Allegations of Anti-Semitism at Stanford by Jewish Student are Debated

By Alison Lesley --
21 Apr 2015 --

Jewish student Molly Horwitz says she encountered anti-Semitism when being interviewed for a student senate seat in a Stanford University organization.

Molly Horwitz, a junior from Milwaukee chose to run for a student senate seat at Stanford University. Molly Horwitz says she identifies as both “a proud South American and as a Jew.” Adopted from Paraguay, she broadly wrote about experiences in both Jewish and Latino circles in her application. After submitting an endorsement application, Horwitz was then selected as one of the candidates to interview for the Students of Color Coalition (SOCC) endorsement. Accounts of what transpired during the interview on March 13, 2015 vary and without proof, it is beyond doubtful that any version can be verified.

Horwitz alleged that she was asked, “Given your strong Jewish identity, how would you vote on divestment?” She then explained how she asked the SOCC member for clarification, and alluded to her application and asked how her “strong Jewish identity” would affect her decision in the Senate.

Horwitz claims she then responded by clarifying that while she was supportive of the process the student senate had used to vote in favor of urging Stanford to divest, she opposed divestment and found the ultimate outcome of the vote disappointing. She says the interview ended a minute later.

The president of the campus chapter of the NAACP, Tianay Pulphus, said that Horwitz’s accusations were “baseless.” She added, “At no point was she asked whether her Jewish identity impacted her view on divestment.” Pulphus, a senior, is one of the students who conducted the interview. She stated, “We ask all candidates how they would navigate issues that have come up in the previous year. We in no way singled out a candidate based on their ethnic or religious identity.”

If Horwitz was singled out for her religion, and if these claims are proven to be accurate, that would mean the investigation at Stanford exposes this maltreatment. Assuming that Horwitz’s Jewish faith will affect her ability to serve on the Senate falls under religious discrimination. The SOCC does, however, have every right to pick candidates it believes will advocate for its agenda. Though that is true, it does not have given them the right to judge candidates immorally on their religious views.

Furthermore, the SOCC is a coalition advocates for groups that face discrimination. Religious discrimination is banned by Stanford’s Acts of Intolerance Protocol. Any allegations against Stanford’s SOCC that results in exposing discrimination shall be taken very seriously.