Recently accused of failing to protect rights of Jewish students, Georgia Tech now adopts International Definition of Antisemitism
A US college which was at the centre of a row over antisemitism and failing to protect the rights of Jewish students has reached an agreement with the complainant and adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.
In January 2020, the Georgia Institute of Technology – known as Georgia Tech – was accused of “failing to confront antisemitism and protect the rights of Jewish students.” The accusation came after Lauren Blazofsky, the then-director of Georgia Tech Hillel, was barred from attending a campus event called “Palestine 101”.
On behalf of Hillels of Georgia, the American Centre for Law and Justice asked the US Department of Education to investigate whether Ms Blazofsky was barred from attending because she was Jewish.
On 19th January, the College announced that the parties had reached an agreement and that the case was closed. A College statement declared: “Antisemitism and any other forms of discrimination are not acceptable,” and confirmed that the College was adopting the Definition.
Ms Blazofsky, who is now Associate Director of Hillel at Emory University, said that she was pleased with the outcome, noting that the “goal all along” had been to ensure that Jewish students could “rely on Georgia Tech to protect them when faced with antisemitism or discrimination.” She added that she was happy to see that the College had recognised the Definition, as it means that the College can “move forward to educate the community about all forms of modern antisemitism.”
Mark Goldfeder, the lawyer who handled the case, said he believed the “unified statement” on this issue would “help prevent any future instances of antisemitic behaviour, and ensure that if something does happen it is dealt with appropriately.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
