FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JEWISH STUDIES ZIONIST NETWORK ISSUES STATEMENT ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT ANTISEMITISM ALLEGATIONS
A global alliance of pro-Israel college educators and scholars called the Jewish Studies Zionist Network (JSZN) has issued a public statement about the federal investigation into allegations of antisemitism at the University of Vermont. Recent incidents at the Burlington, VT campus have raised concerns to the network’s members.
The organization’s full statement can be read on their website. JSZN founder Jarrod Tanny, Associate Professor of Jewish History at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, has said, “As scholars and educators in Jewish Studies with expertise in antisemitism, we are dismayed by these allegations of exclusion, bullying, and bigotry against Jewish students at UVM. Jews have the right to express their identity as Zionists, an affiliation with their community’s ancestral homeland, on college campuses without fear of recrimination.”Adam Fuller, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at Youngstown State University, is a member of the JSZN coordinating committee.
He said, “A university is supposed to be a place where all ideas are allowed to be voiced. It would be alarming if these allegations against UVM were true. That is why the Department of Education’s investigation is so important.”By issuing this statement, JSZN joins the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and other groups in calling for a full review of UVM’s policies on antisemitism.