Message from Special Advisor, Rachel Fish, PhD
In a world in which many of the moral guardrails of our society have been lowered, educators and educational leaders have a distinct obligation to lead with moral clarity and to illuminate the challenges our society faces. Clearly defining, labeling, and tackling the challenges of antisemitism requires a systemic approach which begins with leadership. The rise of antisemitism in the 21st century cannot be ignored or marginalized. For when antisemitism emerges, we begin to witness the fraying of democratic values and the unraveling of the American tapestry.
Brandeis University was established, in part, to ensure that Jewish students and faculty had an academic home free of discrimination and persecution. It is, therefore, uniquely situated to create the Brandeis University Presidential Initiative to Counter Antisemitism in Higher Education to support university leaders, administrators, and educational leaders in K-12 environments to gain the knowledge, understanding, and sensitivity, as well as the tools, necessary to counter this hatred.
— Rachel Fish, PhD
Special Advisor to the Brandeis University Presidential Initiative to Counter Antisemitism in Higher Education