by Margaret Peppiatt, The College Fix
Diversity, equity, and inclusion staff often act as “political activists” and contribute to hostile conditions for Jewish students at universities, according to a study recently published by the Heritage Foundation.
Jay Greene, senior research fellow at the foundation’s Center for Education Policy, and James Paul, director of research at the Educational Freedom Institute, co-authored the December report, titled “Inclusion Delusion: The Antisemitism of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff at Universities.”
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The study should help people understand that the “nice-sounding words” of diversity, equity and inclusion are “masking university programs that actually spew hate and division, particularly with respect to Jews,” Greene told The College Fix via email.
The study concluded DEI staff are “particularly unwelcoming toward Jewish students,” noting that this attitude may promote antisemitic sentiments at universities.
“The political activism of DEI staff may help explain the rising frequency of antisemitic incidents on college campuses as well as the association between college and graduate education and higher levels of antisemitic attitudes,” the report stated.
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“Essentially, our research documented what many people suspected to be true. Now that the facts are more firmly established, people feel empowered to take action to reign in DEI programs,” Greene said.
A coalition of 2,000 rabbis called for a halt of DEI efforts in response to the study, Fox News reported.
“We believe that universities should suspend all DEI programs pending a comprehensive review of how candidates are selected for staff positions, because those harboring what should be obvious disqualifying biases were apparently identified on literally dozens of campuses with influence over thousands of students,” Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values, told Fox News.
Negative reactions to the report mostly consist of doubts over whether the documented anti-Israel bias constitutes antisemitism, Greene said to The College Fix.
“We address this in the report noting that the double-standard and hate-filled language used to attack Israel clearly cross the line to being antisemitic,” Greene said.
Read the full article at The College Fix