To the Editor:
The joint statement sent to The Herald by members of the Brown Corporation and leaders of Brown-RISD Hillel claims that the University has upheld its commitment to Jewish life on campus. It has not.
Of note is this statement: “With all of the ongoing discussions about antisemitism on college campuses, one might easily suspect that these environments are disaster zones for Jewish life. At Brown University, this is not the case.” Well apparently, the University’s leaders have short-lived memories. To refresh recollections: In July 2024, the Biden administration and Brown agreed on various process reforms after the University was the subject of a set of damning allegations of antisemitism — a settlement that does not even amount to a slap on the wrist and shamefully glosses over presence of discrimination against the Jewish community on campus.
The letter from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 was far more critical of the University’s response to antisemitism. It detailed numerous credible allegations of harassment against Jewish students that occurred after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and were reported by Brown community members.
The recent statement was co-signed by Rabbi Josh Bolton, the executive director of Brown-RISD Hillel. Rabbi Bolton is the same person who stated in a Herald op-ed piece that ran on March 17, which stated, “I am deeply concerned by the relentless — and also maybe clueless — use of antisemitic tropes that continues to pervade campus protests.” I am perplexed that this is the same person who co-signed the leadership statement 17 days later. Either there is antisemitism on Brown’s campus or there isn’t.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Cohen ’71
