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Ad during Las Vegas Bowl accuses Northwestern of being soft on Jew-hatred

“By refusing to define and denounce antisemitism, Northwestern is tacitly endorsing the climate of fear and intimidation for Jews on campus,” said Avi Gordon, of Alums for Campus Fairness.

Alums for Campus Fairness
A digital ad which Alums for Campus Fairness ran during the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 23, 2023. Credit: Courtesy.

The Northwestern University Wildcats beat the University of Utah Utes 14-7 in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 23, with the team in Evanston, Ill., winning its fourth game in a row, closing out the season 8-5.

The game was significant for a different reason to Alums for Campus Fairness, whose six-figure ad buy called on Northwestern to define and denounce Jew-hatred.

The nonprofit “demands the university adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and hold students and faculty accountable for violations of Northwestern Community Standards,” it stated.

“Northwestern president Schill: Stop making us live in fear. Define and denounce antisemitism” reads a digital ad, which ran in several formats during the game and which Alums for Campus Fairness shared with JNS.

“By refusing to define and denounce antisemitism, Northwestern is tacitly endorsing the climate of fear and intimidation for Jews on campus,” stated Avi Gordon, executive director of the group.

“Faculty and student groups are openly supporting Hamas terrorism and calling for the genocide of Jews,” Gordon added. “It’s beyond time for Northwestern president Michael Schill to take decisive action against individuals violating university policy and adopt the internationally accepted definition of antisemitism.”

“These are outlandish claims not based on facts,” Northwestern has stated.

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