On July 22, 2020. Simran Tatuskar, a Student Union President in Brandeis University in Waltham Massachusetts, was bullied, led by a group called StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites), and was forced to apologize for trying to introduce “Swastika” in the school syllabus. In her statement, she writes: "I would like to clarify my original statement because I regret the misunderstandings that it has caused, and this is an issue for me and my community. The original posts I made were in regards to the NY Senate S6648 bill, which would mandate ‘instruction regarding symbols of hate.’ This bill aims to educate students on the historical impact of hate symbols, such as the “swastika as an emblem of Nazi Germany.” While this is vital and necessary learning for all students, the bill neglects to mention that this symbol also has and continues to carry meaning in South Asian and East Asian cultures and religions. The Nazi swastika undoubtedly represents the horrors of the Holocaust. Hitler titled the swastika and turned it into a symbol of hate. His version is unforgivable and should be taught as such. As someone who is not Jewish, I know that I cannot fully understand the Jewish experience and feelings my post evoked, but I never wanted to harm anyone. When I included both symbols in my original post, I wanted to show the visual differences of the left-facing hooked cross Nazi swastika and the right-facing Hindu/Buddhist/Jain swastika for those who were unaware of the difference. In 2008, the Hindu-Jewish Leadership Summit included the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and The Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, which collectively recognized “that the symbol is and has been sacred to Hindus for millennia, long before its misappropriation.” Thus, I believe that we should teach both the historical significance of the Nazi swastika as well as the continued importance of the South Asian/East Asian swastika. After having productful and thoughtful conversations with Rabbi Seth Winberg, I believe we both felt that teaching the full history of the swastika symbol does not minimize antisemitism or the memory of the Holocaust. In Hindu culture, the symbol is incredibly auspicious and is frequently placed in households, businesses, and temples. It also holds a lot of significance to many cultures such as Buddhism, Jainism, etc. not just historically, but in modern day practicing of these religions. The current version of the bill erases and vilifies various cultures for using this symbol. This may perpetuate ignorance, since all students will learn that the Swastika is solely and exclusively associated with hatred and intolerance rather than being educated about the full historical and cultural meaning of the symbol."