National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council
NJCRAC Joint Program Plan 1994-1995

Guide to Program Planning Of the Constituent Organizations

While separate from the community, the university often is an important part of the life of American communities, and indeed is considered to be a microcosm of American society. The community relations concerns of American Jews, particularly with regard to intergroup relations, also exist in the campus environment, where the free exchange of ideas leads to the formation of values and relationships that will, to a significant degree, shape the future course of American society. In carrying out its mandate regarding the campuses, the Jewish community relations field works closely with campus-based organizations to help foster tolerance and civility and combat bigotry in the campus environment, as well as to empower Jewish students to address their public affairs concerns.

Changing Conditions

As the numbers of campus-based CRCs and other forms of interaction between local CRCs and campus organizations continue to increase, the contribution of the Jewish community relations field to assuring Jewish continuity is enhanced. Intergroup tensions increased on some campuses around the country surrounding the visits of black extremist speakers and the reappearance of Holocaust denial ads.

Background

More than a dozen campus-based CRCs are operating around the country. These student-run instrumentalities, set up with the encouragement of the NJCRAC, together with Hillel, are proving to be critical for involving Jewish students in a range of community relations concerns that arise on their campuses, including intergroup relations, anti-Semitism, and Israelrelated matters. They also provide a way for Jewish college students to become involved more deeply with the organized Jewish community, through participation both in local CRCs and also at national gatherings. The Jewish community relations field recognizes the critical importance of integrating college students in the work of the field, and views the campus-based CRC project as an important contribution to Jewish continuity through community relations work. Therefore, significant expansion of community-campus interaction through the creation of campus-based CRCs is a priority for the NJCRAC and its local affiliates.

Whether the issues involve responding to crises that affect the Jewish community on campus, or working to build more positive black-Jewish relations on campus, or interpreting the peace process to the campus community, it is important that Jewish faculty also be included in such community relations efforts, since they will remain on a particular campus for the long-term and therefore can have influence in discussions with other faculty, the administration, as well as subsequent generations of students,

During the 1993-94 academic year a number of college newspapers published Holocaust denial advertisements or op-ed articles submitted by Bradley Smith, head of the Holocaust denial Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust. When these situations first emerged during the 1991-92 school year, most campus newspapers that received material from Mr. Smith's organization refused to publish it. Those that did were approached by Hillels and Jewish community relations agencies in an effort to explain the false contents of the Holocaust denial materials and also to emphasize that a newspaper is not obligated to print any submission even if it is a paid advertisement. The reemergence of these situations indicates that such educational outreach still is necessary, especially since the opening of the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington in April 1993 may have given new impetus to Mr. Smith.

At the campuses where Holocaust denial ads or op-eds were printed, students responded with counter-ads and op-eds. Even as most campus newspapers rejected the denial material, CRCs and Hillels worked again to impart understanding among student editors that there is no First Amendment obligation to print hate material.

Controversy surrounding the visit in late November 1993 of Khalid Abdul Muhammad, a spokesman for the Nation of Islam, to Kean College in New Jersey raised concerns anew over extremist speakers on college campuses. What distinguished Muhammad's visit to Kean from other campus appearances were two interrelated factors. First, there was a history of tensions between blacks and Jews at Kean, making it a very wounded institution vulnerable to the impact of a visiting extremist speaker. Second, the Administration at Kean was extremely weak, the college president had ignored the escalating racial tensions for several years and she failed to respond in a timely and appropriate manner to Muhammad's hate speech.

The crisis atmosphere at Kean led to the intervention of the New Jersey Chancellor of Higher Education, who sharply criticized the Kean administration and took steps to found a state institute for prejudice reduction in an effort to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. The Kean situation became a national issue following the publication of an ADL ad comprised of excerpts from Muhammad's speech (see sections on Anti-Semitism in the United States and on African American-Jewish Relations).

While Muhammad continues to make appearances around the country, few have caused the kind of furor that erupted at Kean, although his explosive visit to Howard University led to the expedited departure of that institution's president and a strong condemnation of Muhammad by the university's board chairman. At several campuses, such as Emory and Spellman in Atlanta, invitations to Muhammad were rescinded and his planned visits canceled. Nevertheless, one of the most disturbing factors concerning the visits of Muhammad and other spokespeople for the Nation of Islam has been the response of some black audiences, who have applauded the anti-Semitic and other bigoted remarks, while others remained silent.

In contrast to previous years, the situation in the Middle East has not been high on the agenda of Jewish student groups, especially of campus-based CRCs which have focused on domestic agenda issues. However, the signing of the Israel-PLO accords in September 1993 has led in some instances to Jewish-Arab dialogue and other interaction on campuses.

Priority Strategic Goals

The Jewish Community Relations Field Should

• support and stimulate the creation of campus-based CRCs to define a public affairs agenda that will fully engage the campus Jewish population;
  
  
• reach out to Jewish faculty and staff on local campuses and create appropriate avenues for their involvement in the Jewish public affairs agenda on campus and in the community;
  
  
• create opportunities for leadership development and training in community relations principles and skills to empower Jewish students to address campus situations, participate in local JCRC activities, and be proactive in creating positive intergroup relations;
  
  
• establish relationships with state higher education executives (SHEEOs) and work together on projects for prejudice reduction and promoting tolerance and civility on college campuses.