law student organization leaders were disseminating
pro-BDS and anti-Israel statements without the consent of group membership. When my
friend complained about such a letter, and complained about antisemitism within the
group, she was repeatedly excluded from board positions. We reported this to
[Northwestern’s] Office of Equity and Law School, but they refused to take any action.
Student groups also retaliated against me because of my involvement in these complaints.
The Office of Equity said that being a Zionist is a political belief, not a religious one, and
that we were not discriminated against for our religion.”
DEI PROGRAM WHICH DOES NOT PROJECT JEWS
• On November 29, 2021, a senior Northwestern faculty member contacted Robin R.
Means Coleman, Northwestern’s then-Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity
and Inclusion (DEI), to file a complaint regarding antisemitism within Northwestern’s
Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility (ACIR).29 The faculty member wrote,
“I had an opportunity to speak directly to Jewish students who had applied to be a student
representative on ACIR. I was made aware of the verbal abuse that was thrust on at least
one such student during an interrogation before a selection committee of the student
government. I subsequently met with other Jewish students at NU who shared their
stories of discrimination and fear.” Ms. Coleman did not respond to the complaint.
28
Student complaint filed with CAAN on November 13, 2023.
29
Advisory CommiTee on Investment Responsibility. (n.d.). Acir.northwestern.edu. Retrieved February 14, 2024,
from h?ps://acir.northwestern.edu/
10
Appendix B – Discriminatory Ecosystem and Hostile Environment
EXTREMIST STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE (SJP) CHAPTER
• Northwestern’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter is an official Registered
Student Organization (RSO) of Northwestern which has received university funding. SJP
is a chapter of National Students for Justice in Palestine (also known as “National SJP”),
an anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli organization that: 1) organizes discriminatory and hateful
campaigns, 2) has been a major force in promoting the antisemitic BDS movement, 3)
regularly intimidates and harasses Jews and aggressively disrupts Israel-focused campus
events, and 4) commonly whitewashes terrorism, compares Zionists to Nazis, and
demonizes pro-Jewish campus organizations.30 According to NGO Monitor, SJP
National’s leaders are affiliated with numerous organizations which have been
investigated for ties to terror groups, including Hamas.31
• May 2, 2017, during “Israeli Apartheid Week,” SJP hosted Rasmea Odeh, a convicted
terrorist, inside Northwestern’s Technological Institute (commonly known as “Tech”).
Odeh was convicted for involvement in the 1969 Jerusalem supermarket bombing, which
resulted in the killing of two high school students.32 During her presentation, Odeh called
on the students to “continue to fight American Zionism.”33
• On October 13, 2023, just six days after the Hamas terrorist attack, Northwestern’s
chapter of SJP projected the colors of the Palestinian flag on Northwestern’s Deering
Library. Not surprisingly, this caused emotional distress to the Northwestern Jewish
community. Northwestern subsequently issued a statement that said that “building
lighting is controlled by Facilities Management” and that “Facilities Management
discovered that the building lighting had been physically modified.” It is not known if
any charges were pressed against SJP by Northwestern.34
30
Students For Jus<ce in Pales<ne. (n.d.). AMCHA Ini/a/ve. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from
h?ps://amchaini/a/ve.org/sjp-chapters
31
Students for Jus<ce in Pales<ne (SJP): Available Funding and Other Informa<on. (n.d.). NGO Monitor. Retrieved
February 22, 2024, from h?ps://www.ngo-monitor.org/reports/funding-for-students-for-jus/ce-in-pales/ne-sjp/
32
Rasmea Odeh. (2024, January 3). Retrieved February 14, 2024, from Wikipedia website:
h?ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasmea_Odeh
33
Students for Jus<ce in Pales<ne (SJP). (2023, October 19). An/-Defama/on League, Center on Extremism.
h?ps://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/students-jus/ce-pales/ne-sjp
34
Schiciano, L. [@LoganSchiciano]. (2023, October 13). Here’s the statement I received from a Northwestern
spokesperson on the lights last night outside Deering: [Image a?ached] [Post]. X.
h?ps://twi?er.com/LoganSchiciano/status/1712910220102410499
11
• On November 4, 2023, Northwestern’s SJP chapter hosted an “All out for Palestine”
protest in Evanston, Illinois.
o SJP members were proudly photographed posing next to Hamas flags, which were
present at the rally and were carried by individuals wearing paramilitary fatigues,
similar to those worn by Hamas during its inhumane attack on October 7, 2023.
The U.S. Department of State designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization (FTO) in 1997.
o Signs stated, “Intifada Until Victory” and “Resistance is Justified When People
are Occupied: #AlAqsaFlood (U.S. Palestinian Community Network).”35
Accompanying chants included, “Resistance is justified when people are
occupied.”36
o A Northwestern senior filed a complaint with Coalition Against Antisemitism at
Northwestern (CAAN) stating, “Someone in my cohort sent a flyer for the SJP
rally to our cohort group chat. A couple of people liked the photo. During this
rally, I was hiding in my apartment, while I heard people honking their horns and
screaming. There were Hamas flags at the rally.”37
o Similar to the October 13, 2023 Deering Library incident, here too, SJP likely
violated Northwestern’s Policy on Discrimination & Harassment.
o Northwestern has not deactivated SJP or revoked its official student club status,
continuing the flow of university resources towards the antisemitic,
discriminatory, and hate-focused activities of a club that supports a terrorist
organization like Hamas.
Student posing next to Hamas flag at Students for Justice in Palestine Protest (11/4/23)
35
Documenta/on available upon request. The term in/fada refers to violent uprisings and suicide bombings
targe/ng Israeli civilians.
36
Documenta/on available upon request.
37
12
• On November 10, 2023, a sophomore at Northwestern filed a complaint with CAAN
stating that, “SJP-organized protests featured masked individuals threatening Jews and
calling nearby Jewish people ‘pussies.’”38 The same student shared an official university
communication from their instructor for the Human Development: Childhood and
Adolescence (201-0-20) class, Professor Keira Leneman, who canceled class on October
25, 2023 so that students could attend a talk by an anti-Zionist speaker. In a note titled,
“Accommodations for student protest in support of Palestinian liberation today,”
Professor Leneman wrote, “I understand that this interferes with class time, but want to
support the protest against injustice…Additionally, I welcome information about
additional demonstrations so that I can physically stand in solidarity with students against
Israeli oppression and apartheid…In support of ‘good trouble.’”39 Professor Leneman
directly denied equal access to educational opportunities and services to Jewish students
based on their shared ancestry and ethnicity, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964.
XENOPHOBIC AND RACIST FACULTY-LED MIDDLE EAST CENTER (MENA)
WHICH PROMOTES TERRORIST GROUPS, IDEOLOGIES, AND SLOGANS
• On November 25, 2020, Northwestern’s Crown Professor Wendy Pearlman, a radical
activist, directed her Twitter followers to an event hosted by Masar Badil, a revolutionary
Palestinian movement.40 Masar Badil (Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path, also
known as PARP) is an affiliate of the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network (also
known as Samidoun, which was founded in 2011), which was banned by Germany in
November 2023 due to its terrorist activities and antisemitism.41 42 Samidoun is a
terrorist-listed entity in Israel and is intimately tied to the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist-listed entity throughout Europe and North America, via
the senior PFLP leader Khaled Barakat, who is a co-founder of Masar Badil.43 According
to the ADL, Samidoun is one of the primary leaders in organizing anti-Israel rallies in the
United States and its social media accounts have referred their followers to social media
38
39
Human Development: Childhood and Adolescence (201-0-20). (n.d.). Northwestern Class Descrip/ons. Retrieved
February 14, 2024, from h?ps://class-descrip/ons.northwestern.edu/4930/SESP/SESP/24792.
40
Pearlman, W. [@Wendy_Pearlman]. (2020, November 25) Online event this Sunday, 29 Nov, 8:00 pm Jerusalem
<me, to discuss the Alterna<ve Pales<nian Path Conference: an ini<a<ve to revitalize the Pales<nian na<onal
struggle with a vision & strategy invigorated for these <mes. Zoom code below. See @MasarBadil for details.
[Image a?ached] [Post]. X. h?ps://twi?er.com/Wendy_Pearlman/status/1331617732329082886
41
Masar Badil: The German state’s ban on the Samidoun Network is a fascist, racist act of poli<cal repression.
(2023, November 3). Pales/nian Alterna/ve Revolu/onary Path Movement.
h?ps://masarbadil.org/en/2023/11/4422/
42
Gesley, J. (2023, November 3). Germany: Ministry of the Interior Bans Ac<vi<es of Hamas and Samidoun. Library
of Congress. h?ps://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2023-11-03/germany-ministry-of-the-interior-bans-
ac/vi/es-of-hamas-and-samidoun/
43
Halevi, L. C. (ret) J. D. (2023, November 5). Masar Badil advocates for suppor<ng Hamas “glorious, heroic” aTack
on Israel. The Documenta/on Project: An/-Semi/c and An/-Israel Campaigns in Canada.
h?ps://canadadocs.org/masar-badil-advocates-for-suppor/ng-hamas-glorious-heroic-a?ack-on-israel/
13
channels featuring pro-Hamas propaganda.44 Pearlman is known to have been associated
with the antisemitic BDS movement since 2002. In a 2002 letter to the editor, Pearlman
wrote, “I write as a member of the Harvard-M.I.T. Divestment Campaign.”45 Pearlman
has also recently acknowledged her role as President of the SJP chapter at Harvard, where
she received a PhD in 2007.46 Ironically, Pearlman holds a Crown Professorship of
Middle East Studies, funded by Lester Crown (a major donor to pro-Israel causes and
Lifetime Trustee).47 48
• On May 14, 2021, Northwestern’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) department,
led by Crown Professor Wendy Pearlman, a radical activist, issued an official “MENA
Program Statement on Palestinian Rights.”49 The statement exclaimed: “We express our
solidarity with the Palestinian people who are fighting against dispossession of their
homes and are enduring bombings and raids…We insist that colonialism is a form of
racism to be combated…In doing so, and in joining our voices to those of the people of
Palestine, we reaffirm our commitment to equity and justice.”
• On October 9, 2023, three days after the Hamas-led terrorist attack on October 7, 2023
(also known as Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Black Saturday, and the Simchat Torah
Massacre), Northwestern’s MENA department issued a statement on Instagram, stating,
“We resoundingly support Palestinian resistance to over 75 years of Israeli state-
sanctioned violence…We accept this moment in history is integral to rightfully earning
44
Who are the Primary Groups Behind the U.S. An<-Israel Rallies? (2023, October 20). Defama/on League, Center
on Extremism. h?ps://www.adl.org/resources/blog/who-are-primary-groups-behind-us-an/-israel-rallies
45
“Israe’s Cri/cs and Defenders,” October 17, 2002; NYT, h?ps://www.ny/mes.com/2002/10/17/opinion/israels-
cri/cs-and-defenders.html
46
Pearlman, W. (2023, December 13). Opinion: The conversa<on we can’t avoid about pro-Pales<nian campus
protests. KESQ; News Channel 3. h?ps://kesq.com/cnn-opinion/2023/12/13/opinion-we-need-a-congressional-
hearing-on-backlash-against-pro-pales/nian-voices-too/
47
Wendy Pearlman. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2024, from h?ps://polisci.northwestern.edu/people/core-
faculty/wendy-pearlman.html
48
Crown Gin Boosts Middle East Studies (Spring 2010); Retrieved February 24, 2024, from
h?ps://weinberg.northwestern.edu/aver-gradua/on/weinberg-magazine/crosscurrents-archive/2010-spring-
summer/crown-giv-middle-east-studies.html
49
MENA Program Statement on Pales<nian Rights. (2021, May 14). Middle East and North African Studies Program.
h?ps://mena.northwestern.edu/about/mena-program-statement-on-pales/nian-rights.html
14
back what has been lost.”50 The department did not issue any statements referring to the
civilian victims of the October 7 massacre.
• On October 16, 2023, a group of Northwestern Professors (including Elizabeth Hurd,

Wendy Pearlman, and Jessica Winegar) wrote an article in the school newspaper victim-
blaming Israel for Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. Their article in the Daily
Northwestern said that “[t]o condemn Hamas’s attack while ignoring this broader context
is to fail to understand how we got where we are today. Decontextualized declarations
dismiss Palestinians’ struggle for rights and self-determination. They neglect the root
causes of today’s violence.”51
• In a public lecture on November 13, 2023 (lecture with Professor David Shyovitz,
Director of Northwestern’s Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies),
Northwestern’s Wendy Pearlman, Crown Professor of Middle East Studies and Interim
Director, MENA, made a series of defamatory and xenophobic comments against Jews
and Israelis. Professor Pearlman stated that “Israel is an ethnonationalist state, which
claims to be a democracy, but partakes in occupation, genocide and apartheid.” Pearlman
identified “the Zionist Movement” as the “main issue.” She further said that “claims of
antisemitism” are being used to “silence Palestinian rights.” President Schill was in
attendance at the November 13, 2023 event, which was recorded by the University.
• On November 6, 2023, Northwestern’s Professor Elizabeth Hurd, Professor of Political
Science and Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, posted on X / Twitter stating that,
“Israel’s legitimacy grows out of the tragedy of the Holocaust and the West’s guilt about
this makes Palestinians killing Israelis wicked in a way that Israelis killing Palestinians
50
51
Feldman, H., Hoffman, K., Johnson, R., Hurd, E. S., Ingram, B., Pearlman, W., Rakowitz, M., Winegar, J., & Yildiz, E.
(2023, October 16). LTE: Open leTer on NU leaders’ responses to war in Pales<ne and Israel Opinion. The Daily
Northwestern. h?ps://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/10/16/lateststories/lte-open-le?er-on-nu-leaders-responses-
to-war-in-pales/ne-and-israel/
15
cannot be.”52 Professor Hurd, a racialist ideologue, posted on November 21, 2023
asking, “Since when is fervent Zionism a litmus test for being Jewish?”53 Hurd was a
Crown Chair in Middle East Studies (2019-2022), which was funded by the Crown
family.
• On November 16, 2023, 65 student groups and faculty members, including MENA’s
Professors Pearlman and Hurd, co-authored an article in the Northwestern Daily, arguing
against the University forming a committee to combat antisemitism.54 In an article titled,
“LTE: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” they stated, “At least 1.6 million
people have been displaced, a number that is more devastating than the 1948 Nakba, or
Catastrophe, which ethnically cleansed half of the native population... Indeed, we know
there is a genocide happening, and it is happening to Palestinians by the Israeli apartheid
government…The deliberate silencing and censorship of pro-Palestinian activism is
nothing but repressive and authoritarian.” The article concludes with the phrase, “From
the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free….until liberation.”55
• On December 5, 2023, Northwestern’s MENA Professor Elizabeth Hurd published an
article in the Chicago Tribune, where she argued that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism.56
The article failed to condemn Hamas or acknowledge the rise in antisemitism on college
campuses.57 The Chicago Tribune article profiled Professor Hurd “professor and chair of
religious studies and a professor of political science at Northwestern University.” On
December 15, 2023, Hurd posted on X, stating that, “The definition of anti-Semitism is
broad enough that it attempts to silence those, including Palestinians and Jews, who
criticize Israel’s current actions in Gaza or voice their support for BDS.”58 Professor
Hurd’s X account prominently includes, as part of her profile, her title as Professor of
Religion and International Politics at Northwestern University.59
52
Hurd, E. S. [@eshurd]. (2023, November 9). “unlearning what it means to be Jewish” @ataliaomer explains why
so many US Jews are opposing Israeli violence against Pales<nians [Thumbnail with link a?ached] [Post]. X.
h?ps://twi?er.com/eshurd/status/1722603063985222038
53
Hurd, E. S. [@eshurd]. (2023, November 21). “Since when is fervent Zionism a litmus test for being Jewish?”
[Thumbnail with link a?ached] [Post]. X. h?ps://twi?er.com/eshurd/status/1726943148331425836
54
Pierre, D. J. (2023, November 16). Northwestern University Students, Faculty Slam School for Forming CommiTee
to Combat An<semi<sm. The Algemeiner. h?ps://www.algemeiner.com/2023/11/16/northwestern-university-
students-faculty-slam-school-forming-commi?ee-combat-an/semi/sm/
55
LTE: From the river to the sea, Pales<ne will be free. (2023, November 16). The Daily Northwestern.
h?ps://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/11/16/opinion/lte-from-the-river-to-the-sea-pales/ne-will-be-free/
56
Hurd, E. S. (2023, December 5). Elizabeth Shakman Hurd: How the US is making it illegal for students to disagree
with Israel. Chicago Tribune. h?ps://www.chicagotribune.com/2023/12/05/elizabeth-shakman-hurd-how-the-us-is-
making-it-illegal-for-students-to-disagree-with-israel/
57
LeTers: Professor fails to condemn Hamas and acknowledge threats to Jewish students on campuses. (2023,
December 10). Chicago Tribune. h?ps://www.chicagotribune.com/2023/12/10/le?ers-professor-fails-to-condemn-
hamas-and-acknowledge-threats-to-jewish-students-on-campuses/
58
Hurd, E. S. [@eshurd]. (2023, December 15). The defini<on of an<-Semi<sm is broad enough that it aTempts to
silence those, including Pales<nians and Jews, who cri<cize Israel’s current ac<ons in Gaza or voice their support for
BDS. I signed this leTer from—and also for—Berlin. [Thumbnail with link a?ached] [Post]. X.
h?ps://twi?er.com/eshurd/status/1735672926890770485
59
Hurd, E. S. [@eshurd]. (n.d.). Posts [X Profile] X. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://twi?er.com/eshurd?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
16
• On January 5, 2024, Northwestern’s MENA department hosted Dr. Nour Joudah (UCLA)
to speak in the “Palestine 101” event series.60 The lecture was attended by approximately
40 students, including Jewish students who observed an anti-Zionist tirade where Dr.
Joudah, 1) accused Jewish people of “settler colonialism” in Palestine, 2) accused Israel
of “genocide,” and 3) suggested that Israel is proposing, “forcible displacement and
ethnic cleansing.” The Jewish students in attendance found the remarks emotionally
distressing.
• On January 30, 2024, Professor Pearlman and Professor Hurd co-founded Northwestern’s
chapter of Educators for Justice in Palestine (EJP).61 The statement read, “We support
the work of Students for Justice in Palestine and other pro-Palestinian student groups at
Northwestern,” and “We reject the conflation of antisemitism with criticism of the
policies and actions of the Israeli state, critiques of Zionism, or support for Palestinian
liberation, and we will resist moves to shut down discussions of any of these topics on
such grounds.”
• On February 10, 2024, Professor Pearlman took part in an interview by The Electronic
Intifada, a publication that, on October 8, 2023 (day after the terrorist attack), praised the
“innovative Palestinian resistance” and described the attack as, “astonishing,”
“astounding,” and “incredible.”62 63 In the interview, Pearlman describes studying at
Birzeit University in the West Bank earlier during her studies. At Birzeit University
candidates linked to Hamas recently won the May 2023 student council elections.64
Buildings at Birzeit are named after terrorists and military parades are held on campus
featuring students wearing mock explosives and showing public support for Hamas and
PFLP.65 Earlier, in one of her books, Pearlman described attending Birzeit University for
five months in the period between January 2000 and August 2008.66 Pearlman writes,
“At the turn of the millennium I did a tour of Israel and then spent five months in the
West Bank, where I studied at Birzeit University and worked at a local organization. The
following summer I lived and worked in the Gaza Strip.” In 2007, Pearlman co-authored
a study in Journal of Palestine Studies with Ali Jarbawi, a professor at Birzei
60
MENA | Pales<ne 101 | Pales<ne Lives: A Story of Survival. (n.d.). Northwestern University Events. Retrieved
February 14, 2024, from h?ps://planitpurple.northwestern.edu/event/608489
61
Northwestern faculty, staff, librarians, and graduate students form chapter of Educators for Jus<ce in Pales<ne
(EJP). (2024, January 30). Www.nuejp.org. h?ps://www.nuejp.org/press-release
62
Murphy, M. C. (2004, February 6). Interview: Wendy Pearlman, author of “Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday
Life from the Second In<fada.” The Electronic In/fada. h?ps://electronicin/fada.net/content/interview-wendy-
pearlman-author-occupied-voices-stories-everyday-life-second-in/fada/4978
63
Massad, J. (2023, October 8). Just another baTle or the Pales<nian war of libera<on? The Electronic In/fada.
h?ps://electronicin/fada.net/content/just-another-ba?le-or-pales/nian-war-libera/on/38661
64
Pales<nian student elec<ons provide rare test of voter mood. (2023, May 24). Reuters.
h?ps://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/pales/nian-student-elec/ons-provide-rare-test-voter-mood-2023-05-
24/
65
Casche?a, A. J., & Sheva, A. (2022, January 18). Birzeit University Sure Loves Its Jihadis. Middle East Forum.
h?ps://www.meforum.org/62951/birzeit-university-sure-loves-its-jihadis
66
Violence, Nonviolence, and the Pales/nian Na/onal Movement, 2011.
17
University.67 Ali Jarbawi is a known antisemite, as summarized in a 2016 article titled,
“Muslim antisemitism? We've been warned.”68 Pearlman joined Northwestern as a
College Fellow in 2008.
SUPPORT FOR ANTISEMITIC BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS (BDS)

MOVEMNET
• On August 7, 2018, Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism extended a job offer to
Steven Thrasher as “Chair of Social Justice.” 69 At New York University’s graduation
ceremony in May 2019, Trasher stated that he supports the antisemitic Boycott,
Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. 70 He stated, “I am so proud, so proud of
NYU’s chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and of Jewish Voice for Peace, and of
GSOC [Graduate Student Organizing Committee], and of the NYU student government,
and of my colleagues in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis for supporting
the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the apartheid state government
in Israel.” Northwestern did not rescind Thrasher’s job offer. 71 72 Since joining
Northwestern in August 2019, Thrasher has regularly posted anti-Israel content on his
public X (formerly known as Twitter) profile. 73 Thrasher did not make any posts about
the Israeli civilian victims of the October 7 massacre that involved murder, rape, and
kidnapping.
67
Jarbawi, A., & Pearlman, W. (2007). Struggle in a Post-Charisma Transi<on: Rethinking Pales<nian Poli<cs aner
Arafat. Ins/tute for Pales/ne Studies. h?ps://www.pales/ne-studies.org/en/node/41905
68
Muslim an<semi<sm? We’ve been warned. (2016, November 24). Www.thejc.com. h?ps://www.thejc.com/lets-
talk/muslim-an/semi/sm-weve-been-warned-biuxdac6
69
Medill names Daniel H. Renberg Chair on social jus<ce, LGBTQ media studies. (2018, August 7). Northwestern
Medill. h?ps://www.medill.northwestern.edu/news/2018/steven-thrasher-renberg-chair.html
70
BDS. (n.d.). BDS Movement. h?ps://bdsmovement.net/
71
Richardson, V. (2019, May 27). Northwestern won’t rescind job offer to Steven Thrasher over an<-Semi<sm
allega<ons . The Washington Times . h?ps://www.washington/mes.com/news/2019/may/27/northwestern-wont-
rescind-job-offer-steven-thrashe/
72
Statement regarding Steven Thrasher by president, provost. (2019, May 24). Northwestern Now.
h?ps://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2019/05/steven-thrasher/
73
Thrasher, S. W. [@thrasherxy]. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://twi?er.com/thrasherxy?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
18
• On November 14, 2023, Northwestern’s chapter of SJP issued a statement that demanded
“complete Northwestern boycott, divestment and sanctioning of Israel’s apartheid and
genocide” and demanded “the full disarming, disbanding, and defunding of
Northwestern’s Police Department (NUPD).”74
• On January 24, 2024, Northwestern announced members of its newly formed committee
to fight hate.75
o Members of this committee included Jessica Winegar, Northwestern’s Hamad Bin
Khalifa Al-Thani Chair in Middle Eastern Studies (Department of Anthropology).
Jessica Winegar is a self-described activist and leader in the BDS movement.76
Ironically, Winegar is the Director of The Alice Kaplan Institute, which aims to
foster an innovative culture of humanities at Northwestern. The Institute was
created in 1992 with a major gift from Morris Kaplan, a Jewish donor (NU ’35
and Lifetime Trustee).
o Other members signed the November 16, 2023 Northwestern Daily article titled
“LTE: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” rejecting condemnations
of antisemitism.
TROUBLING TIES TO TERROR SPONSORS IN QATAR
• In 2008, Northwestern partnered with the Qatar Foundation to open a Northwestern
campus in Qatar, known as “NU-Q.”77 The venture cost over $602 million.
Northwestern receives annual multi-million (royalty-like) compensation for the ongoing
commercial relationship.78 Funded by the Qatar Foundation and the Al Jazeera Media
Network, NU-Q’s faculty members have limited academic freedom given Qatar’s
authoritarian government.79 80 Al Jazeera’s “left-center”-biased reporting commonly fails
to implement fact checks and “favors [an] extreme editorial bias that favors Qatar.”81
According to the U.S. Department of State, Qatar-based media outlets often carry
74
Instagram post by nu.sjp on November 14, 2023
75
Schill, M. (2024, January 23). Update on President’s Advisory CommiTee on Preven<ng An<semi<sm and Hate.
Www.northwestern.edu. h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/president/about-the-office/special-projects/commi?ee-
preven/ng-an/semi/sm-hate/news/update-on-presidehnts-advisory-commi?ee-on-preven/ng-an/semi/sm-and-
hate.html
76
Jessica Winegar. (n.d.). Canary Mission. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://canarymission.org/professor/Jessica_Winegar
77
Northwestern University in Qatar. (n.d.). Www.northwestern.edu. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/fm/projects/our_projects/other/northwestern-university-in-
qatar.html#:~:text=In%202008%2C%20Northwestern%20University%20partnered
78
Arnold, N. (2022, Sept. 12). Outsourced to Qatar. Na/onal Associa/on of Scholars.
h?ps://www.nas.org/reports/outsourced-to-qatar/full-report
79
Northwestern Qatar University: Qatar’s Mul<million-Dollar Plan to Influence American Media. (2022, Feb.).
Canary Mission. h?ps://canarymission.org/campaign/Northwestern_Qatar_University
80
Glaser, M. (2015, June 12). Northwestern in Qatar Takes on Free Press Issues in Middle East. MediaShiv.
h?ps://mediashiv.org/2015/06/northwestern-in-qatar-takes-on-free-press-issues-in-middle-east/
81
Al Jazeera – Bias and Credibility (2023, Oct. 13). Media Bias/Fact Check. h?ps://mediabiasfactcheck.com/al-
jazeera/
19
antisemitic content.82 Given the institutional relationship and host setting, it is not
surprising that Al Jazeera writings are commonly used in courses on Northwestern’s
Evanston campus.83 A February 2022 report by Canary Mission found:
o “NU-Q trains students to legitimize antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-American
narratives in Western media.”
o “In 2013, NU-Q signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Al Jazeera
to ‘deepen the ties between the two organizations.’ According to the
memorandum, Al Jazeera agreed ‘to support NU-Q students with scholarships and
training opportunities.’ Between 2013-2019, more than two-thirds of the Al
Jazeera staff members that lectured NU-Q students had either expressed support
for terrorists, demonized Israel, or backed the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions
(BDS) movement.”
o Canary Mission reviewed 37 NU-Q academic members or speakers that it
profiled: “73% posted support for terrorism, 81% demonized Israel and Zionists,
54% support the BDS Movement, and 27% posted extreme antisemitic content,
ex. praising Adolf Hitler.”
o Canary Mission also profiled 17 NU-Q students, of which “76% posted for
terrorism, 70% demonized Israel and Zionists, and 65% support the BDS
Movement.”
o These attitudes were so pervasive that on May 14, 2021, then NU-Q Professor
Justin Martin tweeted, “27 professors from Northwestern University in Qatar
issued a statement condemning Israel's system of apartheid and ongoing forced
displacement of Palestinians. The signatories, of which I'm one, represent a two-
thirds majority of @NUQatar's full-time faculty.”
• On October 16, 2023, Khaled AL-Hroub, a professor at Northwestern University in Qatar
claimed in an NPR interview that Israel has ”fabricated civilian deaths” and has “fed the
media from Day 1 with kind of misinformation.”84 According to Canary Mission’s profile
of Al-Hroub, he “has spread incitement, glorified terrorism, whitewashed the terror group
Hamas and spread hatred of America.”85
ANTISEMITIC VANDALISM, HARASSMENT, HAZING, AND MENTAL HEALTH
TRAUMA
• On November 9, 2022 (approximately one year before the October 7, 2023 terror attack),
a Northwestern junior, Lily Cohen, detailed the antisemitic environment at Northwestern
82
2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Prac<ces: Qatar. (n.d.). United States Department of State. Retrieved
February 14, 2024, from h?ps://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-
prac/ces/qatar/#:~:text=The%20cons/tu/on%20provides%20for%20freedom
83
Example: Al Jazeera readings were assigned as part of “History of the Present” (History 219, Fall 2023), co-taught
by Professor Kathleen Belew and Professor Lauren Stokes.
84
Mills, R. (2023, October 17). NPR Does Damage Control aner Guest with History of Whitewashing Terror Claims
Israel “Fabricated” Civilian Deaths. Na/onal Review. h?ps://www.na/onalreview.com/news/npr-does-damage-
control-aver-guest-with-history-of-whitewashing-terror-claims-israel-fabricated-civilian-deaths/
85
Khaled Hroub. (n.d.). Canary Mission. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://canarymission.org/professor/Khaled_Hroub
20
in an article in Northwestern’s student newspaper, the Daily Northwestern. The article
was titled, “Cohen: I am more proud of my Jewish identity than anyone can ever hate me
for it.”86 The article detailed how Cohen faced a hostile environment, where the hate
slogan “From the River to the Sea” was commonly posted in physical and social media in
Northwestern settings. After publishing the article, Cohen was called a “terrorist and a
colonizer” and received implicit death threats.87 88 Days later, on November 14, 2022,
Cohen’s op-ed about Jewish pride was printed and turned into a large sign, painted with
the words "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and hung in the center of the
campus.89
• On October 25, 2023, shortly after the terrorist attack, Northwestern’s campus was
covered with fake versions of the student run newspaper publication, The Daily
Northwestern which is published by Students Publishing Company (SPC), a 501(c)(3)
educational non-profit corporation, governed by a board of directors.90
o The “Fake Daily” single-page newspaper leaflets were primarily wrapped around
the October 23 issue of the authentic Daily.91 The fake article headlined
“Northwestern complicit in genocide of Palestinians.” The fake Daily also
included a fake advertisement for Birthright Israel (a heritage trip to Israel)
accusing Israel of stealing land: “One man’s home is another man’s former
home!” The image was stolen from the website of the Jewish Federation of
86
Cohen, L. (2022, November 10). Cohen: I am more proud of my Jewish iden<ty than anyone can ever hate me for
it. The Daily Northwestern. h?ps://dailynorthwestern.com/2022/11/09/opinion/cohen-i-am-more-proud-of-my-
jewish-iden/ty-than-anyone-can-ever-hate-me-for-it/
87
Yellin, D. (2023, June 8). “Figh<ng with love:” Jewish students stand up, push back against campus an<semi<sm.
NorthJersey.com. h?ps://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2023/06/08/figh/ng-college-an/semi/sm-programs-
in-nj-na/onwide-fight-back/9320461002/
88
Public comments at an an/semi/sm event held on November 7, 2023, at Northwestern Chabad in Evanston, IL.
89
Klein, Z. (2022, November 15). Pro-Jewish op-ed turned into pro-Pales<nian poster at Northwestern University.
The Jerusalem Post. h?ps://www.jpost.com/diaspora/an/semi/sm/ar/cle-722453
90
Students Publishing Company. (n.d.). The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://dailynorthwestern.com/students-publishing-company/
91
Wendler, J. (2023, October 26). False pages of The Daily Northwestern circulated at Northwestern. The Daily
Northwestern. h?ps://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/10/26/campus/imitated-front-pages-of-the-daily-
northwestern-circulated-across-nus-campus/
21
Nevada for a Spring 2024 mission to Israel, organized by the Jewish Federation,
Birthright, and Hillel.92
o The fake article dehumanized the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas and held in
Gaza, writing that Northwestern “Dining Facility staff held a conference
announcing that it would no longer serve food or water until 13 missing OZZIs
are returned.” OZZIs are reusable plastic take-out containers used at
Northwestern’s dining halls.93 In effect, the hostages—many of whom have been
killed and/or raped, and include babies—were equated in jest to objects meant to
be used and recycled.
o The fake article included fabricated quotes of President Schill and Medill’s Dean
Charles Whitaker, dismissing the significance of the massacre. The article quoted
President Schill as saying, “I will not be releasing a statement on the situation…I
already said what I didn’t say and I’m not going to say it again…what are we
even talking about!” The article also quoted that Dean Whitaker said, “Well this
conflict has nothing to do with journalism, so I don’t think I’m the guy to talk to.”
Neither Schill, nor Whitaker, took any measures to disclaim or in any way
distance themselves from these falsified comments. Northwestern did issue a
statement about the fake Daily article, though it did not reject the statements
claimed to have been made by President Schill and Dean Whitaker.94
o For many Northwestern students, Zionism is integral to their Jewish identity. The
Jewish people’s history, theology, and culture are deeply intertwined with the
Land of Israel. This hateful act caused significant emotional distress to Jewish
students.
o According to The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the
gold standard definition of antisemitism, the fake Daily was antisemitic according
to the following definition parameters:
§ Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical
allegations about Jews.
§ Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined
wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group.
§ Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by
claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
§ Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or
demanded of any other democratic nation.
§ Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
92
Birthright Nevada. (n.d.). Www.jewishnevada.org. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://www.jewishnevada.org/birthrightnv
93
Cahillane, J. (2022, March 1). Go Green with OZZI. Www.northwestern.edu.
h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/sustainability/news/2022/go-green-with-ozzi.html
94
Charles Whitaker is Dean of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marke/ng
Communica/ons.
22
§ Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.95
o A Northwestern PhD student filed a complaint with CAAN on November 7, 2023,

where they stated, “Northwestern failed to take action and did not remove any of
the fake newspapers from campus.”96
o Northwestern identified two suspects, both Northwestern students, and pressed
charges in November 2023. The two identified suspects were charged in the
Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois with a petty misdemeanor crime of, “Theft
of Advertising Services.”
o A February 2, 2024, a letter from 89 organizations asked the SPC to drop the
charges due to a “gross overcharge.”97 The co-signatories included Students for
Justice in Palestine, Jewish Wildcats for Ceasefire, the Middle Eastern North
African Student Association (MENA), and NU’s newly formed chapter of
95
Working defini<on of an<semi<sm. (n.d.). Interna/onal Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
h?ps://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-defini/on-an/semi/sm
96
97
Powers, S., & Wendler, J. (2024, February 3). LeTer asks SPC to drop complaint for imitated copies of The Daily.
The Daily Northwestern. h?ps://dailynorthwestern.com/2024/02/02/lateststories/le?er-calls-on-students-
publishing-company-to-drop-criminal-complaint-against-two-students-connected-with-imitated-copies-of-the-
daily/
23
Educators for Justice in Palestine (EJP). A change.org petition on the same matter
had 5,403 signatures as of February 4, 2024.98
o Northwestern’s Student Publishing Company (parent of the Daily) dropped the
charges on February 6, 2024. Cook County’s State’s Attorney Office dropped the
charges on February 7, 2024.
o Northwestern took no action to address the situation other than to issue a
statement that the newspaper is student-run and that the newspaper organization
was looking into this. The university did not issue a statement about any action
that it is taking, nor about any supportive services offered in connection with the
incident. Northwestern made no public statement of potential consequences for
the violative conduct.99
• On November 2, 2023, a Northwestern student found an antisemitic flyer near his room at
a Northwestern dormitory. The flyer pictured a Star of David, images of red blood, and a
photo of a child, and was titled “Murdered by Israel.”
`
• On November 9, 2023, a group of activists blocked entrance to Northwestern’s Tech
building to protest against companies that trade with Israel, shouting, “Don’t be
complicit. That means you.” The loud protest was disruptive to morning classes.
• On November 10, 2023, a Northwestern student found an antisemitic caricature of
President Schill with horns (an antisemitic stereotype) at the Willard Residential College
dormitory.100
98
Pressure Northwestern to drop criminal charges against two Black students. (2024, January 30). Change.org.
h?ps://www.change.org/p/pressure-northwestern-to-drop-criminal-charges-against-two-black-
students?source_loca/on=search
99
Syed, Z. (2024, February 6). Northwestern roiled by criminal charges against two students who made parody
copies of student paper (M. Buckley, Ed.). Chicago Tribune.
h?ps://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/02/05/northwestern-roiled-by-criminal-charges-against-two-students-who-
made-parody-copies-of-student-paper/
100
24
• On November 13, 2023, a sophomore at Northwestern filed a complaint with CAAN
stating that a classmate of hers said that she was a “Nazi-Zionist pig.” The classmate also
said that “the Jews are playing the victim and that the atrocities of October 7th never
happened.” The same student continued: “She made broad antisemitic remarks during
class. Stating that the Jews control the world/the media. She explained to the class that
this is not a war, but a one-sided colonization/genocide. She made a presentation
explaining the trauma the IDF inflicts on the children of Palestine.” The student further
noted, “I have been especially uncomfortable with the professor allowing this to happen
in the classroom.”101
• On November 13, 2023, a Northwestern graduate student filed a complaint with
CAAN.102 The complaint stated, “Got harassed by a 2023 NU grad on Instagram.
Somebody sent her a story [that] I uploaded, and she started accusing me of racism and
genocide etc.”103 The student further states, “I did file a complaint, but Northwestern
never even followed up with me, let alone handle the situation…I'd definitely say [that] it
was mishandled. I'm no longer a student at NU though, so I'm not sure if there's anything
else I can do.”104
• On November 14, 2023, a Northwestern student posted: “The campus is already infested
with white colonial Zionism.”105
• On November 16, 2023, a student spotted a fake Israeli hostage poster by Northwestern’s
Annenberg Hall. The fake poster read, “Missing Cow. Reward: A box of chalk and a can
of beer.”106 Identical posters were identified the same day at the UPenn campus.107
• On November 16, 2023, a protest occurred inside the Chicago campus of the
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
o Slogans at the protest included: 1) “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be
Free,” 2) “I don’t have the stomach for genocide”, and 3) “We are fighting human
animals.”
o At approximately noon, the protest’s co-leader aggressively confronted a Jewish
student. The Jewish student was subsequently stalked and harassed by another
student while seeking to file a complaint with the law school the same day.
o The Jewish student subsequently filed a report (assault/battery) with Northwestern
University Police (NUPD) at approximately 8:45pm on Thursday, November 16,
2023, with Officer Walsh, Star Number 36, Case Number 23-519.
o The Jewish student also filed a complaint with CAAN on November 15, 2023.108
The complaint stated, “I felt personally harassed, intimidated, and scared during
two specific incidents.” The first incident involved the student being shoved. The
101
102
103
104
Student update on February 23, 2024 on complaint filed with Northwestern.
105
106
107
108
25
second incident involved the student being harassed as they went to file a
complaint. The student further noted, “I was in such shock from the whole thing.
I went outside and began to cry. I didn't want to cry in front of them.” “When I
went to go into the office of the student services to clarify what had happened (as
I think she was trying to scare me) and to report the incident from earlier, she
followed me and stood outside the partially-glass door where I could see her. I
felt intimidated, threatened, and harassed by that too. I filed a police report with
the University. I have some photos and video…I'm absolutely exhausted from
what I endured today.”
• On November 20, 2023, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s National Lawyers Guild
(NLG) and International Refugee Assistance Program (IRAP) chapters co-hosted an
event named “Palestine Teach-In; Stop the Genocide in Palestine”.
o The event was held inside the law school at the Bluhm Legal Clinic (which
renamed in 2000 in honor of Neil Bluhm, a major Jewish donor to Northwestern
and a Life Trustee). Omar Shakir, the Human Rights Watch’s Israel and Palestine
Director and known antisemite, led the event.109
o The President of the Jewish Law Student Association (JLSA), Michael Rutsky,
attempted to attend the event. At the door of the event, Michael was denied entry
by a faculty member, who first claimed the event was “at capacity and he did not
RSVP.”
o Michael asked if he was not being allowed entry because he was Jewish, to which
the faculty member said ‘No.” Later on, it became public knowledge that other
non-Jewish students were let into the event after Michael was denied entry,
despite not RSVPing themselves.
o The incident brought emotional distress and loss of educational and
extracurricular opportunities.
o Michael Rutsky filed a complaint with Northwestern on November 21, 2023.
Rutsky met with Northwestern’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance
(“NU OCR”) on December 6, 2023. It took Northwestern approximately 100+
days to conduct an initial investigation into the discriminatory incident and to
prepare another investigation into the event. Michael Rutsky was then contacted
on February 21, 2024 by NU OCR to set-up another meeting with outside
investigators who are working on behalf of NU OCR.
109
Omar Shakir. (n.d.). Canary Mission. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://canarymission.org/individual/Omar_Shakir
26
• On December 18, 2023, an anonymous student posted on Fizz (NU’s university-wide
social media app), “Should people be celebrating Hannukah since it’s technically a
ZIONIST holiday?”110
• On January 31, 2024, CAAN was made that during the Fall 2023, a Northwestern student
informed their Residential Advisor (RA) that an individual had “torn off” a mezuzah, a
Jewish religious object whose use is commanded in Hebrew scriptures (Deuteronomy 6
and 11), from their doorway at the Foster Walker Complex Dormitory. Tearing-down a
mezuzah is a form of intimidation, bigotry, and vandalism.
o The student also verbally communicated this antisemitic incident at a formal
Northwestern event to discuss antisemitism which was held at Wieboldt House
(President’s residence) on January 30, 2024.
o The event included approximately 40 Jewish students. President Michael Schill,
Provost Kathleen Haggerty, co-chairs of Committee on Preventing Antisemitism
and Hate, and Hillel’s Executive Director were in attendance.
o During a public debrief with the entire group present, President Schill was
informed of the mezuzah vandalism. Schill told the group that the incident may
be a Title VI violation, but made no public announcement of the incident or of
NUPD launching any investigation into the alleged hate crime.
o The incident highlights the need for Northwestern to clearly definite antisemitism
in the Student Handbook. “IHRA specifically addresses how antisemitism could
be a physical manifestation directed at Jewish individuals’ property. Thus, the
defacing of a mezuzah is clearly defined as an antisemitic act.”111 If IHRA was
adopted and enforced at Northwestern, the administrators would know that this
act was a religious-based discriminatory incident, allowing the university and
NUPD to take the appropriate criminal and disciplinary measures.
• On February 7, 2024, Northwestern Law School hosted their annual Global Village event,
which allows students to share their unique culture and heritage by preparing food from
110
111
Levy, Taylor (2021, September 24). Mezuzah Taken Down at Tuns University on Two Separate Occasions in One
Month. Jewish on Campus. Retrieved February 24, 2024, from h?ps://www.jewishoncampus.org/media/mezuzah-
taken-down-at-tuvs-university-on-two-separate-occasions-in-one-month
27
their native country or region. At this event, there was a student-led Palestine table which
contained a map of Israel (claimed to be Palestine), small cards with the poem, “If I Must
Die” by Refaat Alareer,112 and various other items. The official Northwestern Law School
Instagram posted a photo of this table and the aforementioned objects to its Instagram
Story, demonstrating institutional support for Palestine.113 This conduct was in direct
violation of the Global Village event guidelines (and the post was taken down), but no
known action has been taken against the offending students by the University and the
University did not make any formal comment about the violation.
• On February 10, 2024, the Association of Jewish Psychologists (AJP) launched a clinical
psychology survey at Northwestern University to determine the impact of antisemitism
on mental health, including screening for anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) among Jewish undergraduate and graduate students.
ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITY BY FACULTY, ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS, AND GUEST
SPEAKERS
• On October 13, 2023, Northwestern’s Associate University Chaplain and Director of
Interfaith Engagement, Tahera Ahmad, started an antisemitic and anti-Zionist online
campaign via her public social media accounts (which were also used for official
Northwestern communication and where her university title was listed prominently at the
top of both Facebook and X (Twitter) profiles), including the following public
statements:114
o October 13, 2023: “Anyone else’s post being removed by Facebook for speaking
out against genocide of Palestinians?”
o October 30, 2023: “Palestine Digital Action Toolkit” (w/BDS chapter), which
includes links to protest websites that include digital toolkits on how to organize
rallies which disrupt transportation and how to anti-doxing resources. 115 116
o November 8, 2023: “For Every Pharoah Will Come a Moses #Free Palestine”
112
Antoon, S. (2023, December 27). “If I Must Die,” A Poem by Refaat Alareer. In These Times.
h?ps://inthese/mes.com/ar/cle/refaat-alareer-israeli-occupa/on-pales/ne
113
114
Northwestern’s Tahera Ahmad’s social media accounts include Facebook with 5,100 followers
(h?ps://www.facebook.com/shaykhataheraahmad/) and X with 2,788 followers
(h?ps://twi?er.com/taherahahmad?lang=en)
115
All Out for Pales<ne - Digital Ac<on Toolkit. (2023, October 27). Pales/nian Feminist Collec/ve.
h?ps://pales/nianfeministcollec/ve.org/all-out-for-pales/ne/
116
Resources. (n.d.). Gaza Is Pales/ne. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://www.gazaispales/ne.com/resources
28
o November 12, 2023: “…IDF is lying about Hamas using hospitals as base.”
o November 13, 2023: “Jewish scholar…repost of YouTube film titled ‘The
Palestine Laboratory: Israel Profits from Occupation.’”
o Ms. Ahmad did not post about the civilian victims of the October 7 massacre.
• On October 17, 2023, faculty of Northwestern’s The Asian American Studies Program
issued a formal statement that incorrectly conflated criticism of Hamas (a barbaric
terrorist organization) with Islamophobia.117
• On November 13, 2023, in direct protest against President Schill’s request,
Northwestern’s Professor Steven Thrasher posted on X, “The world is on your side, and
one day, Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”118 The post had 14,000 views.
o Professor Thrasher's X account prominently includes, as part of his profile, his
title as endowed Renberg Chair professor of social justice at Northwestern's
Medill School of Journalism.
o Northwestern’s Faculty Handbook clearly sates, “When responding to inquiries in
their fields of professional competence or acting as private citizens on issues of
general public interest, faculty members may use their academic titles for
purposes of identification but should make it clear that they speak, write, and act
for themselves and not for the institution.”119
• On November 20, 2023, Northwestern’s Anthropology Department hosted the screening

of Israelism, which has received criticism for anti-Zionist and antisemitic narratives.120
• On November 29, 2023, Northwestern’s Department of Black Studies hosted a lecture
titled “What’s Black Studies got to do with the Israel-Palestine Colonial War.” A cross
section of the Israeli flag with its Star of David, were pictured. The advertisement for the
event included four inaccurate maps of Israel (1946, 1947, 1949-1967, 2012), falsely
overlaying 5 million disappearing Palestinian refugees.121 In actuality, according to The
Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), “there are approximately 1.6 million
117
Asian Studies Program (2023, October 17) Northwestern University. Retrieved February 17, 2024, from
h?ps://asianamerican.northwestern.edu/about/news/2023/open-le?er-to-nu-leadership-on-islamophobia.html
118
119
Northwestern’s Faculty Handbook (2021, August 5). Northwestern University. Retrieved February 17, 2024,
from h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/provost/docs/faculty_handbook_aug2021.pdf
120
121
29
Palestinian citizens in Israel, comprising approximately 20% of the total Israeli
population.”122 Northwestern’s Professor Barnor Hesse (2004-Present), Director of
Undergraduate Studies at Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, organized the event.
o Although he specializes in many important topics, it is unclear what academic
expertise Hesse holds specifically on the Israel-Palestine discourse. 123
o The November 29, 2023 program included speakers Miracle Burt (Northwestern
Pre-Med student ’25; no academic expertise in Israel-Palestine) and Charlene
Caruthers (Northwestern PhD student ’25; no academic expertise in Israel-
Palestine, although she has visited Palestine with other activists and falsely posted
on X in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict, stating, “Folks, they are saying
exactly what Palestinians said they were doing. The US government is lying. The
mainstream media is lying to us. Palestinians have been telling the truth all
along… Why would HAMAS want to go to war with Israel?”) 124 125
• On January 28, 2024, one day after the International Holocaust Remembrance Day
(January 27, 2024), a guest speaker made antisemitic remarks at a large university event.
Northwestern’s Alpha Phi sorority members attended the “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Candlelight Vigil” at Northwestern’s Alice Millar Chapel, which was organized by Alpha
Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Northwestern’s Religious and Spiritual Life (RSL), and
Northwestern administration.
122
Pales/nian Ci/zens of Israel (n.d). Retrieved February 24, 2024, from
h?ps://imeu.org/topic/category/pales/nian-ci/zens-of-
israel#:~:text=Aver%20the%20war%2C%20around%20150%2C000,of%20the%20total%20Israeli%20popula/on
123
Baron Hesse. (n.d.). Northwestern University. Retrieved February 24, 2024,
h?ps://blackstudies.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/barnor-hesse.html
124
Charlene Carruthers (2024, February 24). Retrieved February 24, 2024, from Wikipedia website:
h?ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlene_Carruthers
125
Carruthers, Charlene A. [@CharleneCac]. (2023, November 12). “Folks…” [Post]. X.
h?ps://twi?er.com/CharleneCac/status/1723718776376676383
30
o The event was a mandatory-attendance event for the sorority’s members as part of
Alpha Phi’s DEI curriculum. The DEI chair sent a message to Alpha Phi
Northwestern members on January 28, 2023, stating, “For this afternoon, we will
be attending the postponed MLK vigil at the Alice Millar Chapel. I just want to
remind everyone that although the vigil is held in a Baptist setting, it is not a
religious event and should not be focusing on any religious ideals. However, if
you have any issues with attending the vigil, message me… 126
o President Schill and Provost Haggerty were in attendance.127
o According to a Jewish student, Rev. Reginald Williams, the keynote speaker,
“made a comparison to the Nuremburg Laws in Nazi Germany to what Israel is
doing to Palestinians in Gaza. He called Israel an apartheid state, comparing it to
South Africa, and also said that there was a genocide in Israel.”
o Rev. Williams’ speech was recorded and included antisemitic comments between
37-38 minutes into the video. 128 129
§ Rev. Williams said, “[the United States] a nation whose Jim Crow regime
set the blueprint for apartheid in South Africa and legalized Nuremberg
laws in Nazi Germany. And if you don't believe me, read James
Whitman’s Hitler's American Model. That's why South Africa has brought
charges against Israel at the World Court and the World Court has sided
with South Africa to show that there is the probability of genocide in Israel
against Palestinians.”
o According to IHRA, Rev. Williams’ remarks were antisemitic according to the
following definition parameters:
§ Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical
allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective.
§ Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
§ Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by
claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
§ Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or
demanded of any other democratic nation.
§ Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined
wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for
acts committed by non-Jews.
§ Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism to
characterize Israel or Israelis.
o Several students walked out of the event.
126
DEI Educa<on. (n.d.). Alpha Phi. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from h?ps://alphaphi.org/dei-educa/on/
127
Ozturk, A. (2024, January 30). NU honors Mar<n Luther King Day with candlelight vigil. North by Northwestern.
h?ps://northbynorthwestern.com/nu-honors-mar/n-luther-king-day-with-candlelight-vigil/
128
2024 MLK Candlelight Vigil. (n.d.). Northwestern.hosted.panopto.com. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from
h?ps://northwestern.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=694d23b3-0b5a-4499-a079-
b10701372065&start=0
129
Mar<n Luther King, Jr. - Northwestern University. (n.d.). Www.northwestern.edu.
h?ps://www.northwestern.edu/mlk/
31
o The President of Northwestern’s Alpha Phi sorority issued a formal apology to its
members, though the sorority chapter’s DEI Chair refused to make a formal
apology (although, per protocol, it would be her responsibility to do so).
• On February 22, 2024, Northwestern’s Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel
Studies hosted a lecture titled, “Is Zionism Settler-Colonialism? The pre and post 10/7
discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Academia and Activism.”130 131
o The lecture was presented by Professor Arnon Degani, who is a member of an
anti-Israel group called Breaking the Silence, which the Israeli government has
accused of “threaten[ing] its state security.”132 Degani has argued that “the Israeli
Military Government was only one of several mechanisms of control,
surveillance, oppression, and manipulation which Israel imposed over the
Palestinian-Arabs within its borders” and that, “the cancellation of the Military
Government…was congruent with settler-colonial patterns of consolidation.”133
Degani has also stated that Israel is “heading more towards an arrangement
similar to that of South African settler colonialism: a consolidation into a
democratic republic in which the Whites are recognized as sons of the land and
yet still enjoy many of the privileges they accumulated during Apartheid.”134
o It should further be noted that it is pubic knowledge that Northwestern’s hiring
(biases within search committees and “other” conditions to employment),
funding, and placement policies in the undergraduate programs have created an
academic caste system that is unwelcoming to the recruitment of Zionist
academicians (although Jewish donors have attempted to reverse this trend).135
Based on this hiring trend and the culture of systemic antisemitism at
Northwestern, it is not surprising that even the Israel and Jewish studies center
(ironically, endowed by the Crown family), would host such a speaker.
130
The Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies (2024, February 22). Northwestern University Events.
Retrieved February 22, 2024, from h?ps://planitpurple.northwestern.edu/event/610726
131
Lester Crown, 1925-. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2024, from: Www.israeled.org.
h?ps://israeled.org/lester-crown-1925/
132
Breaking the Silence. (2024, February 14). Retrieved February 14, 2024, from Wikipedia website:
h?ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_the_Silence_(organiza/on)
133
Degani, Arnon Yehuda. 2015. “The decline and fall of the Israeli Military Government, 1948–1966: a case of
se?ler-colonial consolida/on?” Se?ler Colonial Studies 5 (1): 84-99. DOI: 10.1080/2201473X.2014.905236
134
Degani, Arnon Yehuda. 2016. “Israel Is a Se?ler Colonial State - and That's OK.” Haaretz. September 13.
h?ps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arnon Degani/publica/on/308204638_Israel_is_a_Se?ler_Colonial_State_
_And_Thats_OK/links/57ddf4c108ae4e6f1849ac64/Israel-is-a-Se?ler-Colonial-State-And-Thats-OK.pdf
135
Crown Giv Expands Israel Studies. (2014, January 31). Retrieved February 24, 2024 from
h?ps://giving.northwestern.edu/s/1479/282-
giving/21/news.aspx?sid=1479&gid=282&pgid=7768&cid=13343&ecid=13343&crid=0&calpgid=7226&calcid=1279
5
32
DIRECT USE OF TAX-PAYER AND DONOR FUNDS IN SUPPORT OF HAMAS
• On February 14, 2024, the Chicago Sun Times stated that relatives of a Northwestern
Pritzker law student had collaborated with Hamas. The article stated, “Elisha Breton, a
spokesperson for the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest said in an email that the
brothers had been ‘arrested for collaboration with Hamas.’”136 On February 16, 2024,
Northwestern Law’s International Refugee Assistance Project (NLaw IRAP) hosted a
phone-a-thon inside the law school’s library, utilizing Northwestern’s tax-payer AND
donor funded facilities, to encourage U.S. government officials to pressure Israeli
government officials to free the two Hamas collaborators, who are relatives of the law
student.
From: All Law Students <LAW-STUDENTS@LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU> on behalf of Law Student Services <law-student-
services@NORTHWESTERN.EDU>
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2024 12:00:17 PM
To: LAW-STUDENTS@LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU
Subject: [IRAP] Call Your Rep Event TODAY
Dear NLaw,
On Thursday February 8, Yasmeen Elagha, a student at Northwestern Law, received distressing news that Israeli
forces kidnapped her male rela/ves from Gaza, including her two American cousins, Hashem Alagha and Borak
Alagha. As of now, it has been nearly a week since they were taken, and the U.S. government has not exerted
sufficient pressure on the Israeli government to ascertain the whereabouts of her cousins or to ensure their safe
release. TODAY, IRAP will be hos3ng a “call your reps” event from 12-2pm in L426 (in the library) to call our
representa3ves and discuss other opportuni3es to support the Alagha family. We plan to have this be an ongoing
event and will update with more dates and /mes. Please feel free to share this event with your networks. Thank
you!
NLaw IRAP
Disclaimer: This event is sponsored by Interna<onal Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) Northwestern Law Student
Group Organiza<on. The use of Northwestern University facili<es for this event does not cons<tute an endorsement
by the University.
136
Issa, N. (2024, February 14). Israel confirms arrest of 2 brothers from Chicago suburbs, won’t reveal charges
against them. Chicago Sun-Times. h?ps://chicago.sun/mes.com/israel-hamas-war/2024/02/14/israel-gaza-borak-
hashem-alagha-yasmeen-elagha-arrest-lombard-idf
33

NU Complaint HouseCommittee2024

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February 25, 2024

Hon. Virginia Foxx Hon. Bobby Scott

Dear Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member Scott,

• On October 16, 2023, a group of Northwestern Professors (including Elizabeth Hurd,

SUPPORT FOR ANTISEMITIC BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS (BDS)

o A Northwestern PhD student filed a complaint with CAAN on November 7, 2023,

• On November 20, 2023, Northwestern’s Anthropology Department hosted the screening

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NU Complaint HouseCommittee2024

Uploaded by

Document Informationclick to expand document informationThe House Committee on Education & the Workforce — the same committee that grilled the leaders of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT over reports of antisemitism on their campuses — has eyes on Northwestern University.

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NU Complaint HouseCommittee2024

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February 25, 2024

Hon. Virginia Foxx Hon. Bobby Scott

Dear Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member Scott,

• On October 16, 2023, a group of Northwestern Professors (including Elizabeth Hurd,

SUPPORT FOR ANTISEMITIC BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS (BDS)

o A Northwestern PhD student filed a complaint with CAAN on November 7, 2023,

• On November 20, 2023, Northwestern’s Anthropology Department hosted the screening

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