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Dear Friends of FAIR,
In recent months, we have been disheartened to see the pervasive instances of discriminatory hostility directed at students of Jewish faith and Israeli national heritage on college campuses across the country. Discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics such as one's race, skin color, religion, or national origin is unlawful. Period. That the discrimination might be motivated by deeply-held political or social beliefs does not change the calculus.
But what has been especially alarming to us most recently is a disturbing trend emerging where students who report discrimination are retaliated against, in what seem to be attempts to silence their calls for help. FAIR is currently focused on legal advocacy around one such case.
Earlier this week FAIR filed a civil rights complaint with the Department of Education, asking it to investigate a hostile environment on the University of Virginia’s campus. The complaint is in response to an incident report filed on FAIRtransparency.org by UVA freshman Matan Goldstein, a Jewish, American-Israeli student. The report outlines how Goldstein’s brief college experience has been mired in discriminatory harassment based on his religion and national origin. Goldstein has been physically assaulted and targeted with several racial and ethnic slurs. The hostile campus environment has required him to self-censor and alter his behavior in various ways in order to avoid further harassment: Goldstein was recently hospitalized for extreme depression, he no longer wears his yarmulke or Jewish star necklace in public, and he has moved out of his dormitory and now resides in an undisclosed location out of fear for his safety. Goldstein notified UVA on numerous occasions about the hostility directed at him. The school has failed to correct the problem and has instead retaliated against Goldstein.
UVA’s Honor Council is now pursuing what it has every reason to know is a baseless accusation against Matan. A fellow student brought an honor charge against Matan, alleging that Matan lied when he answered a reporter's question about physical hostility directed at Matan during a student rally in October 2023. Matan will now be forced to defend himself before the Honor Council in order to escape expulsion from the university.
Intimidation tactics like this one not only infringe upon the student’s First Amendment Rights but in this case, the new reporter’s rights may be violated as well. At its very foundational level, the First Amendment is meant to protect the truth. If speakers are intimidated into remaining silent, that in turn impacts the ability of news media to deliver truthful reporting, which thereby infringes the First Amendment rights of the general public because the public is then deprived of the opportunity to hear the truth.
We at FAIR are committed to upholding the constitutional rights afforded to all of us. If individuals are scared to report civil rights violations out of fear of being expelled from school, we cannot do our jobs. That is why we stand with Matan and all students who find themselves the targets of discriminatory harassment. We hope you will join us. Your support is what makes it possible for us to take up crucial legal advocacy projects like this one.
Warmly,
The Team at the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism
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This is absolutely vile: first refusing to help this student after all the cruel and persistent attacks he's been subject to and then retaliating against him, clearly in a bid to drive him away. I read the university's public response and it's filled with the usual formulaic platitudes. A big thank you to FAIR for taking up his case.
Matan, if you're reading: it's shameful how you're being treated at the university founded by the person who wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. If you need anything, you've got a friend down the road in Richmond.