Protesting a talk on antisemitism at UC Berkeley, because...Israel.

Who protests a talk on antisemitism?

Historian Deborah Lipstadt , author of the books Denying the Holocaust (1993), History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier (2005), The Eichmann Trial (2011), and Antisemitism: Here and Now (2019) gave a talk at UC Berkeley's law school Thursday, to a packed and appreciative audience.  She is the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies, Tam Institute for Jewish Studies and the Department of Religion at Emory University.

The theme of her talk was "Anti-Semitism. Here and Now"

Three sullen protesters stood nearby.  It was not clear what they hoped to accomplish.

On Twitter, Deborah Lipstadt dismissed the three, saying she had "far more important matters to discuss." at her Berkeley talk
“My talk was about antisemitism here and now. Not about Israel. Three protesters positioned themselves next to me with signs attacking Israel.”

“In the talk, when I spoke about antisemitism from the left, I mentioned that many people refuse to see antisemitism as legitimate.  They dismiss claims of antisemitism as simply being a sop to protect Israel. This is the only prejudice those on the left refuse to take seriously.”

“I want to thank the protesters for making my point more clearly than my words could,” she  concluded.

Her post has been "liked" over 1,900 times in one day.

Berkeley's Jewish Community Responds to 4/17 ASUC Senate Meeting

Berkeley's Jewish Community Responds to 4/17 ASUC Senate Meeting

A collective statement by the UC Berkeley Jewish Community, co-signed by 

Berkeley Hillel Student Board
Bears For Israel
Chabad at UC Berkeley Student Board
Greek Jewish Council
Jewish Students Association at Berkeley Law
JFem
J Street U at Berkeley
UC Berkeley Chapter of Challah for Hunger
UC Berkeley Chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity
UC Berkeley Mishelanu
The Jews of Color Collective
Tikvah: Students for Israel

To the UC Berkeley community,

As representatives of the Jewish community here at Cal, we are appalled and deeply pained by the anti-Semitic remarks made over the course of the April 17th ASUC Senate meeting.

The verbal abuse and harassment, conspiratorial accusations, and spreading of false information that we witnessed conveys an attitude of hostility towards the Jewish people and a fundamental misunderstanding of who we are as a community. This university (and our student government in particular) has earned a reputation for its recurring issues with anti-Semitism. When we go home to our communities, we are constantly asked about our experiences with anti-Semitism on campus. Every one of us has gotten a call from a high school senior concerned about applying to a school with such a strong reputation for anti-Semitism. Time and time again, our community has been marginalized and vilified, but in turn we are met only with apathy and further demonization.

To be clear, the April 17th ASUC Senate meeting was not focused on Zionism or Israel, but was rather set up as a forum for comment on the recent Judicial Council ruling regarding the 2019 ASUC elections. In the public comment, some Jewish students spoke to the room about the disqualification of a Jewish senator-elect, among others, and noted that because of this, they felt that the Jewish community lost essential representation in the ASUC. In the comments following, we were the only identity group whose desire to be represented was rebuked. Several speakers used the opportunity to invoke anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist views as dog-whistles to target Jews, including specific Jewish students in the room.

We are troubled by the failure of these speakers to recognize that while Zionism is a crucial part of our community’s identity, each member of our community has their own personal relationship with Israel and Zionism. Using Zionism as a code for Judaism, and subsequently conflating this with white supremacy, is completely ignorant of how white supremacy is founded on anti-Semitism and victimizes Jews. The words we heard last night mirror the anti-Semitic rhetoric of white supremacy and contribute to the oppression of Jewish people on this campus and beyond. Additionally, there are Jewish students of color on this campus who felt overlooked by attacks targeting their Jewish identity and isolating them within their PoC (people of color) communities. A defense of PoC communities cannot include the anti-Semitic views expressed last night. The way that Zionism was and continues to be weaponized, misused, and misunderstood shows an unwillingness to listen and learn from the Jewish community on campus.

Below is a selection of the most hurtful statements made in last night’s meeting:

A former Senator complained about only hearing “white tears, Zionist tears,” and was met with uproarious applause while an audience member shouted, “F*ck Zionists.”

A former Senator falsely claimed that she was disqualified years ago as a result of her support for Palestine and for standing up to the “Israeli genocide.”

Another student leader spoke after the public comment period and expressed various anti-Semitic conspiracies, which included:

Claiming the Israeli Defense Forces train American police to kill black people;

Claiming that being friends with Zionists means one is complicit in oppression, the prison-industrial complex, and modern-day slavery;

Interchanging the words “Zionist,” “Israeli,” and “Jewish” - a clear indication that by calling for the exclusion of Zionists from campus spaces, they were calling for the exclusion of Jews altogether.

We, as Jewish students, condemn the events of April 17th and stand united against the hatred and ignorance that permeates our campus. We ask that the campus community stand with us, make your voice heard and show that Berkeley truly does stand united against hate. We would like to extend the invitation for dialogue to any member of the campus community that would like to listen to us and engage with us.


Signed,

The UC Berkeley Jewish Community

Read it here

Stop Hate at San Francisco State

San Francisco State has long been described as one of the most anti-Semitic universities in America.  The situation came to a rolling boil last year, leaving frustrated students to take out a lawsuit in Federal court, alleging that the University administration ignored abuses directed towards Jewish students on campus.

Take a minute and sign a petition organized by StandWithUs urging the SFSU leadership to protect Jewish,  Israeli and pro-Israel students on campus

The text of the petition follows:

To SFSU and CSU leadership,

For too long, Jewish students have faced unacceptable intolerance and hate at San Francisco State University (SFSU).

From protesters shouting down the Mayor of Jerusalem in violation of the First Amendment, to Hillel being actively excluded from a "Know Your Rights" fair, to an official SFSU department Facebook page opposing the inclusion of Zionists on campus, the climate for Jewish students at SFSU is deeply problematic. Some are even afraid to openly wear Jewish symbols on campus.

The Jewish community had petitioned the SFSU Administration for years to demand action, and while some progress has been made, administrators continue to drag their feet on a number of key issues. You have yet to make any official statement about the Know Your Rights Fair and have failed to remove offensive content posted on the official Facebook page of the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies Department.

The Jewish community deserves a safe learning environment, just like all other communities at SFSU. This includes the many Jewish students who believe in Israel's right to exist and see Israel as an important part of their identity.

As such, we call on you the leadership of SFSU and CSU to:

1. Make a clear statement condemning the exclusion of Hillel from the Know Your Rights Fair in February, 2017, as contrary to the values of the University.

2. Establish clear regulations stating that official SFSU department Facebook pages must adhere to university policy, and ensure that the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies Department removes its offensive Facebook post.

3. Make a clear statement that any effort to exclude and/or marginalize Jewish students and organizations based on their support for Israel's existence will not be tolerated at SFSU.

Please sign the petition here

Stop Intolerance and Hate at San Francisco StateWrite to San Francisco State and Demand Action Against Intolerance

Oregon Hillel Vandalized

Legitimate criticism of Israel or anti-Semitism?

Oregon Hillel vandalized

From the Eugene Oregon Hillel Foundation:

We apologize for the graphic content, but today we were shocked and saddened to return to our building in Eugene to find one of our welcome signs in our parking lot covered with hate filled graffiti. We greatly appreciate the immediate support of President Schill, the Dean of Students Office and the Office of Equity and Inclusion. All have voiced their concern and support for our community and offered their resources. We have removed the sign and will work to clean it off – there is no other damage or graffiti to any other parts of the building. We have also communicated with Chabad & Akiva on Campus to make sure that they are aware and have offered to help keep an eye on all of our properties throughout the summer.

Below is a statement from Kevin Marbury, University of Oregon Vice President – Division of Student Life – we are very grateful for the quick response and support that the the university has shown to our Hillel and Jewish community on campus. Despite hate we celebrate light by lighting the Shabbat candles with our community around the world -

"Jewish student community members,

We have been made aware of anti-Sematic graffiti that recently appeared outside the The Oregon Hillel Foundation. Anti-Semitism and other forms of hate have no place at the University of Oregon. We condemn this as an unacceptable violation our university values. The UO Police Department has taken the initial report and is working with Eugene PD to further investigate. To the extent we are able, we will share additional information as it becomes available.

If you need support or any assistance stemming from this incident, please contact the Dean of Students office 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday at 541-346-3216, or if you need immediate support, you can contact the UO Counseling Center’s after-hour support and crisis line: 541-346-3227."

R. Kevin Marbury Ph.D., Vice President
Division of Student Life

Anti-Semitic Cartoon appears in the UC Berkeley Daily Cal

Joel Mayorga, political cartoonist for UC Berkeley's student newspaper, the Daily Cal has hit the daily double of anti-Semitism. Mayorga has managed to squeeze both blood libel and conspiracy tropes into this cartoon commemorating Alan Dershowitz's talk at Cal.

This cartoon appeared days after an op-ed in the same paper alleging "suppression" of Palestinian activism on campus.

The Daily Wire has an exclusive interview with Alan Dershowitz regarding the cartoon.  His reaction:

My first reaction was surprise that the official student newspaper of a major state university would publish a Dur Sturmer-type cartoon which would have fit comfortably into any Nazi publication.

My second reaction is what I’ve always believed, and that is, there is very little difference between the Nazis of the hard Right and the anti-Semites of the hard Left. This obviously was a hard Left neo-Nazi cartoon.

My third reaction is, I’m surprised that it was treated with as little response. Imagine if a comparably anti-black or anti-woman or anti-gay cartoon was ever published in the Berkeley student newspaper. Again, it reflects for me the incredible double standard in tolerance that people have toward anti-Semitism.

UPDATE

Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Berkeley has a post featuring the cartoon on their FaceBook page.  There is not a single comment condemning it.

Koret Foundation withholds grant money to San Francisco State University

Anti-Semitism doesn't pay. SFSU has learned the hard way.

According to an article in the J Weekly, the Jewish News of  Northern California, written by Max.Cherney:

The San Francisco-based Koret Foundation last year held back a $1.7 million grant to San Francisco State University, according to a federal lawsuit filed earlier this week.

Among other accusations in the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s lawyers laid out a squabble over the sizable grant between SFSU and the San Francisco-based Koret Foundation, a well-fundedphilanthropic organization that works on a range of causes.

Koret’s reason for withholding the grant was due to concerns about “anti-Jewish animus” at SFSU, the lawsuit claims, and because of a 2016 incident where protesters prevented Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat from giving a scheduled talk at the school.

Read it all here

Groundbreaking Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University has been hit with a lawsuit, alleging systemic patterns of discrimination and harassment directed towards Jewish students.

The lawsuit  filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California  names the Board of Trustees of the California State University System, SFSU President Leslie Wong and others as defendants. The plaintiffs, including students, alumni and community members are represented by attorneys from The Lawfare Project and the global law firm Winston & Strawn LLP.

From a press release, filed by Amanda Berman, Lawfare Project Director of Legal Affairs
and Brooke Goldstein, Lawfare Project Director

The lawsuit was triggered following the alleged complicity of senior university administrators and police officers in the disruption of an April, 2016, speech by the Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat. At that event organized by SF Hillel, Jewish students and audience members were subjected to genocidal and offensive chants and expletives by a raging mob that used bullhorns to intimidate and drown out the Mayor’s speech and physically threaten and intimidate members of the mostly-Jewish audience. At the same time, campus police – including the chief – stood by, on order from senior university administrators who instructed the police to “stand down” despite direct and implicit threats and violations of university codes governing campus conduct.

The lawsuit states that “SFSU has not merely fostered and embraced anti-Jewish hostility -it has systematically supported … student groups as they have doggedly organized their efforts to target, threaten, and intimidate Jewish students on campus and deprive them of their civil rights and their ability to feel safe and secure as they pursue their education at SFSU.” SFSU continues to affirm its preference for those targeting the Jewish community, according to the lawsuit, by claiming to handle such incidents successfully by removing the Jewish students from their lawful assembly without allowing them the opportunity to exercise their free speech rights.”

Making matters worse, no actions were ever taken by SFSU against the disruptive students, no disciplinary charges were ever filed, and no sanctions were ever imposed against the groups or students responsible for committing these acknowledged violations.

“Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the underpinning of the modern American ethos of equal protection and anti-discrimination. This case isn’t about Jews, it’s about equal protection under the law,” says Brooke Goldstein, Lawfare Project Director. “If the courts fail to apply Title VI in this context, we are creating a massive loophole that will ultimately be exploited to target other marginalized minority communities. If we refuse to enforce anti-discrimination law for Jews, if we say Jews don’t deserve equal protection, it will erode constitutional protections for everyone. Jews must be protected the same as any other minority group, or the bedrock of civil rights law will crumble.”

In addition to the disruption of the speech by Nir Barkat, the lawsuit describes a long list of discrimination, intimidation and mistreatment of Jewish students at SFSU.  Following are just a few examples:

In 1994, a ten-foot mural was erected on SFSU’s student union building that portrayed yellow Stars of David intertwined with dollar signs, skulls and crossbones, and the words “African Blood.”

In 1997, a banner depicting an Israeli flag with a swastika next to an American flag with a dollar sign was hung over the same wall where the 1994 mural had been painted.

In April of 2002, posters appeared around campus advertising an event called “Genocide in the 21st Century,” featuring a dead baby on the label of a soup can, surrounded on either side by Israeli flags.

In May of 2002, following a Peace rally, a small group of Jewish students were targeted by a large group of students who shouted bigoted and offensive remarks, including “Hitler didn’t finish the job,” “Get out or we’ll kill you,” and “Go back to Russia.”

In 2009, SFSU hosted on-campus events that advocated for the elimination of the Jewish state of Israel.

In 2016, President Wong complained that in all his years, he had never seen a university donor withhold a pledge because of a “political issue.” A Jewish Studies faculty member told him, “the physical safety of Jewish students is never a political issue.” President Wong replied, “on this, we will have to agree to disagree.”

In 2017, when specifically asked whether Zionists are welcome at SFSU, President Wong refused to provide the only proper answer: “Yes.” Instead, President Wong demurred, stating “That’s one of those categorical statements I can’t get close to. . . . Am I comfortable opening up the gates to everyone?  Gosh, of course not.”

"Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the underpinning of the modern American ethos of equal protection and anti-discrimination. This case isn’t about Jews, it’s about equal protection under the law,” says Brooke Goldstein, Lawfare Project Director. “If the courts fail to apply Title VI in this context, we are creating a massive loophole that will ultimately be exploited to target other marginalized minority communities. If we refuse to enforce anti-discrimination law for Jews, if we say Jews don’t deserve equal protection, it will erode constitutional protections for everyone. Jews must be protected the same as any other minority group, or the bedrock of civil rights law will crumble."

Read the full complaint here

Read students and community members first hand accounts of the campus climate at SFSU  here

Read the full press release from the Lawfare Project here

For more documentation of the systemic harassment of Jewish students at SFSU, see the blog San Francisco State Unbecoming

San Francisco State University's toxic climate for Jewish Students

From the Jewish Community Relations Council Director Abby Forth:

“Campuses across the nation experience uncivil discourse and anti-Semitism. But what sets S.F. State apart is its administration’s unwillingness to state for its entire campus community that it will not tolerate these acts.

“When Jewish students and guests are intimidated and Hillel is discriminated against, this administration fails to speak out. More than that, it has celebrated the perpetrators while privately assuring our Jewish community that it will look into these incidents,”

“In so doing, this administration is, at best, complicit in the marginalization of Jewish students, and, at worst, responsible for it.”

If case you missed it, check out the excellent series of articles on the campus climate for Jewish students at San Francisco State University, published in this weeks J the Jewish News of Northern California 

Dan Pine documents the history of anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist activism at San Francisco State University, and the current administration's tepid response

S.F. State’s Jewish problem: faculty and local leaders decry worsening climate''

Written by Max A.Cherney:

JCRC campaign aimed at ‘toxic culture’ for Jews at SFSU

Written by Mark G. Yudof  and Kenneth Waltzer of the Academic Engagement Network.

S.F. State ‘excommunicates’ Jewish students and pro-Israel speakers

Written by Marc Dollinger.the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility at San Francisco State University and  Fred Astren,chair of the Jewish studies department, stating:

"After six face-to-face meetings over the course of a year with San Francisco State University President Leslie Wong, we are obliged to report that there is no resolution in sight for problems plaguing Jewish student life on campus."
Jewish studies professors: S.F. State marginalizes Jews

Outraged? You should be.  This has been going on for a long time.

Community members are mobilizing for action.  A good first step- please sign this petition to California State University Chancellor Dr. Timothy P. White from StandWithUs  calling on him to take immediate action to "ensure the security and dignity of Jewish students"

The JCRC is encouraging people to email SFSU President Les Wong to remind him that it is the responsibility of the administration to set and enforce boundaries that protect free speech and ensure the safety of every student.  Demand he take action to protect Jewish students on campus.

Stay tuned. This is not over.

Palestinian mob terrorize Israeli speakers event in London

Ironic.

While Hatem Bazian stood in  UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza,  claiming  Palestinian voices on campus were “silenced”,  half a world away, Palestinian activists violently disrupted an event with Hen Mazzig,  an Israeli peace activist.  Mazzig was at the University College London  to discuss his humanitarian work in the West Bank.

 After failing to have the talk cancelled by the university,  demonstrators took matters into their own hands. Some forced a window open, in order to break into the venue.  An angry mob screamed insults and pounded on the door, trying desperately to silence the Israeli human rights activist, in what they claimed was a “non-violent” protest.

Four police cars and 20  officers  quickly arrived at the scene in an effort to prevent further escalation.

From Jewish News.

UCL students described the terrifying scene which caused some, including event organiser and Friends of Israel Society co-president Liora Cadranel, to flee in tears. Another student, Devora Khafi, suffered a panic attack following an alleged assault by a pro-Palestinian activist.

Attendees were forced to lock themselves into a room to protect themselves against a 100-strong rabble gathered outside, demonstrating against the arrival of Israeli peace activist Hen Mazzig.

Liora said: “I thought Hen Mazzig would be a brilliant speaker to engage with students on all sides of the political spectrum. His lack of bias makes him ideal to speak on a controversial issue.”

Palestinian activists have become the fascist brown shirts of our times, with raging mobs violently "enforcing" the cultural and academic boycott of Israel. Its yet another example of the ugliness that BDS brings to a campus

Read more about this incident here:

University College London: Police called as Jewish students 'trapped in room' by pro-Palestine protesters

Pro-Palestinian protesters trap attendees of Israel event in London university hall

Police Called to London University After Protesters Trap Attendees of Israel Event in Room

UC Berkeley suspends anti-Israel class

Two Jews, three opinions? Not this time.

Earlier this month, 43 human rights and Jewish advocacy groups signed an open letter to UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks expressing concern regarding a decal class, “Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis,” with an obvious political bias and a bigoted agenda.   The course was in clear violation of the UC Regents Policy on Course Content  which states “  Misuse of the classroom... allowing it to be used for political indoctrination...constitutes misuse of the University as an institution.”

The University of California, Berkeley suspended the class on Tuesday. Only 28 students had signed up for it.

It was reported that the facilitator,  Paul Hadweh, “did not comply with policies and procedures that govern the normal academic review and approval of proposed courses for the Decal program”, and for that reason, “approval for the course has been suspended pending completion of the mandated review and approval process. It should also be noted that the Executive Dean of the College of Letters and Science is very concerned about the offering of any course, even a student-run course, which espouses a single political viewpoint and/or appears to offer a forum for political organizing rather than an opportunity for the kind of open academic inquiry that Berkeley is known for.”

AMCHA, a watchdog group with a focus on campus Antisemitism coordinated the letter,  pointing out to the Chancellor that:

A review of the syllabus of  “Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis” reveals that the course's objectives, reading materials and guest speakers are politically motivated, meet our government’s criteria for antisemitism, and are intended to indoctrinate students to hate the Jewish state and take action to eliminate it:

• Course Learning Objectives - These make it clear that a key goal of the class is to encourage students to accept unquestioningly the false and defamatory idea that Israel is an illegitimate settler colonial state.  Furthermore, by the end of the course students are required to have "researched, formulated, and presented decolonial alternatives to the current situation,” which, in the context of the other course objectives, means that a significant part of the course will be devoted to thinking about ways to “decolonize” -- that is, eliminate — Israel. 

• Course Readings - All of the course readings, without exception, have a blatantly anti-Israel bias, and most contain language that demonizes and delegitimizes Israel and is recognized as antisemitic by the U.S. government, democratic world leaders, scholars of antisemitism and the Jewish community. In addition, virtually all of the authors of the course readings have either publicly endorsed an academic boycott of Israel, called for the dismantling of Israel, or both.

• Guest Speakers - Both guest speakers listed in the syllabus — Keith Feldman and Hatem Bazian -- have publicly supported an academic boycott of Israel, and Bazian, who is also the course’s faculty sponsor, is himself a well-known leader of the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement as well as campaigns to eliminate the Jewish state. 

Roz Rothstein, CEO of Israel advocacy group StandWithUs, praised the decision to suspend the class:

“We applaud the UC Berkeley administration for recognizing that this course was designed for political indoctrination, and not open academic inquiry,” she said. “Approving a class premised on the denial of Jewish history, identity, and rights in their homeland would have been a stain on the university's reputation as both an academic institution and a force for progress in the world.”

Read more about the suspension of  “Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis” here:
UC-Berkeley halts class that critics say advocates the elimination of Israel

‘Antisemitic Anti-Zionist' Course at UC Berkeley Suspended Following Exposé, Outcry

U.C. Berkeley suspends student-led Palestine course after Jewish outcry

Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism on campus

What we’re reading:

Anti-Semitism on California Campuses

The problem on campuses across the country is that pro-Palestinian activists, in their zeal to seek self-affirmation, statehood, and "social justice," have waged an extremely caustic cognitive war against Israel and Jews.

Being pro-Palestinian on campuses today does not necessarily mean that one is committed to helping Palestinians be productive, live well, build a free and open nation or create a civil society with transparent government, a free press, human rights, and a representative government.

What being pro-Palestinian seems to have come to mean is continually denigrating and attacking Israel with a false historical narrative and the grotesquely misused language of human rights. What is claimed to be anti-Israel sentiment often rises to the level of raw anti-Semitism.

It is enough to make Jewish students, whether or not they care about Israel at all, uncomfortable, unsafe, or even hated on their own campuses.

Will free speech on Israel survive progressive censorship? 

Today the ACLU and progressive farleft activists, many of them Jewish, fail to object to the assault on pro-Israel free speech on American college campuses and in the public arena, no doubt because the calls for denial of free speech come from their own ranks.

Pro-Israel speakers are now routinely shouted down, forced off the stage of public discourse by Palestinian and “social justice” activists. Just ask ambassador Michael Oren, or Palestinian human rights advocate Bassem Eid, whose crime was talking about co-existing with Israelis. At Brandeis University, Brandeis president Frederick Lawrence withdrew Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s invitation to speak there, because she speaks out against Islamic female genital mutilation and other human rights violations in the Islamic world...

They further claim that shouting down pro-Israel speakers is their form of free speech. George Orwell must be turning over in his grave.

Putting anti-Semitism on the radar at the University of California and beyond

Last week, the Regents of the University of California unanimously approved a landmark Statement of Principles Against Intolerance containing the following language: “Anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at the University of California.” Although the statement has been widely hailed within the Jewish community for its unprecedented acknowledgment of anti-Zionism as a source of anti-Jewish hostility, many have overlooked an aspect of the statement’s language every bit as significant when it comes to ensuring the safety and well-being of Jewish students: the Regents’ clear call for anti-Semitism, in all of its forms, to be treated like every other kind of discrimination at the University of California – no more, but certainly no less.

Why is this so significant? Because for far too long the problem of anti-Jewish bigotry has not been on the radar at the University of California... 

Furthermore, when attempts were made to put anti-Jewish hostility on the UC radar, they were aggressively and successfully suppressed by the very groups most responsible for creating that hostility. For example in 2012, within days of the publication of a Jewish Student Campus Climate Report commissioned by then UC President Mark Yudof, which found that “Jewish students are confronting significant and difficult climate issues as a result of ... anti-Zionism and Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)”, anti-Zionist student and community groups viciously attacked the report and demanded it be withdrawn. 

UC Berkeley targeted with Anti-Semitic flyers

The ink was scarcely dry on the UC Regents statement condemning anti-Semitism, when UC Berkeley was targeted in an spam attack featuring anti-Semitic rhetoric

Copies of an anti-Semitic flyer were discovered in a shared printer in Dwinelle 7222 on the Cal campus. Other universities also reported receiving the flyers  including  the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Smith College, Mt. Holyoke College, Northeastern University in Boston, Clark University  and Brown University, Princeton University, DePaul University in Chicago, University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and UC Davis 

The flier was adorned with swastikas and read: “White man, are you sick and tired of the Jews destroying your country through mass immigration and degeneracy? Join us in the struggle for global white supremacy,” 

The Daily Stormer is considered by the ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center to be a neo-Nazi website and hate site.

Swastika found at Drexel University

A Jewish student at Drexel University discovered a swastika and the word “Jew” written near an Israeli flag displayed outside his dorm room earlier this week.

From the Jewish Exponent:

“I was deeply distressed to learn of an incident that occurred in one of our residence halls, in which a student was targeted on the basis of religion with the posting of a hate symbol,” Drexel president John Fry said in a statement to the Drexel community after the student found the vandalism on May 12. “Whether this malicious act was a hate crime or just blatant ignorance, it is unacceptable and incompatible with the ethos of our University.”

According to the AMCHA initiative,  swastikas have been found on at least 14 campuses so far this year including:

Stanford
Northwestern
The University of Missouri
Framingham State University
Farleigh Dickinson
Northeastern
Tufts
SUNY Purchase College
UC-Berkeley
George Washington University
Vanderbilt
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Cleveland State University
UC-Davis

Now Drexel  joins that ignoble list.

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin: University of California must fight back against anti-Semitic acts

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, a faculty member at the University of California, Santa Cruz is the founder of AMCHA Initiative, a non-profit organization that combats anti-Semitism on college campuses. Nominated as a Jewish Community hero, Ms. Rossman has a well earned reputation are a fierce and tireless protector of civil rights of Jewish students, on California campuses and throughout the country

Documenting anti-Semitic incidents in the UC System, she writes in the San Jose Mercury News:

It's not hard to connect the dots. On campuses where anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaigns have been promoted, anti-Semitism has increased and Jewish students report feeling emotionally and physically harassed, threatened, unsafe, and targeted for anti-Jewish bigotry.

The University of California is no exception. Just in the past few months:

At UC Berkeley, in the wake of a contentious BDS campaign, the message "Zionists should be sent to the gas chamber" was found scrawled on a bathroom wall. This past month, a Jewish student leader reported, "We still find anti-Semitic slogans written on bathrooms. A lot of students find swastikas and come to me," and he added that many Jewish students are frightened.

At UC Davis, in the days leading up to an anti-Israel divestment vote, the university's Hillel House was defaced with "grout out the Jews." Less than two days following the vote, large swastikas were spray-painted on a UC Davis Jewish fraternity. Several Jewish students reported feeling unsafe, one writing: "I no longer feel as though UC Davis is a completely safe environment for Jewish students or a place where I can feel free to express my support for Israel."

At UCLA, shortly after the student government approved an anti-Israel divestment resolution, four student senators who sponsored that resolution brazenly argued that a candidate for the student judicial board was not eligible simply because she was a Jew. According to one Jewish student leader, "People say that being anti-Israel is not the same as being anti-Semitic. The problem is the anti-Israel culture in which we are singling out only the Jewish state creates an environment where it is OK to single out Jewish students."

At UC Santa Barbara, after three years of divisive anti-Israel divestment campaigns, large flyers blaming Jews for 9/11 were posted on campus. At a student senate meeting this past month, a Jewish student shared: "For the first time in my life, I felt that my identity, an unchangeable part of who I am, was under attack and my entire existence as a Jew was being questioned. No one in this room can look at this past year's incidents and tell me that anti-Semitism doesn't exist. ... I'm scared for my safety."

In response to this alarming increase in anti-Semitism, student leaders at UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara have approved resolutions condemning anti-Semitism.  It’s a start, but its not enough.

Read Tammi Benjamin-Rossmans' recommendations here

Meet the UC Davis student who celebrates Hamas and Sharia: Azka Fayyaz.

Who is Azka Fayyaz, the Student Senator at UC Davis  who celebrated BDS as a victory for "Hamas and Sharia " on her campus?

 There is nothing in her campaign statement that indicates she will use her position to advocate for divestment  There is nothing in her campaign platform to indicate her support for avowed terror groups.

 If divestment wasn't part of the platform that led to the election of Azka Fayyaz, why does anyone think she has a mandate from the student body to proceed in that direction?  There is nothing in her platform to indicate her extremist politics.

 Azka wrote:

Hello Aggies, My name is Azka. Azka Fayyaz. I am a second-year political science major from the beautiful central valley town of Madera, CA. Currently, I am an active member of organizations for students of color including various Middle Eastern and South Asian communities such as the Muslim and Pakistani Student Associations. Additionally, I have taken dynamic roles within ASUCD by serving on the External Affairs Commission and by working with Senator Miles Thomas as a member of his senior staff. Last quarter, I consummated my duties as the head of logistics for the the Muslim Student Association’s West conference, which welcomed over 1,000 attendees to our beautiful campus. In this role, I worked closely with high level UC Davis administration, as well as faculty and students from a host of communities. This opportunity gave me both critical insight into how the school is run from behind the scenes and the places where student concerns were not being met. To address these issues and many more, I ask for your support in my bid to become your ASUCD Senator. My initiatives range from implementing a holistic campus calendar to creating a more robust Club Finance Council, and actively working with administration for an expansion of quiet spaces for study, reflection and prayer. 

Platforms:
1. CREATE A CAMPUS-WIDE CALENDAR
Currently, students are largely unaware of the incredible events that can be found on our campus every day. These missed opportunities are both tragic and easy to address: create a centralized calendar for all students to read and contribute to, compiling information from dozens of currently disjointed systems. If elected, I will ensure that the UC Davis population is able to find out about these great opportunities with the creation of a new ASUCD unit. 

2. INCREASE CLUB FINANCE COUNCIL FUNDING
According to student leaders and the staff director of the Club Finance Council, the organization’s budget does not meet the needs of the more than 600 clubs who can apply for funding. This funding goes towards creating collaborative and exciting events, but for the last few years, no organization has received the full amount that CFC has determined they should get for the event. I want to reinvest in ASUCD’s most profitable ventures so that we can, in turn, reinvest in one of our Association's greatest resources and meet the needs of CFC. 

3. ADVOCATE FOR MORE QUIET SPACES FOR STUDY, REFLECTION, AND PRAYER
With our growing student population, spaces that provide sanctuary for prayer, reflection, and study have become increasingly limited and overcrowded. Fortunately, this increase comes alongside our Association's growing involvement in campus renovations. If elected, I will be the strongest advocate imaginable for quiet spaces, so that students may find respite in prayer, reflection, and study during our long days on campus.

Azka Fayyaz clearly believes in meaningful discourse, as she holds a poster labeling Netanyahu as "Hitler's illegitimate child".  Note the horns.

Via Scott Dresser on Twitter:

UC Davis: the dirty dark core where BDS and anti-Semitism intersect

Grumble.

That didn't last long. There must be a 12 step program for Bloggers, somewhere.

But this is local and involves the dirty dark core where the BDS movement and anti-Semitism intersect, so it needs to be documented.

Earlier this week, the Student Council at UC Davis voted for divestment, passing a resolution  of alarming extremism.  It was a foregone conclusion that they would- the student anti-Israel groups had managed to elect their BDS slate . Senators Nicholas Sanchez, Anabiah Syed, Casey Nguyen, Reem Fatayerji, Azka Fayyaz, Roman Rivilis, Robyn Huey and Andrea Velazquez voted in favor of the resolution. Senators Artem Senchev and Eugenia Chung voted against it, Senator Alex Lee abstained. Senator Amelia Helland was not present.

A day after the resolution passed, 2 swastikas were sprayed onto the walls of Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Jewish fraternity at UC Davis. 

From the Sacramento Bee:

Nathaniel Bernhard, vice president of the AEPi fraternity, said the vandalism took place between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. Saturday. He condemned the action, saying the hate crime threatened to rekindle race tensions on the UC Davis campus. The fraternity building is located off of the campus.
“Jewish people still can’t feel safe on their own campuses and in their own houses,” Bernhard said. “Anti-setimism still exists today. It’s not a fairy tale.”


A member of the UC Davis student Senate Azka Fayyaz, celebrating the passage of an anti-Israel Divestment resolution  wrote on her facebook page "Hamas & Sharia law have taken over UC Davis. Brb crying over the resilience." And, "If a Movement is Not Controversial, if no one is mad enough, its not strong enough &;its not worth the fight. Israel will fall. insha'Allah."

The UC Davis Aggies are asking for help.

Please sign their petition at Aggies Demand Action:
http://aggiesdemandaction.nationbuilder.com/demad_action_against_hate

UPDATE via the Davis Vanguard

Yesterday morning Chancellor Linda Katehi issued a statement. She wrote, “Last evening the ASUCD Senate passed a resolution urging the UC Board of Regents to divest from four corporations that, according to the resolution, ‘aid in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.’”

She stressed, “This, however, does not reflect the position of UC Davis or the University of California system. The investment policy for the University of California system, including UC Davis, is set by the UC Board of Regents. The Board and Office of the President issued a statement regarding student resolutions that urge the Board to divest from companies doing business with Israel. The statement reiterates the Board’s position that this type of call to action will not be entertained.”

Chancellor Katehi continues, “We recognize that this is a sensitive topic for many on our campus, one that is very personal and emotional. It is for this reason that we must exercise sensitivity, restraint and respect in relation to the issue. Prior to the debate last night, those in attendance were reminded of our Principles of Community. We affirmed the right to freedom of expression, but also affirmed our commitment to the highest standards of civility and decency toward all.”

She writes, “A renowned international university, UC Davis manages academic and research programs across the globe and is home to a community of faculty, researchers and students from everywhere in the world. We believe that our shared goals of teaching, learning and serving the needs of society, in a climate of justice marked by respect for each other, will help us build a strong community of learning and fulfill our mission of educating the leaders of tomorrow and producing and disseminating knowledge.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article8865731.html#storylink=cpy

The Jesuit University of New York should do better.

At Tablet magazine, Professor of History at Fordham University, Doron Ben-Atar documents  the Kafka-esque ordeal he endured at Fordham University, because he dared take a stand for academic freedom.  By taking a courageous and public stand against bigotry and anti-Semitism on campus, he found himself at the center of an academic witch hunt

He writes:

The decision of the American Studies Association to boycott Israeli universities in December 2013 had upset me. I wrote emails, circulated articles, and was pleased that my university president quickly declared his opposition to the measure. I joined a national steering committee that set out to fight the boycott and participated in the drafting of a few statements. As an American historian who delivered in 1987 his first paper at the annual meeting of the American Studies Association and served on the executive committee of Fordham’s American Studies program, I wanted Fordham’s program to sever official ties with the national organization until it rescinded the measure. Other programs have taken this courageous symbolic step, and I thought it proper for the Jesuit university of New York to take the moral stand against what most scholars of anti-Semitism consider anti-Semitic bigotry.

It was this stand that led Fordham’s Title IX officer to launch the proceedings. During an emotional meeting convened to discuss the appropriate response to the measure, I stated that should Fordham’s program fail to distance itself from the boycott, I will resign from the program and fight against it until it took a firm stand against bigotry. The program’s director, Michelle McGee, in turn filed a complaint against me with the Title IX office, charging that I threatened to destroy the program. (As if I could? And what does this have to do with Title IX?) This spurious complaint (the meeting’s minutes demonstrated that I did not make such a threat) ushered me into a bruising summer that taught me much about my colleagues, the university, and the price I must be willing to pay for taking on the rising tide of anti-Zionism on American campuses.

Ultimately Prof. Ben-Atar is cleared of the spurious charges, writing:

It was a sobering summer. I have had to defend my reputation against baseless, ever-evolving charges, ranging from sex discrimination to religious discrimination. I went through a Kafkaesque process in which I was never told exactly what I supposedly did wrong, nor was I ever shown anything in writing. Eventually I learned that the charge was religious discrimination born of my opposition to anti-Semitism. The implication is that anti-Semitism needs to be tolerated at Fordham, and that those who dare to fight it run afoul of university rules.

Administrators and colleagues failed to protect my First Amendment rights, and fed the assault on my character. A person utterly unqualified to understand anti-Semitism sat in judgment of a scholar who publishes on and teaches the subject. A report has been issued without letting me even defend myself. My choice to have legal representation has been cited as proof of my guilt. Most painful was realizing that my commitment to fighting anti-Semitism, so central to who I am, has been used against me in a most unethical manner not only by the member of the faculty who filed the baseless charge, but also by the office of the University Counsel.

Read the entire article here

Was Israel "erased" from the Map at UCLA?

From Bruins For Israel

Bruins for Israel Requests Apology from Empowered Arab Sisterhood for Erasing Israel at World In-Sight Fair

On Tuesday May 21, at UCLA's World In-Sight fair, a festival meant to expose UCLA students to the globe's diverse cultures, the Empowered Arab Sisterhood (EAS) disseminated maps asking students to "Find All The Middle Eastern Countries" (see below).

 The EAS listed 17 countries among the list of Middle Eastern states to choose from (including Palestine) but conspicuously omitted the State of Israel. This glaring omission effectively eliminated the Jewish state from the Middle East. When confronted, EAS members chose to cross out "Middle Eastern" in the title and replace it with "Arab" instead (see below). BFI is concerned that, given the recent prevalence of anti-Zionist bigotry on campus, EAS' initial erasing of Israel was deliberate.

 

Whether deliberate or not, the omission of Israel from the Middle East in EAS' materials represents yet more disinformation that undermines the Jewish people's right to self-determination and alienates Jewish and pro-Israel students on campus. It is because such disinformation and hostility towards the Jewish and pro-Israel community have become so frequent at UCLA that we have put forth our statement asking the UCLA community to denounce anti-Zionist bigotry. By erasing Israel from the Middle East, EAS erased our families, our history and our collective rights. By erasing the State of Israel but including Palestine, EAS' omission also directly hinders efforts to reach peace based on a two state solution, a solution that BFI fully endorses.

Accordingly, Bruins for Israel requests that the Empowered Arab Sisterhood issue a statement of apology that recognizes the State of Israel as well as the right of Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral homeland.
 
******************

In the interest of peace, justice and positive campus climate, this must be said.  Iran- a non-Arab country, is also omitted from the list.  Between the divestment resolution and the harassment of students attending educational trips to Israel, the Bruins for Israel are understandably sensitive about this map as yet another manifestation of the hostility they have experienced on campus.  I suspect that while innacurate, and inappropriate, the omission of Israel was not intended as a political or personal slight.

Lets choose our battles with care.

University of California President Napolitano's statement on civil discourse at UCLA

UC President Janet Napolitano has issued the  following statement  about the importance of civil discourse, following reports documenting the harassment and targeting of pro-Israel and Jewish students on campus:

UC Office of the President

Friday, May 16, 2014

 

“I share Chancellor Block’s concerns about students at UCLA who target any student seeking to participate in student government who has a relationship with, or wants to travel to, Israel on trips sponsored by certain groups. At the University of California, freedom of speech is a highly valued principle. Yet, other principles are also highly valued, including the principles of civility, respect, and inclusion, and should also govern our campuses. The actions of these students at UCLA violate these principles.

 

“I encourage members of the university community, at both UCLA and at the other nine campuses at this great education institution, to come together, in open dialogue, to discuss the great issues of our day, learn from each other, and work to move our society forward. Harmful, hurtful speech by some hurts us all. We must work to ‘heed the better angels of our nature,’ as Abraham Lincoln said. That is what the University of California really stands for.”

 

Organizations speak out in support of free expression at UCLA

In response to a "pledge" distributed by several anti-Israel groups that asked UCLA students not to take part in trips organizations by pro-Israel organizations, seven groups have joined together to express their concern over the increasing harrassment of students, citing violations of students’ right to free expression, their right to free association, and their fundamental right to travel and move freely.

The text of the letter follows:
To: University of California Los Angeles Chancellor Gene Block
University of California President Janet Napolitano
University of California Board of Regents

May 15, 2014

Dear Chancellor Block, President Napolitano and UC Board of Regents:

We are deeply concerned about the behavior of a registered student group at UCLA, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

In an attempt to target, harass and intimidate pro-Israel Jewish students at UCLA, SJP members recently launched a campaign calling for a Judicial Board investigation of student council members who have taken trips to Israel sponsored by Jewish organizations. The SJP also demanded that candidates for student government positions sign a statement pledging that they will not go on any trip to Israel sponsored by three Jewish organizations.

The SJP has targeted only Israel. And it has targeted three Jewish organizations that sponsor trips to Israel. Not a single church or mosque that pays for or sponsors Israel trips was singled out.

This is an outrageous and impermissible violation of students’ right to free expression, their right to free association, and their fundamental right to travel and move freely. The SJP cannot be permitted to infringe on any student’s personal liberties and freedoms, or to bully students into not associating with certain Jewish groups that are dedicated to building love and support for Israel.

The SJP’s motive is clear: to manipulate the composition of the student government so that it is filled with anti-Israel activists who support the SJP’s hateful agenda. This is the SJP’s latest effort to harass, intimidate and bully pro-Israel Jewish students. The group’s shenanigans plainly follow from the SJP’s failed attempt to get the student government to endorse an anti-Israel divestment resolution last February.

Since the ASUC rejected the SJP’s divestment resolution, members of the SJP have engaged in what one Jewish student leader has described as a campaign of hatred and bullying directed "toward both the Jewish community and council members that voted against the resolution." Some students who opposed the anti-Israel divestment resolution reportedly feel uncomfortable even walking on campus because of the hate mail they have received. According to the Jewish student leader, "Rather than dealing with their frustrations as a result of the failure of the resolution, members of SJP continue to target their anger at the Jewish community."
The SJP is the only university-funded student organization at UCLA whose very mission targets an ethnic minority for hatred and vilification and whose activities routinely harass, intimidate, threaten and seek to silence members of that ethnic minority on campus.

The SJP’s conduct violates the UCLA Principles of Community which state:

We do not tolerate acts of discrimination, harassment, profiling or other conduct causing harm to individuals on the basis of expression of race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religious beliefs, political preference, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, or national origin among other personal characteristics. Such conduct violates UCLA’s Principles of Community and may result in imposition of sanctions according to campus policies governing the conduct of students, staff and faculty.

The SJP’s conduct also violates Section 102.11 of UCLA’s Student Conduct Code, which prohibits harassment, defined as "conduct that is so severe and/or pervasive, and objectively offensive, and that so substantially impairs a person’s access to University programs or activities that the person is effectively denied equal access to the University’s resources and opportunities."

The SJP’s scheme to prevent pro-Israel Jewish students from having equal access to positions in the student government is a disgraceful violation of the Code.

UCLA’s Code of Conduct and its Principles of Community are more than just words; they demand action. Indeed, UCLA’s standards of conduct may be higher than what the law would require. According to the Code, the regulations it contains were "developed to create and maintain a safe, supportive, and inclusive campus community" – values that the SJP is completely indifferent to and does not support.

As leaders of UCLA, you have a duty to stop to the SJP’s acts of wanton discrimination, harassment and bullying, and its deliberate interference with students’ rights and freedoms. We call on you to protect the safety and well-being of Jewish students at UCLA and hold SJP members accountable for their shameful misconduct

Thank you,

AMCHA Initiative
Institute for Black Solidarity With Israel
The Lawfare Project
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Simon Wiesenthal Center Campus Outreach
Stand With Us
Zionist Organization of America