Pedestrians walking on the campus of Duke University on May 14, 2011. (Wikimedia Commons)

(JTA) — Duke University’s student government granted recognition to a Zionist student group, reversing an earlier decision that had provoked the ire of some national Jewish organizations and a legal threat to the university administration.

In 2021, Duke’s student body president had vetoed a request for recognition by the Duke chapter of Students Supporting Israel over concerns that an Instagram comment of the group’s, which had implored a student to “please allow us to educate you,” had been “potentially hostile or harmful.”

That decision didn’t sit well with outside advocacy groups like the Brandeis Center for Human Rights, the Israel on Campus Coalition and the Zionist Organization of America. All issued statements condemning the university and prompted Duke’s Offices of Institutional Equity and Conduct and Community Standards to investigate whether the SSI veto had been discriminatory. The pro-Israel watchdog group Canary Mission accused the student body president of “antisemitic hypocrisy.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

In December, the Brandeis Center attempted to legally pressure Duke administration to override the student government’s decision.

But in the end, the students sorted it out themselves. On Feb. 23, according to available meeting minutes, the student government voted to approve a re-submitted proposal from SSI to become an officially recognized student organization within the school’s Student Organization Finance Committee.

The vote to approve the group was unanimous, with some students abstaining.

Duke SSI’s submission for recognition described the group’s mission as “a clear and confident pro-Israel voice on college campuses, and to support students in grassroots pro-Israel advocacy.”

In a statement, the Brandeis Center praised the decision, while claiming the SSI group’s initial recognition was revoked “all because they support Israel.”

—
The post Following outcry, Duke University student government recognizes campus Zionist group appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount