(Tallahassee, FL, July 15, 2020) — StandWithUs applauds the passage of a resolution that acknowledges the IHRA definition of antisemitism and calls for increased representation of Jewish students by the Florida State University (FSU) Student Senate. Despite a campaign of misinformation against it, the resolution passed with a vote of 26 in favour, 14 against, and 0 abstentions.
“As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, I appreciate this basic step taken to address antisemitism inside and outside the FSU Student Senate,” said Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs. “There was a campaign to distort this resolution and further silence the Jewish community, which only proves how much more work needs to be done on this campus. We are so proud of FSU Jewish students who pushed through every obstacle to persuade the Student Senate to finally start doing the right thing.”
Resolution 59 focuses on supporting the Jewish community and fighting antisemitism. It calls for increasing Jewish representation in the Student Senate, holding Senators accountable for educating themselves about antisemitism, and supporting action by the administration to address antisemitism on campus. This resolution includes an acknowledgement of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. The passing of this resolution follows the failure to remove the current Student Senate President from his position due to antisemitic statements he made from 2012 to the present, including equating Israelis to Nazis.
“Although we are proud of our work to get Resolution 59 passed, we are disappointed in all of the shameful attempts to derail and distort it. Multiple amendments were put forward and even adopted without the consent of the Jewish community. The worst was a failed amendment introduced by a non-Jewish senator to replace the IHRA definition of antisemitism with a definition put forward by Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Israel hate group. It was also telling to see that language about uniting Israeli and Palestinian students on campus was removed, at the request of SJP. Fortunately, despite all of this, we got the resolution to pass and we’re looking forward to keeping this momentum moving forward,” stated Lioz Grunberger, StandWithUs Emerson Fellow and VP for programming for FSU Noles for Israel and Nolepac.
“We congratulate Jewish Student Union, Mishelanu, Noles for Israel, CUFI, and all the Jewish students and allies who stood up for their community with dedication and courage,” said Talia Lerner, Southern Campus Coordinator at StandWithUs. “We will continue to work with ICC, Hillel International, Hillel at FSU, and IAC-Mishelanu and all of our partners to help students fight against antisemitism and educate about Israel on campus.”
About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters and programs on 5 continents, including the U.S., Israel, UK, Canada, South Africa and Brazil.
For the last 7 years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator (4 stars) and Guidestar (Platinum).
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