her room and finding her roommate
guilty, to be both slow and insubstan-
tial. The school also did not reveal the
roommate’s punishment to Westrick
and her mother.

McNeill spoke with Westrick’s
mother after the incident, and it moti-
vated her to try and work with her old
school. “It’s the kind of thing that happened
when I was there,” she said. “We would
love to work with Temple. That’s the
goal. I’m sure this isn’t one girl feeling
one thing.”
Founded and operated by Montana-
based lawyer Marc Greendorfer,
the institute is “a legal think tank
and advocacy organization” “taking
the lead in the legal battle against
antisemitism and the de-legitimi-
zation of Israel, including ‘Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions,’” accord-
ing to its website.

McNeill said the organization has
worked with students at University of
California, Los Angeles, University
of Southern California and Duke
University, among other schools.

One Duke student, now an intern
with Zachor, had trouble establishing
a pro-Israel group on campus this past
school year. The university let him
establish a group that “doesn’t have
any rights on campus,” as McNeill
explained it.

A registered student organization at
Duke, according to Greendorfer, can
use privileges like meeting in univer-
sity buildings. This student’s group
couldn’t do that.

“Sometimes a student will see some-
thing and won’t know what to do,”
McNeill said.

That’s where Zachor comes in.

McNeill is available to help like a friend
would be: via text, phone call and email
at any time.

She is the institute’s only full-time
employee; even Greendorfer works a
day job as a lawyer and calls the non-
profit work his passion.

Earlier in April, McNeill talked to a
student whose mezuzah kept getting
ripped down. A police officer told him
to just take it off his door. But the
student found that to be a violation
of his religious freedom. So, he talked
to McNeill, who told him to post a
message on his door explaining what a
mezuzah is.

“Even if we’re just an ear for the
students, I think that’s something,” the
You can go so much
farther when you
find the right fit.

Temple alum said.

But Zachor can also be more than
just an ear, according to Greendorfer.

His legal expertise can help inform
them of their rights, he said.

“A lot of the students don’t know
their rights; they don’t know where to
go; they don’t realize that what they’re
experiencing is a violation of anti-dis-
crimination law,” the lawyer added.

“We’re willing to walk through things,
take our time and inform you.”
Zachor gets its funding from pro-Is-
rael foundations and individuals,
according to Greendorfer, and it has
enough money to offer its services for
free. The lawyer and project manager
are hoping that Jewish students at
the Philly schools they’ve contacted,
like the University of Pennsylvania
and Drexel University in addition to
Temple, will soon take it up on the
offer. “We do see a lot of issues there.

But we’re not getting a response,”
Greendorfer said. “It’s up to their lead-
ers, the Jewish educators on campus to
also be responsive and proactive in this
fight against antisemitism and BDS.” JE
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