Bard Center for Study of Hate Announces Affiliation with Nexus Task Force

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. —The Bard Center for the Study of Hate (BCSH) and the Nexus Task Force are pleased to announce a formal affiliation. Through this affiliation, Bard will provide an academic home for the Task Force’s deliberations, offering an opportunity for Bard students and faculty to become further engaged in the issues the Task Force examines. In turn, the Task Force with benefit from the participation of Bard’s experts on these issues.

The Nexus Task Force, led by Jonathan Jacoby, examines the intersection of issues relating to antisemitism and Israel. It is made up of leading scholars and public policy experts, and is supported by an advisory committee of academics and others from the U.S. and Canada.

The Bard Center for the Study of Hate, led by Kenneth Stern, looks at all aspects of hatred, and its use to demonize and/or dehumanize any group of human beings. 

Nexus and BCSH will jointly sponsor webinars on the BCSH platform, as well as in-person programs at the College. Additionally, the Task Force will publish documents, hold discussions with thought leaders and policy makers, and support other initiatives focused on the nuances, and difficulties around the issues of Israel and antisemitism, as well as the weaponization of charges of antisemitism for political purposes, such as chilling some pro-Palestinian speech. 

“We’re delighted to be affiliated with the Nexus Task Force,” said BCSH director Kenneth Stern “While BCSH will not officially endorse the Task Force’s independent positions, we’re excited to help facilitate discussion around antisemitism related to Israel. Too often partisans on both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict make, or deny, claims of antisemitism to promote their political views. When our understanding of antisemitism is distorted in this way, the ability to confront this hatred is diminished. We welcome the opportunity to involve our students, faculty and staff, in the important discussions the Task Force will generate.”

Nexus Task Force director Jonathan Jacoby said: “We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Kenneth Stern, who has played such an important role in combatting antisemitism, and to expand our advisory committee to include the following Bard faculty and staff members: Diplomat in Residence Frederic Hof, Chaplain of the College Rev. Mary Grace Williams, and Jewish Chaplain Rabbi Joshua Boettiger.

Before its Bard affiliation the Nexus Task Force published a widely-cited white paper “Understanding Antisemitism at its Nexus with Israel and Zionism,” exploring some of the complexities at the intersection of the issues of Israel and Antisemitism.  Other resources are available at https://israelandantisemitism.com/. 

The Bard Center for the Study of Hate (BCSH) works to increase the serious study of human hatred, and ways to combat it. The Center is a program of Bard’s Human Rights Project. For more information, visit bcsh.bard.edu.



About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; eight early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 161-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.
 

This event was last updated on 03-10-2022

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