March 24, 2009
In response to the growing number of anti-Israel rallies and activism on American college campuses, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has produced a new manual to provide students with information on countering criticism of Israel.
Fighting Back: A Handbook for Responding to Anti-Israel Rallies on College and University Campuses presents information about free speech on campus, including what type of speech is and is not protected by American law and campus codes of conduct. The guide offers suggestions on how to counter “bad speech” with “good speech” by organizing rallies, distributing fliers, and encouraging university administrators to speak out against hateful and offensive speech.
The guide also provides answers to commonly asked questions regarding anti-Semitism on campus, including:
- When does criticism of Israel become anti-Semitism?
- What can I do when I feel threatened or singled out by activists or students because I am Jewish?
- How should one respond to anti-Israel or anti-Semitic fliers on campus? Are they protected speech?
- What should I do when a group of anti-Israel protestors blocks access to a building?
Fighting Back offers tips for responding to anti-Israel incidents by maintaining open lines of communication with administrators and campus security and keeping the informed on a regular basis of anti-Israel activity, and offers tips for longer term considerations, such as finding common ground with other student groups on campus and working to build relationships with their membership, and becoming active in key areas of student life, such as student government and campus newspapers.
The guide can be dowloaded from this webpage:
Fighting Back (PDF file 409Kb)
[Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or higher.]
The guide is also available online on the ADL website.