Boston, MA. Nixon Peabody LLP has joined a group of law firms in signing a letter that urges leading US law schools to denounce antisemitic rhetoric, violence, and harassment.
The letter to law school deans of several major universities called on them to condemn “antisemitic harassment, vandalism, and assaults on college campuses, including rallies calling for the death of Jews and the elimination of the State of Israel.” The letter goes on to denounce “antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, or any other form of violence, hatred, or bigotry on your campuses, in our workplaces, or our communities.”
Nixon Peabody’s leaders have unequivocally condemned the horrific attacks by the terrorist group Hamas that initiated this most recent round of violence in the region. You can read the full text of the letter below.
Dear Deans,
Everyone at our law firms is entitled to be treated with respect and to be free of any conduct that targets their identity and is offensive, hostile, intimidating, or inconsistent with their personal dignity and rights. We prohibit any form of harassment, whether verbal, visual, or physical.
Over the last several weeks, we have been alarmed at reports of antisemitic harassment, vandalism, and assaults on college campuses, including rallies calling for the death of Jews and the elimination of the State of Israel. Such antisemitic activities would not be tolerated at any of our firms. We also would not tolerate outside groups engaging in acts of harassment and threats of violence, as has also been occurring on many of your campuses.
As educators at institutions of higher learning, it is imperative that you provide your students with the tools and guidance to engage in the free exchange of ideas, even on emotionally charged issues, in a manner that affirms the values we all hold dear and rejects unreservedly that which is antithetical to those values. There is no room for antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, or any other form of violence, hatred, or bigotry on your campuses, in our workplaces, or our communities.
As employers who recruit from each of your law schools, we look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses.
We trust you will take the same unequivocal stance against such activities as we do, and we look forward to a respectful dialogue with you to understand how you are addressing with urgency this serious situation at your law schools.
