Federations call on Inslee to take action after antisemitic UW incident

Jewish Federations of North America are calling on Washington Governor Jay Inslee to take immediate action following an antisemitic incident at University of Washington on Thursday.


At a University of Washington board of regents meeting, anti-Israel protesters shouted down a series of speakers who had come to testify about antisemitism and the experience Jewish students face on campus.


The speakers included Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle CEO Solomon Kane.


"His remarks were met with one of the most vile, outrageous displays of antisemitism to be witnessed at a public meeting in the United States of America in recent memory," Jewish Federations of North America Chair Julie Platt and President and CEO Eric D. Fingerhut wrote Inslee in a Monday letter.


"To make matters worse, the board, a public body duly chartered by the State of Washington, did nothing to remove the disrupters, but instead chose to adjourn the meeting rather than to ensure the right of this speaker and the others who had planned to speak to proceed. The board has so far taken no legal or disciplinary action against the disrupters," they added, noting that Kane had to be escorted from the premises for his physical safety.


Platt and Fingerhut, who said the incident was a "stain" on the reputations of both the State of Washington and the University of Washington, called for the Jewish community of Seattle to receive an appropriate apology, for the perpetrators to be punished, and for the Jewish community's concerns about antisemitism to be heard and considered by the state and university.


"These are all basic expectations that shouldn’t need to be requested. Nothing short of these steps can hope to restore confidence in the integrity of the university or its intention to uphold the values of free speech, mutual respect, and opposition to antisemitism that are cornerstones of American civil society," the letter concluded.


To read the full letter, click here.

To read Kane's account of the incident in a community message, click here.

To e-mail to the University of Washington Board of Regents, click here.

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