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Institutionalized Anti-Semitism at UC Berkeley—Facts and Details
Last week’s column, New course at Berkeley University: How to get rid of Israel – Cancelled, made a lot of noise. I received quite a few emails following the column, the majority of which supported the points I made in the column.
And yet, one email caught my attention in particular. It came from none other than Mr. Dan Mogulof, Assistant Vice Chancellor, from the Office of Communications and Public Affairs at UC Berkeley. In the email, Mr. Mogulof grumbled that the “piece in the Jerusalem Post about the ‘Palestine’ course at Berkeley was outdated, incomplete and inaccurate” because the course had been cancelled two days prior. Mogulof also expressed his hope that in the future, I and my colleagues would “see fit to confirm facts and details prior to publication.”
I thought this was a sound advice, and decided to check the facts and details concerning anti-Semitism at UC Berkeley, and share my findings with the readers. What I learned did not surprise me, but seeing all the evidence en masse still depicted a distressing picture.
First, if, according to Mr. Mogulof, “the facilitator for the course … did not comply with policies and procedures that govern the normal academic review and approval of proposed courses for the Decal program,” then why did the university reinstate it less than a week after its cancellationsuspension? {^^ this paragraph is a little unclear - lacks foundational info ^^}
As you will see below, there is a good reason to be concerned aboutfor concern for the future of Jews onin American campuses.
Facts and Details
Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism at Berkeley date back to the 1990s, when “Berkeley’s predominantly left-wing student body and faculty adopted Palestine as their new political cause.” During the second Intifada it became far more overt and aggressive, and student testimonials began to stream into the media. Gradually, the university established a name for itself a name as a hotbed of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel activism.
As pro-Palestinian students became more aggressive in their conduct, including an incident that involved ramming a shopping cart into a Jewish female student who was peacefully expressing her support for Israel, legal procedures were taken against the institution. Although the university did not dispute the facts, the procedures did not amount to any ruling, and the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic atmosphere became increasingly apparent.
In 2014, Ami Horowitz, who maintains a video channel on YouTube, shot a two-part video clip at UC Berkeley. In the first part, Horowitz he waves an ISIS flag and shouts yells pro ISIS remarksclamors. In the second, he waves an Israeli flag and speaks in favor of the State of Israel. The results areis damning. The only “negative” comment he got while waving the black and white flag (while smoking a cigarette) was “You can’t smoke on campus, they’re gonna cite you.” But when Mr. Horowitz waved the Israeli flag, he was verbally assaulted attacked several times, while passersby hurled and curses and shouteds were hurled at him the entire time.
Berkeley Is Not Alone
True, you can edit videos to “tilt” the truth your way. Yet, The Jewish Voices on Campus collection of video testimonials, and the documentary, Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus, validate that anti-Semitism on US campuses is a widespread, deep-rooted problem. Though the testimonials are often disturbing to watch, it is only because of their obvious authenticity. The films will leave no doubt in your mind: US campuses are plagued with anti-Semitism.
Now, thanks to Berkeley’s reinstated course, which promises to “explore the possibilities of a decolonized Palestine,” anti-Semitism has been officially institutionalized atin “the top public university in the United States and around the world.”
Why Is This Happening?
Anti-Semitism does not just appear out of the blue. It buds when Jews become estranged from one another. When it surfaces, we instinctively unite. But when it calms, we lash out at each other and rush to bond with the nations.
And yet, the nations are continually excluding us. Whenever something goes wrong, they blame us for it. Even after 9/11, a large and clear inscription on the wall at UC Berkeley (where else?) said, “It's the Jews, stupid.” And if you look into our roots you will discover that we are truly different.
Why Are We Pariahs?
We, Jews, are a nation that was conceived from its inception for the purpose ofto bringing redemption to the world. Without fulfilling our vocation, our ancient sages tell us, the nations feel that there is no justification to our presence here on Earth. It may not be a conscious thought in the mind of every gentile, but the everlasting hatred toward us speaks volumes. Whenever anything goes awry, people mutter, “It's the Jews.” Because people cannot find the reason for their anger, they blame whatever plight they are facing at the moment on the Jews.
However, our only real fault is that we have abandoned our calling. We have forgotten what redemption means, and so we cannot give it to the nations. At the foot of Mt. Sinai we were told that if we did not unite “as one man with one heart,” then this would be our burial place. And once we united, we were instructed to be “a light unto nations.” We have been tasked with sharing thate unique bond we had created when we united at the foot of the mountain.
Some two millennia ago, we lost our bond and declined into unfounded hatred. At that moment we became unable to convey our special unity and caused the nations to feel that we are redundant, harm-doers, pariahs in their lands. With the nations’ growing egoism, and our inability to offer any cure, they cannot understand why we are here. We should be unequivocal about this: The nations do not want us out of Israel; they want us not to exist!
An Urgent Cure Required
As egoism and self-absorption spread, societies are falling apart the world over. The only solution to thisthe problem is to unite above our egos, and the only ones who are expected to show the way to do thisit are the Jews. But until we are able to fulfill our dutyAas long as we continue to refrain from it, the world will accuse us of causing wars. It makes no difference that we do nothing of the kind. What matters is that we are not bringing unity, and the absence of unity is causing wars throughout the globe.
The current wave of hatred will keep growing until we stop hating one another. This puts the solution to anti-Semitism on US campuses, and everywhere else, for that matter, squarely in our hands. If we unite, and cover our mutual dislike with friendship, we will reignite that special bond. By doing this, we will once again be “a light unto nations.”
Anti-Semitism is forcing us to unite. If we unite of our own volition there will be no need for anti-Semitism and it will fade away.
In a 2013 televised conversation I had with the late, Prof. Robert S Wistrich., then an internationally renowned researcher of Anti-Semitism at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he said that as one who had been researching Jew-hatred his entire life, he believes that the reason for anti-Semitism has to do with the age-old mission of the Jewish people to be a light unto nations., and explained that this mission has to do with the inclusive commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself.”
The world is telling us that it is time to return to our roots. It is time to reunite, and reignite our mutual responsibility, and our love for one another. We need not love our neighbors as ourselves because we want to. We need to do it because the world requires that we show the way. Without our example they will remain in mutual hatred and will destroy each other. But before they do, they will destroy us. The world will not forgive us until we give it what it needs, and what it needs is our example of unity.
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