Terrorism and Anti-Semitism are never OK. And (luckily) we don’t know many people who directly advocate for Terrorism or Anti-Semitism.
But the October 7th terrorist attack on Israel, the immediate rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the US and Europe – and the resounding silence from major US institutions - made us realize that it is critical for our leaders to have the moral courage to publicly stand against Terrorism and Anti-Semitism.
Because if the strongest among us do not have the courage to advocate against terrorism and hate,
then who will?
WHY WE STARTED IT
— Pastor Martin Niemoller
First they came for the socialists,
and I did not speak out,
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I did not speak out,
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.
HOW WE'RE DOING IT
1
Collating public statements by major US companies and universities and anonymously crowdsourcing internal statements on the October 7th terrorist attacks made by these institution’s authorized representative(s)
2
Assessing those statements to derive the institution’s stands on Terrorism and Anti-Semitism based on clear criteria (see below)
3
Publishing that assessment to create transparency for stakeholders
Note that all internal statement submissions are anonymized – we extract and save the text and then delete the original submission. We do not and cannot track the IP addresses of our submitters.
We attempt to validate all internal statements with the institution in question before publication.
If you’re an institution and believe that the statement we have or the assessment is incorrect, please have an authorized Communications representative get in touch with us at moralstandingorg@gmail.com and we would be happy to correct any inaccuracies
HOW DO WE ASSESS AN INSTITUTION'S STAND ON TERRORISM AND ANTI-SEMITISM?
If an institution has not made a statement, it implies that it has not explicitly condemned Terrorism or Anti-Semitism.
“...to use our collective voice to unequivocally condemn the violent and Antisemitic attacks on the citizens of Israel at the hands of terrorists”
“I am compelled by our shared sense of humanity to condemn the attacks on civilians by Hamas in the strongest possible terms.”
“In my opinion, such a deliberate attack on civilians can never be justified”
We looked for two things:
- Clear acknowledgement of the gravity of the
- Explicit condemnation
Examples of statements that acknowledge, but do not explicitly condemn, Terrorism include:
“I was devastated by the horrific attacks on Israel this weekend”
“These images of terror are horrific and hard to comprehend.”
“Hamas’s murder and kidnapping of hundreds of Israelis over the past weekend is among the most atrocious of terrorist acts.”
Examples of statements that also explicitly condemn Terrorism include:
FOR TERRORISM
“I write to condemn unequivocally these expressions of hate and prejudice and to offer the Institute's support to those affected.”
FOR ANTI-SEMITISM
we looked for three things:
- Clear acknowledgement
- An offer of support
- Explicit condemnation.
Examples of statements that specifically acknowledge Anti-Semitism and offer support include:
“I know this is an especially frightening and difficult time for those in our Jewish community. I would like our Jewish faculty, staff, and students to know I stand with you…The safety and well-being of everyone in our campus community will always be my highest priority.”
“...A number of students have told me that because of their Jewish faith, or their ties to Israel, they feel unsafe on our campus… that should trouble us deeply…and we must ensure that the rhetoric on our own campus does not escalate to the point of personal attacks, harassment or violence.”
Examples of statements that strongly and explicitly condemn Anti-Semitism include:
"We express sympathy and support for everyone in the region."