President Folt and the USC Board of Trustees have publicly and unequivocally denounced antisemitism in all its forms and are committed to creating an environment which is safe for our Jewish community. The university is actively working to strengthen the Jewish community at USC and to ensure that our campus is free of hate speech, including antisemitism and all forms of anti-Jewish hate.
USC Addressing Antisemitism Webpage
USC Report Addresses Antisemitism on Campus
The Advisory Committee on Jewish Life at USC released its final report on Aug 23. Addressed to President Carol Folt, the report includes recommendations for combatting antisemitism on campus and otherwise ensuring an “equitable and inclusive” experience for members of the Jewish community.
President Folt’s Letter to members of USC’s Jewish community
To our USC Jewish community and supporters,
I want to thank all of you who have reached out to express your concerns about recent antisemitic and anti-Zionist posts on social media. These hateful comments have challenged USC’s reputation as a supportive and welcoming environment for our Jewish community, and highlighted the need for us to bolster the ways in which we support Jewish life on campus.
USC has a long history as a campus with a vibrant Jewish community; however, a recent national survey by ADL-Hillel shows a rise in antisemitism across college campuses nationwide. USC is not immune, and we are taking specific new actions to systematically and operationally combat antisemitism on our campuses.
Resources
On May 25, 2023 the Biden-Harris administration released the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. Along with this newly released strategy, the administration announced over 100 new actions and over 100 calls to action to “combat antisemitism, including new actions to counter antisemitism on college campuses and online.”
Jewish Social Workers Special Interest Group Meeting | NASW-NYS Special Interest Groups
The Jewish Social Workers Special Interest Group exists to explore anti-Semitism in social work schools and practice; Develop strategies for counteracting anti-Semitism, including assuring that social work curriculum specifically address anti-Semitism in their courses and; To provide Jewish social workers with a “safe space” in which to voice their concerns and experiences.
Free and open to all. 6pm Third Thursday of the month.
Research Article: Antisemitism and anti-racist social work
Lessons for social work are drawn out which focus on the inclusion of Jewish experience and identity as part of a broader approach to diversity and multiculturalism alongside a recognition of the politics of antisemitism and how to fight it.
Article: How to address antisemitic rhetoric when you encounter it
Article: Why aren’t we calling out antisemitism? Reflections of a Jewish social worker
As a profession committed to challenging discrimination, social work can be deafeningly silence when it comes to racism experienced by Jewish people says Victoria Hart
Article: Antisemitism in Social Work Education
A preliminary research study discovers incidents of Antisemitism and Anti-jewish bias in five Canadian Social Work Schools.
LAUSD Responding to Antisemitism Link
A collection of curated resources and articles to help school communities respond to antisemitism.