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WALTHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Brandeis University in Waltham is home to one of the most active Orthodox Jewish campus communities in the United States. But a recent ad campaign by the university has created a controversy over the University’s Jewish identity.
The ad, in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, reads in big block letters, “Brandeis was founded by Jews. But it’s anything but orthodox.” It turns out to be a wordplay on the word “orthodox,” and the Orthodox branch of Judaism: the ad goes on, in much smaller print, to say that “when we say Brandeis is anything but orthodox, we’re talking about its character.”
The full-page spread is part of the university’s 75th anniversary celebrations. Brandeis is a relatively young university, established by members of the Jewish community in 1948 — in part to avoid the quotas on Jews at Harvard and other elite schools at the time.
Reaction to the ad from the Orthodox community, both on campus and off, has been mostly negative. That includes a statement from the current heads of the Brandeis Orthodox Organization (BOO).
“We are hurt and disappointed to see something like this coming from our university, just as I’m sure you are,” Matt Shapiro and Shoshana Soloman wrote in a letter to the community. “We will also be working with the university to ensure that an issue like this does not occur again, and that our school recognizes and respects the contributions of its Orthodox Jewish community and its founding principles,” they said.
“‘Orthodox” clearly means rigid, antiquated, monolithic, and unevolving. Since Orthodox Jews would reject these adjectives in their self-definition, this line is problematic,” said Dr. Malka Simkovich, a professor of Jewish History at Catholic Theological Union.
Daniel Shoham was an active member of the Brandeis Orthodox Organization for all four years at Brandeis. He graduated in 2020. Shoham said the ad was problematic, not necessarily for its content, but the forum it was aired in.
“The New York Times is a national newspaper that millions of people across a spectrum of ideologies read…If someone unacquainted with Judaism were to see the ad, it gives the perception that even organizations with deep ties to Judaism perceive Orthodoxy as bad,” he said. “Given Brandeis University’s background…I think running an ad that at face-value seems to ‘other’ the Orthodox community was irresponsible of them,” Shoham continued.
Others pointed out that despite the ad, Brandeis makes Orthodox student life comfortable compared to most other colleges. All students get off for most Jewish holidays, the university maintains a large kosher dining hall, and regular Orthodox daily prayer services are the norm.
Shoshana Finkel, another 2020 BOO alum, had fewer problems with the ad.
“It wasn’t literally saying ‘we aren’t Orthodox Jews.’ It was saying “we’re unconventional,”’ she said.
Brandeis officials say there was no harm meant by the campaign.
“This Sunday’s ad headline was a play on words meant to highlight Brandeis’ unique story and history of innovation – as do the other ads in the campaign. Brandeis is deeply committed to our Orthodox community members, and the ad was intended not to offend, but to underscore both the diversity of our community and our unusual origin story,” the university administration said in a statement on Wednesday.
WBZ’s Chaiel Schaffel (CSchaffelWBZ) reports:
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