Rice SJP critiques antisemitism training

By Maria Morkas     10/1/24 10:49pm

Administration, staff and faculty participated in a half-day antisemitism awareness training Sept. 13, sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The seminar was led by the Academic Engagement Network, a nonprofit organization that “mobilizes networks of university faculty and administrators to counter antisemitism [and] oppose the denigration of Jewish and Zionist identities,” according to its website.

In a Sept. 26 Instagram post, Rice Students for Justice in Palestine alleged the university was “push[ing] updated Zionist training about ‘antisemitism’ onto faculty and staff.”

“We … see this as an attempt to undermine our work on campus and to promote pro-Israel propaganda at Rice,” SJP wrote.

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“The workshop is one part of ongoing efforts to educate and engage the campus on issues related to student belonging, with this session presenting a specific focus on antisemitism within the context of free speech and academic freedom,” a university spokesperson said in a statement to the Thresher.

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