Who We Are
The Restore Our Campuses Coalition (ROCC) is a nationwide grassroots movement comprising students from diverse backgrounds, religions and ethnic identities who attend universities across America. We are united through our core American values to speak with one voice and demand that our universities take decisive action to safeguard Jews and Jewish life on campuses; to prevent the insidious attempts to delegitimize Israel and those who support Israel; and to enforce university codes of conduct among organizations and individuals who seek to marginalize Jews, Jewish life, and Zionists on campus.
Declaration
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Strive to create campuses that are free of all prejudice and antisemitism/anti-zionisim as defined by the IHRA;
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Ensure that all students are safe and that school codes of conduct are defined, and enforced equally among all students;
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Enable Jews and others to advocate for Israel without fear; express their identities through observance, religion, culture, conversation, and connection to Israel - the Jewish ancestral homeland;
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Call for strict punishment when school codes of behavior and government laws are violated;
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Repudiate double standards of what is deemed unacceptable behavior toward other minority groups, but tolerated when Jews and supporters of Israel are the target; and
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Reject the tokenization of the fringe minority of anti-Israel Jews who claim to speak on behalf of the majority of Jews who strongly support Israel.
The Environment On Campus
Contrary to the excuses and rationalizations communicated by many university leaders, Jewish students and organizations on numerous campuses have experienced a growing pattern of threats, harassment, physical assaults, exclusion and targeting. Inaction by university administrators has caused the incidents to expand, accelerate and become more acute. Claims by administrators that any such actions are primarily being conducted by individuals not affiliated with specific universities are simply false and fly in the face of evidence and documentation. We will not allow these administrators to abdicate their responsibilities any longer.
The Unbreakable Connection Between Jews, Judaism and Israel
Outside of a very fringe minority, the vast majority of Jews view their Jewish connection to Israel as an integral, inseparable part of their Jewish identity. Jewish texts that originated more than 3,000 years ago emphasize with indisputable core references the centrality of Jerusalem, Zion, and Israel, and the critical role the land has played for the Jewish people through millenia. No one other than Jews has the right or authority to speak on behalf of the majority of Jews, including how Jews define antisemitism. No other group would tolerate others defining for them the terms of what is discriminatory against them, and neither do the Jewish people. The Jewish people and their allies say clearly and proudly that being “anti-Zionist” is per se antisemitic. It is neither up for debate nor open for discussion.
Our Demands
Organizations and individuals who endorse terrorism and/or U.S. designated foreign terrorist organizations, and/or call for the violent elimination of the Jewish people and/or the nation state of Israel have no place on our campuses and must be removed, whether they are students or faculty. The Constitutional right to freedom of speech provides no protection for incitement to violence, threats or harassment that targets individuals or groups because of their religion or national origin.
