1 year ago
NEW YORK — Some of the nation’s biggest law firms have a message for law school deans amid an uptick in antisemitic hate crimes: rein in discrimination and harassment on your campuses.
In a letter to deans of the top law schools late Wednesday, 24 prominent law firms urged the institutions to denounce anti-Israel protests and take the “same unequivocal stance against such activities as we do.”
The letter’s signatories included Davis Polk & Wardwell — which recently rescinded job offers to Harvard and Columbia law students over their statements on Israel — as well as Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden and Sullivan & Cromwell.
“We have been alarmed at reports of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism and assaults on college campuses, including rallies calling for the death of Jews and the elimination of the State of Israel,” they wrote. “Such anti-Semitic activities would not be tolerated at any of our firms. We also would not tolerate outside groups engaging in acts of harassment and threats of violence, as has also been occurring on many of your campuses.”
While it is “imperative” the schools give students guidance to engage in the “free exchange of ideas,” they said, there is “no room” for antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism or other types of “violence, hatred or bigotry” on their campuses and in their firms’ workplaces.
The firms also offered a warning: “As employers who recruit from each of your law schools, we look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses.”
Law schools and colleges are increasingly facing pressure to take a stand against rising antisemitism in the wake of Hamas militants' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Last month, a New York University law student lost a job offer at Winston & Strawn after blaming Israel following the attacks. A law professor at the University of California Berkeley also recently called on firms to not hire students at his institution who are antisemitic.
On Wednesday, Columbia University said it would form a task force on antisemitism and the University of Pennsylvania announced a series of steps to address the issue so “that we are fostering a welcoming community for all.”
The pressure from the law firms comes as governors and political leaders across the country are urging colleges to do more to quash antisemitism.
The Anti-Defamation League reported a nearly 400 percent increase in antisemitic incidents this month, and the Council on American Islamic Relations also reported a spike in bias incidents against Muslims.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined steps the state will take to fight anti-religious hate crimes, including having former top state Judge Jonathan Lippman review policies and procedures for tackling antisemitism at the City University of New York. Earlier this week, she traveled to Ithaca to meet with Cornell University students after violent and antisemitic messages appeared online.
Following the arrest of a 21-year-old Cornell student over the threats, Hochul said the case should remind individuals to not harass people or engage in hateful rhetoric.
“People come to this state because of our diversity. They celebrate it — different religious, ethnic backgrounds, races,” she told reporters in Rochester. “This is the melting pot of the nation, and for New Yorkers to be at war with other New Yorkers because their passions are so inflamed about what is happening in the Middle East, that cannot bleed into our society and make students feel threatened.”
Also in New York, Assembly Republicans on Thursday introduced the Dismantling Student Antisemitism Act, which would require colleges to implement antisemitism training for students, faculty and staff. Schools that do not comply would no longer receive state funding.
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