Antisemitism Commission “Fails to Meet the Moment”
Jewish Scholars Urge No Vote & Release Shadow Report Detailing Commission’s Missteps
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Read CJFS’ Shadow Report on the Special Commission
BOSTON, MA – As the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism convenes to vote on its Final Report, Jewish scholars from across the state delivered a simple message: “Vote No.” In a letter sent to commissioners this morning, Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff (CJFS) lamented the Commission’s failure to deliver what the Commonwealth needs: “a thoughtful, collaborative and inclusive approach to antisemitism.” Far from reflecting Massachusetts values, CJFS points out, the Commission’s final report doubles down on the same narratives and policies that the “Trump administration and rightwing allies such as the ADL wield to spread hate, to silence dissent, and to erode the democratic norms that keep all of us safe.”
The Commission’s consistent vilification of educators and its erasure of non-Zionist perspectives has coarsened the toxic dynamics that J-Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami observed in 2012: public figures “‘keep quiet, and refrain from criticizing Israeli policies because they ‘live in fear’ and are ‘intimidated’ by pro-Israeli groups.” Ben-Ami more recently noted that “Members of Congress and other non-Jewish leaders have confided to me their dread at being labeled antisemites if they publicly critique Israeli policy. Who can blame them? That chilling effect is exactly the point — and exactly the problem.”
Alongside their letter, CJFS released a Shadow Report that details how the Commission’s leadership sowed division and reinforced the dangerous stereotype that Jewish identity is inextricably linked to the state of Israel and its conduct. The scholars write:
“The Commission had one critical task: address antisemitism without enabling an authoritarian agenda that imperils us all. With deep regret, our sustained observation and assessment of the Commission and its leadership leads to a single conclusion: the Commission has done more to fuel rising authoritarianism and antisemitism than to create the conditions that promote Jewish safety. The Commission has smeared educators, discounted non-Zionist perspectives, and endorsed the same narratives and policies that the Trump administration wields to divide our communities, target our students, extort our institutions, tar antiwar protesters, and undo hard-won progress toward this country’s highest democratic ideals.”
The Shadow Report also offers guidance to those interested in advancing a serious approach to antisemitism. “This begins,” the scholars note, “by foregrounding the primary source of antisemitism: the Christian nationalist and White supremacist ideologues who now occupy the federal government and seek to entrench an anti-democracy in the United States. It also requires avoiding the reflex to characterize legitimate criticism of Israel and Zionism as presumptively antisemitic or anti-Jewish. Lawmakers and policymakers throughout the state now have an opportunity to reject the Commission’s divisiveness and model for the country what it actually means to address antisemitism consistent with Massachusetts values. We hope they meet the moment.”
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The following quotations may be attributed to CJFS members:
Ben Allen, Emmanuel College: “The Commission did a good job representing legacy Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Community Relations Council, and American Jewish Committee. But it has not been representative or responsive to the community it purports to protect. We are Jewish organizations too: Boston Workers Circle, Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff, IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Massachusetts Synagogue Network on Israel-Palestine, Rabbis for Ceasefire, and many more. We are no less Jewish and no less concerned about the normalization of bigotry in the United States and in our beloved Massachusetts. Yet this Commission has systematically ignored our warnings and slighted our views. It has ignored similar alarm bells rung by our non-Jewish friends and neighbors. Its final recommendations and ‘findings’ continue to conflate Jewish identity with pro-Israel politics, endangering us all.”
Aviva Chomsky, Salem State University, in State House testimony on July 15, 2025: “Does Massachusetts law define the specific phrases that constitute sexism, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism, or anti-immigrant racism? The only reason that pro-Israel organizations have promoted the idea that we need a definition of antisemitism is because they want to create a political definition far beyond the obvious one–of stereotyping, prejudice, or harm against Jews–and impose a political definition that limits freedom of speech and political debate.”
Jonathan Feingold, Boston University: “The Special Commission had a unique opportunity to defuse and disrupt the Trump administration's ongoing misuse of Jewish identity. It never rose to the occasion. Rather than meaningfully address antisemitism, the Commission's leadership repeatedly rehearsed the same narratives and endorsed the same policies that Trump and allies deploy to strip our rights, silence dissent, and terrorize our communities. What might have been a model for the nation offers a cautionary tale that leaves Massachusetts even less equipped to contend with antisemitism in the Commonwealth and beyond.”
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Marjorie Feld, Babson College: “For the last century, American Jewish opinions about, and visions of, Israel and Palestine have been as diverse and complicated as the American Jewish population. By drawing from one single, inaccurate narrative about the need for unqualified support for Israel’s policies, the Commission has aligned itself with white nationalists and joined the forces that are eroding the rights of us all. We will continue to stand in solidarity with our allies, working for a more democratic Massachusetts and seeking to protect the academic freedom that grounds our work as teachers and scholars.”
Alexander Gourevitch, Brown University: “The Commission’s analysis and recommendations are so riddled with confusion and bad reasoning that they are, at best, unusable, and at worst, an attempt to bring Trumpism to Massachusetts. Its report does not read like the concluding thoughts of authors who engaged with an open mind about a difficult topic, sensitive to the immense disagreement within the Jewish community and to the dangerous political moment. It reads instead like a final paper by a student who knew their conclusion before doing the research, only took seriously those who already agreed, buried inconvenient facts, and never made more than cosmetic changes in a last-minute effort to earn a better grade.”
Margaret Litvin, Boston University: “The Commission, which included almost no educators, embraced demagogy rather than pedagogy. Their hearings were punitive, attacking Jewish and non-Jewish educators. Their recommendations seek to institutionalize that punitive approach, proposing a tipline for reporting ‘problematic curriculum’ (whatever anyone with a grudge finds problematic) and an anonymous reporting system to send every potential case of bias straight to the police. If implemented, these bad recommendations will not reduce antisemitism; instead, they’ll spark resentment and feed an anti-Jewish backlash. Our report proposes a better way.”
Jeremy Menchik, Boston University: “What a shonda. The Special Commission had the opportunity to unite Massachusetts residents in the fight against antisemitism and all forms of bigotry. Instead, by importing the authoritarian tactics of President Trump, turning public hearings into a social media circus, trying to humiliate organized labor and Jewish educators, and actively bullying non-Zionist Jews, the Special Commission did not combat antisemitism. It increased polarization in Massachusetts and created a template for blue-state authoritarianism.”
Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff (CJFS) is a membership organization of Jewish faculty and staff from roughly 25 colleges and universities in the greater Boston area and several others throughout New England. CJFS is part of the National Campus Jewish Alliance. We represent a range of backgrounds and hold diverse views about the Middle East and other issues, but we are united in opposing the invocation of Jews and Jewishness—and misguided or cynical claims of antisemitism—to penalize Palestine solidarity activism, to stifle academic freedom, to undermine civil rights or to otherwise erode democratic institutions and norms. We believe that Jewish safety is deeply connected to the safety of all people, and that the fight against antisemitism cannot be separated from the struggle against all forms of oppression.