The Lawfare Project calls on UC Berkeley to address anti-Semitism on campus

Dear friends,

Following a set of distressing events at the University of California, Berkeley, The Lawfare Project has sent a letter to Chancellor Carol Christ calling on the university to act to ensure Jewish students feel safe and welcome on campus.

Recently, the Associated Students of the University of California Senate's (ASUC) voted on and ultimately rejected a resolution to condemn a Bears for Palestine display that glorified violent anti-Israel terrorists.

On February 3, 2020, the student government meeting to debate the resolution devolved into chaos. Jewish students were threatened, including when one student opposing the resolution approached a Jewish student and said, "I give consent to kick your ass." Another Jewish student was aggressively shoved as they were entering the meeting room. Shouts of "Zionist out!" echoed around the room as Jewish students were called "Nazis" and told they would be sought out on campus.

UC Berkeley's response has been wholly unsatisfactory and has trivialized the devastating impact that Jewish and Israeli members of the Berkeley community felt upon seeing terrorist murderers lionized in a display in a public venue on campus. If this had happened to any other minority group on campus, the university would undoubtedly not have been so quick to dismiss those students' concerns.

We are asking Chancellor Christ to take ownership of this problem and concrete steps to establish a more inclusive environment for all students.

In order to help the community heal and move forward, the university must launch a full-scale investigation into the events surrounding the February 3rd ASUC meeting. Any students found to be violating campus rules and policies should be penalized accordingly. Clear-cut rules and procedures for acceptable conduct at future meetings of the ASUC must be distributed campus wide. Moderators at ASUC meetings and any member of the administration who is present at future ASUC meetings should be trained to recognize the various ways that anti-Semitism can be manifested. Additionally, the university should ensure that members of the UC Berkeley Police Department are a visible presence at future ASUC meetings so that all students feel safe.

In light of President Trump's recent Executive Order on Combating Anti-Semitism, the U.S. Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights will be utilizing the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism when assessing Title VI complaints. If Berkeley fails to institute these steps and create a safe environment for Jewish students, they risk losing federal funding.

If Berkeley, or any other university, fails to protect its Jewish community, The Lawfare Project will take all necessary steps to ensure protection of Jewish individuals on campus and to hold the school to account.

As always, thank you for your continued support. We could not take on the pervasive culture of anti-Semitism on college campuses without your help.

Sincerely,

Brooke Goldstein
Executive Director
The Lawfare Project