Yesterday, Jan 27, was Holocaust Memorial Day. It's an opportunity for all of us to stand against hate and remember the millions who were murdered. It's also an opportunity to raise awareness and check in with ourselves about our assumptions and biases. Inappropriate and inaccurate comments about the Holocaust trivialize genocide and cause real harm to Jewish people.

It's been a week since Columbia University students were targeted with a chemical attack while attending a peaceful pro-Palestine rally. This attack is a serious crime, possibly a hate crime. Although the "alleged perpetrators" have been banned from campus, no arrests have been made even though there were multiple witnesses.

Do you know that the word “racism” wasn’t commonly used until the 1930s, when the word was coined to describe Nazis’ persecution of Jewish people? Racism is one of the most catastrophic evils of the modern world. And yet, today the term “racism” is sometimes used in ways that divorce it from a broader history of domination. For example, when anti-DEI activists claim that affirmative action is racist, what they’re saying is that treating people differently on the basis of race is, ipso facto, racism. But is this what racism actually is?

Is DEI on the down low strategic or self-defeating in the current climate? Some leaders say that it's the work that matters, not what we call it. What this argument forgets is that “repackaging” DEI closets the work and, by extension, the legitimate needs of the people whom diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging initiatives are designed to represent and serve.

One of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s greatest gifts to the world is how he embodied the power of love to solve social problems. Today, it may seem like Dr. King's work doesn't apply to the entrenched conflicts that cause tremendous violence and oppression around the world, from the Middle East to Sudan. But what he advocates for isn't a pie-in-the-sky utopia or "superficial optimism." King recognizes human beings' propensity for collective evil (this is why he rejects liberalism), but he also trusts that history--and God--is on the side of justice and truth.

Leaders who want to advance equity and justice can build trust and safety with their teams not by modeling what getting it right looks like but rather the kind of humility, self-reflection, and personal responsibility that is required whenever they get it wrong. Let’s be honest, even the most committed allies are often scared of making mistakes or offending others. But stepping out of safety and into growth means normalizing messing up. "Failed allyship" is a contradiction in terms. In fact, any allyship that isn't performative requires failure, because there is no progress without it. Being an impactful leader or change agent doesn't require us to be perfect; it requires us to be accountable.

As a Jewish DEIB practitioner invested in fighting antisemitism, I'm deeply saddened to learn that, after only a 6 month term, Harvard President Claudine Gay has resigned. She is the first Black person to lead Harvard and its second woman president. While antisemitism on college campuses is a real problem, anti-DEI extremists' weaponizing of antisemitism is actually a part of a broad attack on equity and justice in US society. This explains the witch hunt against Dr. Gay.

We don't solve the problem of one injustice by creating another injustice. As everyone should know by now, an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. The death toll in Gaza is now over 20,000 people, making this the deadliest conflict for Palestinians since the creation of Israel in 1948. 70% of those killed in Gaza have been women and children, not combatants.

When people tell me that they are uncomfortable including religion in DEI programming, I remind them that antisemitism is not only about faith. It’s racism against Jews. Because Jews are an ethnoreligious group, addressing antisemitism requires us to challenge DEI’s tendency to separate conversations of religious inclusion from conversations about race and ethnicity.

Growing up, I was taught that being Jewish meant unwavering support for Israel. I love and support my family in Israel. Period. But I simply cannot support Israel's government, which is the most right-wing and extreme in its entire history. I've been horrified and heartbroken as I've witnessed the humanitarian deterioration in Gaza and escalating genocide against the Palestinian people, with backing from the US government.

We can disagree without dehumanizing others. In honor of the holiday season, I'm sharing a simple message: If we truly want to bring peace to the world, we need to live it. If you are sickened by the hate, violence, and the deep divisions in our world, take a positive step, even a small one, to build more constructive dialogues in your next meeting, at a holiday gathering, on your campus, or on social media.

It’s time to call out the trend of American conservatives weaponizing our fight against antisemitism for their own reactionary agenda. Good for the Jews? Not so much. I am referring to the Education Department hearing in which the Presidents of Harvard, MIT and UPenn (my alma mater) were grilled by lawmakers about rising antisemitism on their campuses.

Including Hanukkah in your holiday celebrations isn’t “taking a side” in the Israel-Palestine conflict. It’s deeply disturbing to hear that some municipalities and organizations are canceling Hanukkah celebrations or removing menorahs from holiday displays for fear of appearing to side with Israel in the current conflict.

I have a heavy heart because the truce ended. I fear a future of endless war and a wider, even more devastating conflict in the Middle East.

Antisemitism is not anti-colonial struggle. Islamophobia is not counterterrorism. I’m deeply disappointed by those who claim to stand for equality and peace and yet incite hatred and demonize the “other side.” As I’ve repeatedly argued, refusing to recognize the humanity and suffering of the other side diminishes our humanity. My fight against antisemitism is fundamentally linked to my antiracist work, my queer activism, my feminism, and my efforts to advance justice for all. That’s why today I’m expressing solidarity with both my Palestinian and Israeli siblings.

Years ago, a well-dressed White male colleague of mine, let’s call him Bill, was promoted to Dean. When I congratulated him, he said “I fit the part.” He was only half kidding. Bill was one of the few faculty on campus who wore a suit and tie every day. In fact, he already “looked like” a Dean! This story is an example of confirmation bias, a common form of cognitive bias that inclines us to favor information confirming our previously existing beliefs and discount information that contests them. We all have cognitive biases. In fact, our culture reinforces them in ways that we often don’t recognize. This is why it’s essential to be aware of our own bias when consuming information. Read on to learn 5 ways to reduce confirmation bias in your workplace…starting today!

The bravest thing I ever did wasn’t leaving the security of academia to launch my own business as a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging consultant, although I’ll admit that was terrifying. It was deciding that I didn’t care what other people thought of me. In 1985 I came out to my family and was disowned. I was devastated & no longer had $ for college. In 1986 I “went straight” & transferred to a new university. Life in the closet was soul-crushing. I struggled with my health for years.

"She's a Palestinian and I'm Jewish, but the only home we both have is the same home." I was so inspired by this powerful insight from the New York Times article about Israeli and Palestinian Activists Sally Abed and Alon-Lee Green. They are the brave leaders of Standing Together, an organization that works for peace between Israel and Palestinians. The two activists recently traveled from Israel to the US and have discovered a polarization about Gaza so intense that it might be described as a new war zone. How do we move beyond this either/or mindset?

Today I honor our trans and gender expansive siblings who were taken from us and resolve to fight like hell for the living. Transgender people are more than FOUR times more likely than non-trans people to experience violent victimization. This violence can also extend to cisgender people who don't meet normative gender stereotypes. In 2022, 83% of the victims of anti-trans violence were people of color. Black and trans women of color are especially at risk.

"Jews will not replace us." Remember that chant from Charlottesville in 2017? The idea that Jewish people push "anti-white racism" to weaken the West--an antisemitic trope recently endorsed by Elon Musk--is simply a contemporary version of a virulent anti-Jewish conspiracy theory that goes back centuries. At the root of this white supremacist ideology is the Great Replacement Theory: a belief that Jews, who only "pretend" to be white, are plotting to exterminate or "replace" white Christians.