Illustrative. Membersof GU F.R.E.E. protesting on campus. Photo: GU F.R.E.E. / Facebook.

Following dramatically different outcomes of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) votes attwo California schools on last week, campus antisemitism and Israel advocacy experts spoke withThe Algemeinerto break down the anatomy of a BDS campus campaign.

With the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) coming back with zero votes cast in favor of BDS, and California State University-Long Beach seeing 15 student representatives vote yes for the anti-Israel motion,Tammi Rossman-Benjamin founder of the campus watchdog AMCHA Initiative said there is a complicated calculus involved in each BDS push.

To her, the unanimous and unequivocal opposition to BDS of all of a campuss Jewish student organizations is a crucial factor inheading off the efforts of anti-Zionists.

May 15, 2017 2:07 pm

Weve seen a definite increase in the tactic of Jew splitting, where BDS activists find organizations like Jewish Voice for Peaceto run interference for them when they are accused of antisemitism, Rossman-Benjamin explained. So I think that when faced with an issue like BDS, we have to have the moral clarity to state that there is a red line and when you cross over it, the Jews will be standing on the other side, united, saying, No.

Rossman-Benjamin pointed to the letter of unified opposition produced at UCSB and signed by the campuss eight mainstream Jewish organizations as an element that was missing from the CSULB campaign against divestment.

In the letter, the groups including the campuss Hillel, Chabad, and the AEPi fraternity and sorority stated [w]e represent the broad consensus of Jewish opinion at UCSB, and they uniformly reject[ed] this one sided, counterproductive, and incredibly hurtful BDS resolution.

Anti-Zionism is highly dependent on making sure it is seen as separated from antisemitism, said Rossman-Benjamin, adding that her organization has tracked a trend in which BDS activists at a given campus will often host an explanatory antisemitism program often co-hosted with fringe Jewish groups in the days leading up to a divestment vote,to signal to people that they arent antisemites.

But if you want to see how the Jewish world really understands BDS, take a look at the people who signed a [2011] letter condemning the movement, Rossman-Benjamin said, referring to an international Stop BDS effortwhich gathered signatures from nearly 100representatives ofOrthodox, Conservative and Reform groups, Jewish fraternities and sororities and Israel advocacy organizations.

David Brog executive director of the Maccabee Task Force, a group formed in 2015 to combat demonization of Israel on campus said much of the success and failure of BDS at acampus can be attributed to what stage of pro-Israel activism students are at when the campaign is first launched.

[Zionist students at] UCSB last year realized that they shouldnt let student government rest in the hands of anti-Israel students, so they ran and won, and they got pro-Israel representatives on student government, he said.

Brog added that UCSBsHillel center has offered non-Jewish student leaders the opportunity to go on an educational mission to Israel, called a Fact Finders tour, an experience he said leaves many resistant to the BDS narrative.

CSULB, Brog noted, has devoted pro-Israel students who are eager to turn aroundthe environment that allowed BDS to pass, but they are earlierin that process of educating and changing the campus.

Meanwhile, Max Samarov the director of research and campus strategy for the StandWithUs education group said the different outcomes come down largely to a significant difference in campus demographics.

By percentage, UCSB has one of the largest Jewish populations in the UC system, and for years and years and years it has had a strong pro-Israel community, Samarov pointed out. CSULB has a strong pro-Israel presence but not nearly the same numbers.

Samarov said there have been situations where schools with small Jewish pops come together and defeat resolutions, but that the odds are harder to overcome.

According to Samarov, CSULB also contendedwith a very intense campaign of outside pressure, and what started as a debate between Long Beach students, was influenced by external, off-campus groups.

All this came together to create an atmosphere of overwhelming support for BDS and of intimidation [for those against it], he said.

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The Anatomy of a BDS Campus Campaign - Algemeiner

Being a doctor at Grey Sloane (formerly Seattle Grace/Seattle Grace Mercy West) Hospital ain't easy. Sure, everybody is incredibly hot, and each physician performs miracles on a daily basis, but the staff also has the bad luckof being killed off tragically. On Grey's Anatomy, the latest possible casualty to start her shift and not ever clock out (or punch out using the big time clock in the sky) is Dr. Stephanie Edwards. Edwards is the Top Gun of surgical residents, the best of the best, but the words "bright future" took on a whole new meaning when, at the end of episode 23, "True Colors," Edwards was caught in an explosion ignited by one burning, homicidal maniac and some oxygen tanks. Will Edwards be found alive, or will all that's left be a charcoal briquette? Grey's Anatomy Prepares to Lose a Doctor>>>

Why She's Dead

After being taken hostage by a rapist, Edwards found herself trapped on a floor of the hospital with the man, Keith, and a young girl, Erin, when the hospital was put on lockdown. In a last-ditch effort to escape, Keith decided to light a fire to trigger the sprinklers and open a door. To save herself and Erin, Edwards doused Keith with some flammable liquid, and took cover with the girl in a nearby room. But Keith inconveniently decided to drop dead near some oxygen tanks, forcing Edwards to try and derail the inevitable outcome.

The last viewers saw, a hugeexplosion threw Edwards backwards. If Edwards survived the blast, she's still trapped in a burning building, likely unconscious, in serious need of medical attention and second in line to be rescued behind a child.

The whole scenario was outlandish anyway, but for Edwards to escape two near-death experiences is unlikely. At least this way, Edwards gets to be a hero.

Why She's Alive

Yes, some doctors have been electrocuted, shot and mangled beyond repair, but others survived a drowning, a brain tumor and cancer. Callie Torres, Cristina Yang and Preston Burke all moved on to greener pastures as opposed to the great beyond, leaving the hospital on their feet as opposed toin abody bag.

It's almost a foregone conclusion that Edward's is dead, which is why she could live. Her predicament couldserve asa distraction as some other beloved character unexpectedly meets an unfortunate end. Shonda does love surprises!

It would be brutal to kill off Edwards, who prevailed over sickle-cell disease in her childhood andhas gone on tobecome a promising surgeon. If Edwards is rescued, she's going to be severely traumatized (andprobably not real pretty)which would pave the way for her to exit to get some much-needed counseling and skin grafting. Maybe she'll move on to a hospital where the death toll for the docs isn't quite so high. Either way, the door would remain open for Edwards to return.

Does Grey's Anatomy need to stop killing off its doctors? Did Edwards' storyline jump the shark with back-to-back kidnapping and explosion? Will you miss her character? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

(Image Courtesy of ABC)

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'Grey's Anatomy' Poll: Will Dr. Stephanie Edwards Be Found Dead or ... - BuddyTV (blog)

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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that its onevery single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, were taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.

IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY:May 15,2006

PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE:Greys Anatomy, Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response / Losing My Religion (Season 2, Episodes 26/27) [Stream on Netflix]

WHY ITS IMPORTANT:ThatGreys Anatomy premiered on ABC in the same season thatLostandDesperate Housewives did sometimes gets lost, becauseGreys premiered at mid-season. And late mid-season at that. Airing only 9 episodes before the end of season 1,Greys Anatomy didnt really have time to become an addictive ratings sensation. That came in season 2.

The second season ofGreys Anatomy did everything a smart primetime soap should. It cranked up the intrigue on its central romantic drama, adding Kate Walsh to the cast as McDreamys wife. Set half of its cast up to be hopelessly in love with the other half. Its medical cases got more fraught and high-pressure. This was the season with the celebrated post-Super Bowl episode, with Christina Ricci and Kyle Chandler and an explosive device inside a patient. It was also the season that introduced Denny Duquette as a patient in need of a heart transplant. As played by current TV mainstay Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Denny was a sweetheart of a patient. One of those gregarious sorts who gives his doctors a hard time with a sparkle in his eye. He was a character tailor made for Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) to fall in love with.

Depending on your perspective, Denny was the best thing to ever happen to Izzie on the show or else the worst. Similarly, the events of the season 2 two-part finale are eitherGreys Anatomyat its best or its most frustrating. (Of course some, like yours truly, might say both.)Greys always walked that tightrope between utter exasperation at its central characters, doctors who refused to stop being led around by their idiot hearts. The show always put on a good face about showing the consequences to these actions and the responsible doctors who stuck up for the responsible course of action. But time and again, Shonda Rhimes came down on the side of crazy, stupid love, and whatever it took to arrive at it. Obviously, Izzie was going to cut Dennys LVAD wire, sending him into critical heart failure, all so he could move up to the top of the transplant list. A risky, insane gambit that in any real-world setting would have cost her her medical license and probably put her in jail. OnGreys, though, that all onlyalmost happens. But that would come the following season. For now, Izzy cuts the wire, Denny gets his heart transplant, and while Izzie might get fired, she at least will end up with the love of her life. Right?

Dennys death was the kind of icy stab to the heart that would become/had already become a Greys Anatomyhallmark:the possibility of ultimate happiness followed swiftly by total disaster, scored by a Snow Patrol song that just by virtue of its presence here became a hit. That it came in the middle of a hospital-wide prom thrown to cheer up a cancer patient (guest star Tessa Thompson) makes it perhaps the mostGreys moment of all. Adolescent notions of love butting up against the cruel mercilessness of nature.

Where to streamGrey's Anatomy

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Today in TV History: 'Grey's Anatomy' Ended Its Second Season with a Dead Denny - Decider

Welcome to the Anatomy of a Goal, where each week we dissect one goal (or near goal) from Columbus Crew SCs previous match.

For Match 12 of the 2017 MLS Season, we take a look at Justin Merams 91st minute hat-trick earning goal that put Crew SC up 3-2 as part of the win over Montreal Impact on Saturday.

Heres a look at the finish from the Crew SC winger.

The Black & Gold got off to a hot start, with Meram scoring a brace in the first half. Despite that hot start, Columbus ceded much of the possession to Montreal and looked to be in for yet another second half collapse.

Its tempting to call this goal a breakaway goal but I prefer to call it a transition goal. While Meram does dribble more than 50 yards by himself, Crew SC still have to break down the Impacts defense in order to bag the game winner.

Merams finish begins in the above image. Wil Trapp has just broken up a typical Ignacio Piatti cut in from the left side, placing the ball at the feet of Crew SC right back Hector Jimenez. Niko Hansen is just behind the play providing a safety valve for this tackled ball. Meram, shifting to the center of the field after Federico Higuains 74th minute substitution, is unmarked but in the vicinity of, the incredibly tired, Chris Duvall.

After Trapp tackled the ball into the path of Jimenez, he directs the fullback to the wide open Hansen, much like he directed Jonathan Mensah to an open Higuain against New England. Meram is still in the center of the field and Duvall has made his move to mark the winger. Ive highlighted Duvall not to suggest that he isnt match fit enough to compete into the 90th minute of a match, but instead to show just how much Meram has left in the tank. As youll see in the following images, Meram, who has played all but seven minutes of three matches in eight days, will pick up the ball and totally outrun Duvall.

As Hansen brings the ball up the field, he immediately has two options. He can either continue forward and try to beat Patrice Bernier; or make a simple pass to the wide open Meram. Duvall, still highlighted, is more or less level with Meram.

As Bernier closes in, Hansen opts for the simple pass to Meram. The winger has acres of space, and Ola Kamara, ahead of him but does have Duvall closing in from his left.

As soon as Hansen passes the ball to Meram, he continues his run at pace around Bernier, opening himself for another pass. Meram begins his move to his attacking half, and is nearly marked by Duvall. However, this is as close as the defender will get to Meram.

The above video shows just how badly, and easily, Meram is able to outpace Duvall. Duvall carried a relatively heavy offensive load in this match, but Meram is playing his third match in eight days, having been subbed out only once during this congested period. Despite the workload, Meram blazes away from Duvall like its his first run of the match.

After Meram outruns Duvall he has two legitimate options: a pass to Hansen, running at full pace downfield or continue to dribble at Montreal center-back Kyle Fisher until Fisher commits to defending Meram.

Kamara is highlighted with Laurent Ciman near the middle of the image. Though Kamara is not in a position to receive a pass, his run occupies Ciman and open a lane for Meram.

Meram opts to continue his run, forcing Fisher to commit. As Fisher shields Merams left, the attacker can either make a simple pass to an open Hansen, or a more difficult pass to Kamara, who has a better angle on goal.

I want to highlight Fishers shield of Merams left in the above image and sequence. At first glance, I was confused by Fishers decision to shield Merams weaker foot. While Meram has finished with his left foot more often this season, he still heavily prefers to shoot and pass with his right foot.

However, on second (and tenth) watch, I think Fisher makes the correct decision here. By shielding Merams left, Fisher gives up Merams stronger foot to force him right, creating a more difficult shooting angle or forcing a pass to Hansen, who has a much worse angle on goal than Meram would.

Fisher knows that Ciman is on his left, covering Kamara, and must assume that Ciman or a trailing player will shift over to cover Meram if the Crew SC hat-trick-hero makes a pass to Hansen. No trailing Montreal player would recover in time, leaving the two Impact center backs to cover three Crew SC attackers.

Meram makes his pass to Hansen as Fisher shifts over to attempt to cut off any passing or crossing angle. Now, Hansen will have two options. He can either attempt a shot at a difficult angle or pass back to Meram. Duvall, back frame, will not reach Meram in time.

Hansen makes the correct decision to pass the ball back to Meram, but must make a difficult pass back across his body. As Hansen successfully puts the ball back into the path of Meram, the Crew SC No. 9 must make a quick decision: with Ciman bearing down on his goal side and Duvall finally approaching from the back will he take a shot on goal; or play Kamara?

Meram, feeling the Mothers Day magic from his moms goal request, decides to be Crew SCs hero and fires a one-timer toward the back post...

...and buries the winner. Notice the highlighted Kamara. Even as the ball is going into the goal, he is frustrated that Meram hasnt passed him the ball...but dont worry, Kamara didnt stay mad for long.

Findings:

1. Justin Meram had an incredible match, and somehow found the legs to run the full length of the field in the 91st minute of his third game in eight days.

2. Niko Hansen made every correct decision during this play. As soon as he made his entry pass to Meram, he blazed by Patrice Bernier. He also made the difficult cross-body pass back to Meram for the game-clinching goal.

3. Montreals center backs tried to close out the Crew SC attack, but stopping three attackers, two of which were substitutes, requires a bit of luck. The Impact had no luck on this play.

Extra-time:

Because this weeks goal was relatively straightforward, I wanted to highlight one portion of one more goal from Crew SCs win over Montreal. Specifically, I want to show how Adam Jahns movement created an open lane for Justin Merams first goal.

All in all Jahn had a relatively forgettable match, and might have been at fault on Montreals equalizer, but his movement in the video above drew Ciman away from Meram, and opened a huge lane for Meram to smash in the opener.

Jahn starts out on Merams right, just in front of Kekuta Manneh. As Jahn sees Manneh run behind him, he darts in front of Ciman, forcing Fisher to either follow Jahn, leaving Manneh in on goal, or to stay with Manneh, giving Meram a lane ahead. Fisher opts to stay with Manneh, and as Jahn crosses in front of Ciman, the center backs movement is slowed just enough to give Meram an open shot on goal after rebounding his own pass.

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Anatomy of a Goal: Meram's Mother's Day Miracle - Massive Report - Massive Report

Giacomo Gianniotti just finished his 50th episode acting in one of TVs most durable hits, Greys Anatomy: a heady position for a young Canadian actor. He's inclined to thank marijuana for getting him to this stage in life.

I guess Im really happy for pot, says the actor, smiling, during a Skype chat. Because if I hadnt smoked it . . . I wouldnt have gone to Toronto and stepped into the me that I was meant to be.

Gianniotti, 27, has been a regular on Greys, now in its 13th season, playing Dr. Andrew DeLuca since 2015. You may have caught him on the big screen in last years Stephen Hopkins film Race; hes also enjoyed stints on shows including Reign, Selfie and Murdoch Mysteries.

And it all began, he supposes, in Grade 9 in Parry Sound, when he was caught smoking marijuana. He was kicked out of school and moved to Toronto to live with his dad, where he attended Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts.

In high school, he recalls, he would break into the Kraft Canada headquarters parking lot in North York with his buddies.

Wed have coffee and cigarettes and just talk, says Gianniotti. (There) was this beautiful view of the Don Valley Parkway.

Sometime after Cardinal Carter, he enrolled in Humber Colleges theatre program, during which time he set up shop with some pals in Parkdale in a horrible apartment with cockroaches. It was a far cry from his childhood back in Parry Sound (everybody left their doors open, you shared food with your neighbours, he recalls), but Toronto is where his acting career began.

Before long, though, he was looking south. Greys Anatomy was in its early years when Gianniotti was in high school. The girls at his school watched, but hed never seen it. Fast forward, a bunch of years later . . . I sent a tape out for this Greys Anatomy character.

Four months went by and he hadnt heard back. Gianniotti had begun to feel frustrated with the small pool of acting options in Toronto and he decided to move to Los Angeles.

Driving across America with two Toronto friends who were helping him relocate, he got a call from his agent, telling him that Greys Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes a huge figure in the TV industry wanted to meet with him when he arrived in L.A.

The three men were in Albuquerque and Gianniotti told his friends to take over driving for the rest of the way. In the back of the car he studied his script. When he arrived in L.A., he met with Rhimes and her team a few days later, he had the part.

Joining the show was at first overwhelming.

It was a lot of people, a lot of personalities . . . its hard to get quiet, says Gianniotti.

And quiet is important for the actor, who calls himself really shy and really introverted. He uses his headphones to block out some of the noise on set and he has guitars in his trailer, which he plays to unwind.

But hes found a kindred spirit in actor Martin Henderson, who plays Ellen Pompeos new love interest, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Nathan Riggs.

Hes from New Zealand and Im from Canada, and weve just drawn a lot of parallels of being mountain men and liking the outdoors, Gianniotti says of his off-set friend.

Getting used to new environments is nothing novel to the blue-eyed Italian-Canadian, who was born in Rome to an Italian father and a Canadian mother, and moved to this country when he was around 5 years old. But he had a lot to learn, it emerged, about one of the staples of his new job: simulating surgery.

Theres just so much protocol in the OR, he says, recalling that one medical producer was especially exasperated with him that first day.

Shes like, If a doctor saw you, they would be like, faker! he says with a laugh. And we dont want that, so my first surgery every two seconds, she was like Cut! Giacomo! What are you your hands are no! oh my God!

It was a little bit of a learning curve and (the other actors were) laughing at me, he chuckles. Because they had all been there themselves and were remembering it.

His character was most recently at the centre of a dramatic, violent encounter with Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), which almost sent the latter (a fan-favourite character) to jail. Gianniotti is excited for fans to see the season finale, which he describes as huge and wild and big-budget, but laments that theres just so many amazing things (about it) and I cannot tell you any of them!

The eventfulness of the deathless Greys is probably one key to its success; the show gained teen viewers last year while staying in the top 10 among TV watchers aged 18 to 34 for the sixth year running, according to ABC. Gianniotti cant comment yet on whether hell be back on the show next season; his own contract is managed yearly and he hasnt received it yet.

How has his life been changed by the gig?

I didnt have much growing up. Im so grateful for what I have now and its kind of ridiculous, to be honest, he admits.

But the actor often talking with his hands during the interview or absent-mindedly stroking his beard doesnt see the point in spending money on material effects.

I dont buy fancy things . . . I have, like, three pairs of jeans, he says.

But he can make a difference for those who are struggling; his platform allows him to call out to fans and quickly raise money for the causes he believes in. Recently hes put a lot of his heart into working with an L.A. charity for homeless youth called My Friends Place.

Its such a massive problem. Literally everywhere you look (in Los Angeles you see a homeless person) . . . and its usually a kid.

He misses Toronto for example, snow, the lakeshore, and getting macaroons and coffee at Queen Wests Nadge before strolling through Trinity Bellwoods. In fact, he returned to town in April to direct a music video for those friends who helped him move to L.A. years ago.

Hes also started his own production company and recently wrote a song, which he tells fans to expect in the next couple of months. He has broader ambitions for his acting career, too, declaring hes dying, dying, dying to explore war films.

Until that offer arrives, I ask him how he has time for it all. Not a lot of sleep, he quips.

Greys Anatomys Season 13 finale airs Thursday, May 18 at 7 p.m. on CTV.

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Giacomo Gianniotti's wayward youth helped bring Canadian to Grey's Anatomy - Toronto Star

I am so happy so many people saw it and were affected in some way by it, actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson says about her recent arc on Greys Anatomy as patient Diane Pierce and mother to the character Dr. Maggie Pierce played by main cast member Kelly McCreary. It touches us on such a human level because thematically what it dealt with and how it dealt with [it], so many of us are going through or have gone through or have been touched by it, Richardson Jackson explains in her interview with Gold Derby (watch the exclusive video above) before adding, This cancer epidemic in the world is the scourge of our existence.

Billed simply as LaTanya Richardson for most of her career, she now uses LaTanya Richardson Jackson as her stage name, alluding to her marriage to Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson, which is at 36 years and counting. Despite sharing a profession, the couple has not appeared on screen together since the film Mother and Child in 2009. Richardson Jackson explains, We used to work together all the time when we were younger, when we were really going up and we were sort of at the same level. But since his star rose so high and he became a supernova, we have not found ourselves able to work together. She laments about the last time that they shared a set, He had such a huge trailer and so many amenities that were not afforded to me. I said, Oh well, I guess we wont be doing this again because I cant take it. But I think in the future, I would love to do a play with him.

Crediting theater as her first love, Richardson Jackson enjoyed the first major nomination of her career in 2014 when she was nominated at the Tony Awards for her lead role in the A Raisin in the Sun play revival on Broadway. Thats written on the rsum of my soul, she gushes, noting, That really came out of left field because I was replacing [aging Tony winner and Oscar nominee Diahann Carroll] during a very deep rehearsal period that was so quick that [the premiere was only two months after being cast] that it never would have crossed my mind. Everybody who does theater though [] Tonys thats bigger to us than any Oscar.

For the Emmys this year, Richardson Jackson has submitted her third and final Greys Anatomy performance for Best Drama Guest Actress consideration the episode Be Still, My Soul directed by starEllen Pompeo in her directorial debut. Although her character ultimately succumbs to the cancer, Richardson Jackson believes that theres hope for Diane to return in some incarnation for a future season. She elaborates, I think that theres a lot there to be mined. I just keep trying to insert myself into it again because I had such a great time there and I was very sad to have to die and leave. Richardson Jackson even admits to being a fan of the show from the very beginning, which made her casting in the 13th season that much sweeter.

Be sure to make your Emmy predictions. Weigh in now with your picks so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our Emmy odds.You can keep changing your predictions until just before nominees are announced on July 13. Join in the fierce debate over the 2017 Emmys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our TV forums. And visit our home page for the latest in entertainment news.

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LaTanya Richardson Jackson ('Grey's Anatomy'): Cancer 'touches us on such a human level' [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] - Goldderby