“Given your strong Jewish identity, how would you vote for divestment?”

The Stanford Review reports.

Allegations of Anti-Semitism Levied Against SOCC Leadership in ASSU Elections

When Molly Horwitz ’16 decided to run for a seat on Stanford’s student Senate, she applied for as many student groups’ endorsements as possible. Groups of all different sizes and interests grant endorsements and effectively secure their members’ votes for a Senate candidate, making these endorsements one of the most effective campaign tools available. But not all endorsements are created equally. Some are powerless; others can win hundreds of votes for the lucky candidate.

For many candidates, the Students of Color Coalition (SOCC) endorsement is the most sought-after due to its large size and impressive influence. SOCC is an umbrella group for six student organizations — listed at the end of this article — and works assiduously for its chosen candidates. After filling out an endorsement application, Ms. Horwitz was one of a limited number of candidates selected to interview for the SOCC endorsement.

On Friday, March 13, 2015, Ms. Horwitz arrived at the basement of the Native American Community Center for her interview. Accounts of what transpired during the interview vary and, without any recording of the interview, no single version can be verified.

Ms. Horwitz told The Stanford Review that one of SOCC’s leaders asked her, “Given your strong Jewish identity, how would you vote on divestment?” In February, the Undergraduate Senate approved a controversial resolution calling on Stanford to divest from companies aiding Israel’s “occupation” of the West Bank. Ms. Horwitz explained how she asked for clarification, and the SOCC member subsequently alluded to Ms. Horwitz’s application and asked how her strong Jewish identity would affect her decision in the Senate. In her endorsement application (view a screenshot or read a PDF), Ms. Horwitz repeatedly referenced her Jewish identity and included quotations such as the following: