“Emerson Parents Against Antisemitism” began with an introductory message like any other college parent Facebook group.
“Hello all. This group was started as a way to connect families of students at Emerson along with Hillel. We will work together to communicate with school leadership and keep all informed on resources for our students as we navigate these challenging times,” one parent, who serves as a group admin, wrote on June 29, 2024.
The private Facebook page is a place where Jewish Emerson families can find community. But over the course of this academic year, one Emerson faculty member, referencing the college’s interim expression policies, has used the forum as a space to identify and allegedly directly inform the Emerson administration of faculty and student protest activity in an attempt to get the school, and policing authorities, to take disciplinary action against them.
The group, made up of just over 60 people, was created in the wake of a slew of pro-Palestine protests on Emerson’s campus in recent months that have garnered national attention. Most notably, 118 people affiliated with Boylston Students for Justice in Palestine were arrested in the 2 Boylston Place Alleyway last April after staging a four-day encampment in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
In the months after the campus protests, Emerson tightened expression policies to curtail the time, place, and manner of protests, required community members to produce photo IDs or remove masks upon request to verify their identities, and unveiled EmersonTogether, a “community-building initiative.”
Within the two weeks since The Berkeley Beacon was made aware of and gained access to the “Emerson Parents Against Antisemitism” Facebook group, the paper has verified every message sent as well as the authors of each post. All of the group participants The Beacon reached out to either declined or did not respond to multiple interview requests.
“Emerson College remains firmly committed to fostering free expression and open dialogue in a safe, inclusive, and respectful campus environment that is unequivocally free from antisemitism and all forms of discrimination,” a college spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Beacon. “Emerson College had no role in the formation of this private Facebook group, does not participate in it, and is therefore unable to verify or comment on any purported group members or their posts.”
“Any opinions or actions expressed by participants in this Facebook group are unrelated to and independent of the official actions or positions of Emerson College,” the statement added.
Jon Papernick, an assistant writing, literature, and publishing professor who has worked at Emerson for 18 years, posted photographs of unmasked student protesters in the group after a walkout action in March and wrote that he had sent the images to the police.
Papernick has been a member of the group since September 2024 and frequently comments on posts relating to pro-Palestine protests around Emerson’s downtown campus. In one comment made in October, Papernick shared pictures he took from a pro-Palestine protest in the Facebook group, named one fellow faculty member in the comments section whom he believed was pictured, and also posted a link to the faculty member’s Emerson directory page.
Papernick encouraged fellow group members to report the individual to the school, citing a breach of Emerson’s expression policies.
“This faculty member was present. I witnessed him with my own eyes and have video with him right in the middle of the chanting students,” Papernick wrote. “He has been very outspoken for the cause of Hamas terror. If you feel there needs to be consequences against this faculty member, reach out to the administration. I believe enough pressure can bring to bear real results here. The Hamas supporting faculty are the head of the snake. How can a faculty member present with students chanting genocidal slogans and vandalizing the college be allowed to continue in the classroom? Do your thing, folks.”
In another comment relating to the same professor, Papernick wrote, “I’ve spoken to the police and they have the name of the faculty member who was masked and chanting.”
Papernick declined multiple requests for comment about the post and his involvement in the parent group.
Under a post made in March, Papernick also shared multiple photos of students who he claimed were at a protest. In response to a parent asking about the action, Papernick said, “The police have my pictures.”
Group members have reported multiple Emerson-affiliated organizations to the college for perceived violations of the expression policies. In several posts, parents claim to be in communication with President Jay Bernhardt anytime there is a protest action on campus; one group admin claims to have been in contact with the president in at least nine different posts made in “Emerson Parents Against Antisemitism.” It is unclear how the individuals are contacting him.
Emerson is among 60 universities under federal investigation for “antisemitic discrimination and harassment” for allegedly failing to protect its Jewish students.
Since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis and the subsequent retaliation campaign the Israeli military has carried out in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 46,000 people, Boylston SJP has advocated for Palestinian rights and against Zionism, an ideology that supports the restoration, protection, and development of a Jewish state in what is now Israel. A cornerstone of Boylston SJP’s demands to the college include the removal of the interim protest policies, financial transparency, and divestment from entities with ties to Israel.
After Oct. 7, some Jewish Emerson community members say they feel like they must suppress parts of their identity publicly out of fear that they will be targeted for holding pro-Israel and Zionist viewpoints. In multiple interviews done over the course of the last few semesters, Jewish students have told The Beacon that they have intentionally kept low profiles to avoid conflict.
In one letter to The Beacon, written by Emersonians Against Campus Antisemitism, the college’s chapter of the Academic Engagement Network, a national movement made up of faculty and staff who counter antisemitism, the group asserted that some Jewish community members had been “subjected to social rejection, ostracization, and virtual expulsion from the Emerson community, to the detriment of us all. And sadly, some have even felt compelled to leave the College as a result.”
In a Sept. 4 press release, Emerson announced an expanded partnership with Hillel International and vowed to create programs informed by stakeholder groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, which has adopted a definition of antisemitism that includes some criticisms against Israel and Zionism. Regarding resources for Arab community members, the same press release said that “Similar partnerships will be developed to support programming to support Muslim students and address Islamophobia” within the Emerson community.
“The College appreciates the continued support it receives from inside and outside our community toward these commitments, including through its longstanding relationship with the Hillel Council of New England, which plays a vital role in supporting many of our students,” the college wrote to The Beacon.
In a separate comment, the college affirmed that it had made “many ongoing and new resources available” this year to support Emerson’s Muslim community. The spokesperson cited increased prayer spaces created on campus, academic accommodations and dining services during Ramadan, Halal dining options, and advisor support for the Muslim Student Association.
“Programs have included Islamophobia training for staff run by the Muslim ARC, training for student leaders on Identity-Based Harm, and numerous services for students facilitated by the campus Muslim chaplain,” the statement read. “The College will explore additional strategic partnerships in the future, consistent with the new strategic plan.”
Two people have left the “Emerson Parents Against Antisemitism” Facebook group since The Beacon made its investigation known. Within 10 minutes of The Beacon sending an initial request for comment to several people named or referenced in this story, one group admin made a post discouraging anyone from speaking about “Emerson Parents Against Antisemitism,” claiming a right to confidentiality.
In a statement to The Beacon, the college maintained that the institution and Bernhardt uphold community members’ rights to express beliefs and advocate for issues on campus within the bounds of the expression policies.
“No one at Emerson is disciplined for the beliefs or perspectives they hold; however, violations of our policies, such as intentional vandalism of our facilities, must be enforced,” the college wrote.
One admin of the group who is a parent has frequently posted about her alleged communications with Bernhardt. In a June 30 post, the individual wrote that she had been in contact with the president, who agreed to share the group with “like-minded” parents.
“As is standard across higher education, President Bernhardt and other Emerson leaders occasionally engage with parents, partners, and other external stakeholders who reach out with questions or concerns related to student well-being and campus safety,” the spokesperson wrote to The Beacon. “While the President and College leaders engage with parents and external partners representing diverse positions and perspectives, these stakeholders do not participate in the creation and enforcement of expression policies or student conduct.”
Following a protest in February in which students glued flyers and stickers to the Ansin building, the same parent said in the Facebook group that she observed the demonstration in person and called Bernhardt “immediately.”
“I was on the phone with Dr. Bernhardt immediately who was aware and had already been in touch with his team and the Police Department,” the individual wrote.
