‘Zero tolerance’: Unchecked harassment of Jews prompts financial threats against elite colleges
November 3, 2023
Elite universities faced angry donors for tepid or equivocal statements in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks that killed a reported 1,400 Israeli civilians nearly a month ago.
Now they’re facing increasing demands to punish students caught harassing Jewish peers or otherwise violating campus conduct rules in their antipathy to Israel.
Top law firms threatened the bottom lines of law schools by pledging Wednesday to stop recruiting from their student body without administrators showing “zero tolerance” for students’ antisemitic actions.
They cited both “rallies calling for the death of Jews and the elimination of the State of Israel” and “outside groups engaging in acts of harassment and threats of violence” on campus as unacceptable baggage for potential hires.
“There is no room for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism or any other form of violence, hatred or bigotry on your campuses, in our workplaces or our communities,” said the statement, signed by more than two dozen firms including Akin Gump, Cooley, Mintz Levin and Skadden Arps.