JFRG Jewish Faculty Resilience Group

We are pleased to introduce Michel Stein, Director & Treasurer of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group.

A Principal at Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C., Michel is a nationally recognized tax attorney with nearly 30 years of experience in tax controversy, litigation, and planning. As a Certified Specialist in Taxation Law by the State Bar of California, he is widely respected for helping individuals, businesses, and corporations navigate complex tax matters.

As Director and Treasurer of JFRG, Michel provides strategic financial leadership that supports our organization's continued growth from a grassroots initiative into a national coalition serving Jewish and Zionist faculty and academic staff.

We are honored to have his expertise guiding JFRG's future.

Learn more at www.JFRG.org

We are proud to introduce Dr. Kira Stein, Founding Director & Chair of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group.

A board-certified psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist, Dr. Stein has spent her career advancing mental health care while serving as a respected clinician and educator at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine.

Recognizing the growing challenges facing Jewish faculty in higher education, she founded JFRG—transforming a grassroots effort at UCLA into a national coalition committed to protecting Jewish faculty, promoting academic freedom, and strengthening Jewish life on campuses across the United States.

Her leadership, compassion, and determination have laid the foundation for JFRG's continued growth and impact.

Thank you, Dr. Stein, for your vision and leadership.

Learn more at www.JFRG.org

Led by visionaries, the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group is taking its grassroots activism in support of Jewish faculty and staff in higher ed, while mobilizing to push back against antizionist hate. Learn more and join our community website at https://www.JFRG.org

JFRG Jewish Faculty Resilience Group Formerly JFRG at UCLA.
Defending Zionist and Jewish faculty, staff & postdocs across North American campuses. ✡️ 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇮🇱
Truth. Safety. Resilience.

We are honored to introduce Dr. Judea Pearl as Senior Advisor to the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group.

Dr. Pearl is Chancellor's Professor of Computer Science and Statistics at UCLA and one of the world's most influential scholars in artificial intelligence. His pioneering work in causal reasoning earned him the 2011 ACM A.M. Turing Award, often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Computing."

Following the tragic murder of his son, Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl, Dr. Pearl co-founded the Daniel Pearl Foundation, dedicating his efforts to fostering dialogue, mutual understanding, and education across cultures while standing firmly against antisemitism.

As JFRG continues building a national coalition of Jewish and Zionist faculty and academic staff, we are deeply grateful for Dr. Pearl's guidance and leadership.

Welcome to the JFRG National Board of Directors, Dr. Pearl.

Learn more: www.JFRG.org

JFRG Jewish Faculty Resilience Group Formerly JFRG at UCLA.
Defending Zionist and Jewish faculty, staff & postdocs across North American campuses. ✡️ 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇮🇱
Truth. Safety. Resilience.

Introducing Dr. Yael Halaas

We are honored to welcome Dr. Yael Halaas as a Director of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group National Board of Directors.

Dr. Halaas is the Founder and President of the American Jewish Medical Association and a nationally recognized facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Following the events of October 7, she established AJMA to bring together Jewish healthcare professionals worldwide, strengthen collaboration, and combat antisemitism within the medical community.

A graduate of Columbia University and Cornell University Medical College, Dr. Halaas also serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she continues to educate future physicians while advancing excellence in patient care.

Her dedication to leadership, education, and advocacy will be instrumental as JFRG continues to build a strong national coalition supporting Jewish faculty, staff, and postdoctoral scholars.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Yael Halaas.

Jewish Faculty & Staff Our Mission The Jewish Faculty Resilience Group (JFRG) is a non-partisan coalition of Zionist Jewish and allied faculty, researchers, and staff committed to combating all forms of anti-Jewish hate, including antizionism, classical antisemitism, and religious antijudaism, as well as defending

Introducing Mary Goodstein

We are proud to recognize Mary Goodstein as Director and Secretary of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group National Board of Directors.

Mary serves as Senior Creative Director of Principal Gifts at UCLA Health Sciences Development, where she has spent decades advancing philanthropic initiatives that support medical research, education, and patient care.

As a founding member of JFRG's first chapter at UCLA, Mary has played an important role in helping build and strengthen our organization from its earliest days. Her expertise in communications, institutional development, and coalition-building continues to be an invaluable asset as JFRG expands its national reach.

We are grateful for Mary's leadership and dedication to strengthening the Jewish academic community.

Please join us in celebrating Mary Goodstein.

Introducing Rabbi Abraham Cooper.

We are honored to welcome Rabbi Abraham Cooper as a Director of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group National Board of Directors.

A renowned human rights advocate and longtime leader at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Rabbi Cooper has dedicated nearly five decades to combating antisemitism, fighting religious persecution, and promoting Holocaust education around the world.

His work has reached global institutions including the United Nations, the Vatican, and the U.S. Congress, helping foster understanding, accountability, and dialogue across cultures and faiths.

As JFRG continues building a national coalition of Jewish faculty, staff, and postdoctoral scholars, Rabbi Cooper's experience and leadership will be invaluable in advancing our mission.

Please join us in welcoming Rabbi Abraham Cooper.

Introducing Dr. Michael Berenbaum

We are proud to welcome Dr. Michael Berenbaum as a Director of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group National Board of Directors.

Dr. Berenbaum is a renowned Holocaust scholar, rabbi, author, filmmaker, and educator whose life's work has focused on preserving Holocaust memory, advancing Jewish scholarship, and educating future generations.

His remarkable career includes serving as Project Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, founding its Research Institute, leading Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, and authoring or editing more than two dozen books.

As JFRG expands nationally, we are grateful for Dr. Berenbaum's leadership and the invaluable perspective he brings to our mission of supporting Jewish faculty, staff, and postdoctoral scholars across North America.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Michael Berenbaum.

JFRG Jewish Faculty Resilience Group Formerly JFRG at UCLA.
Defending Zionist and Jewish faculty, staff & postdocs across North American campuses. ✡️ 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇮🇱
Truth. Safety. Resilience.

Why has our page name changed from one that is UCLA-specific to ? What started at UCLA has become something bigger.

Today, we are proud to introduce the next chapter of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group as we expand into a growing North American network supporting Jewish faculty, staff, and postdocs.

JFRG is committed to building resilient campus communities, strengthening local leadership, and ensuring that faculty have access to education, resources, and professional support.

Our mission remains the same:
• Support Jewish faculty, staff, and postdocs.
• Combat antisemitism and anti-Zionist discrimination.
• Advance academic freedom and institutional accountability.
• Build stronger campus communities.

We’re growing. So is our mission.

--> Learn more at https://www.jfrg.org
--> Join our mailing list: https://tinyurl.com/JFRGlist
--> Support our mission: tinyurl.com/DonateJFrg

Yesterday, seven Jewish UCLA faculty and staff filed a motion to intervene in a pending civil rights lawsuit against the University of California, asserting that antisemitic actions, largely in the form of antizionism, targeted their Jewish identity. This intervention follows the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s finding of reasonable cause that UCLA subjected the plaintiffs to a hostile work environment based on Jewish identity and religion, in violation of Title VII. It also follows more than two years of work by the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group (JFRG) to document anti-Jewish hostility and seek institutional accountability.

The complaint describes how the rise of antizionism following October 7, 2023, has fueled discrimination and hostility toward Jews for whom Zionism is an integral part of their identity. It also documents concrete patterns of conduct, including exclusion from professional opportunities, retaliation against those who raised concerns, and inconsistent enforcement of university policies affecting Jewish employees.

This case asks whether Jewish faculty can participate fully in academic life without facing identity-based hostility and whether universities will apply anti-discrimination standards consistently.

Please review this press release and complaint to understand the case in full here: https://tinyurl.com/FacultyCivilRights