Calendar
Thursday, October 22
Hours: 7:30AM - 1AM
–ZSR Library, Library Auditorium (Room 404)The Program in Jewish Studies will host David Schraub, associate professor at Lewis & Clark Law School for a talk entitled “Smothering (the Fight Against) Antisemitism.”. Abstract:.
During his second term office, the Trump administration has—under the guise of fighting antisemitism—shattered preexisting norms that historically acted to limit governmental power. These actions have been widely criticized on a multitude of grounds, an obvious one being the chilling effect such suppression has had on pro-Palestinian expression. Without discounting the importance of this consequence, I wish to draw draw attention to another, less obvious impact of these endeavors: the chilling effect they have on Jewish students experiencing antisemitism. This may seem counterintuitive. The critique of the Trump administration’s actions seems to be that it is overzealous and overwrought in its efforts against antisemitism. It may capture too much; it is hard to fathom it will capture too little. But drawing on the literature on epistemic injustice, and in particular Kristie Dotson’s seminal work on “testimonial smothering,” I will argue that in many cases, Jews experiencing antisemitism will be systematically deterred from speaking out about their experiences and seeking redress, for fear that they will be involuntarily conscripted into a project of political repression they do not support. Instead of “going too far”, the effect of the Trump administration’s interventions on Jewish students has been to squelch expression around antisemitism and further isolate and marginalize Jews experiencing instances of antisemitism they would, in an ideal world, very much like to see addressed and redressed.
David teaches classes on constitutional law, anti-discrimination law, and Supreme Court decisionmaking. His scholarship concerns contemporary issues of discrimination and inequality, with a particular focus on modern antisemitism, and has appeared in venues including the New York University Law Review, the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS) Review, and the American Political Science Review. His first book, Deliberation, Dismissal, and Democracy, was published in 2025 by the Oxford University Press. David holds a B.A. from Carleton College, a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.
A reception will follow after the discussion.
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