An Open letter to the UCLA Community:
It is highly regrettable that in the past few years UCLA’s proud, long-standing reputation as a campus known for its strong, vibrant, engaged and active Jewish community has been tarnished by a series of incidents reflecting anti-Semitism and extreme bias against Israel. We have worked with the administration throughout this period, and they have taken important steps to address this situation.
However, the time has come to call for a more full-throated response.
The sheer number of reported incidents amplifies a pernicious problem. On campus, the repetition of aggressive, ill-informed and often academically devoid anti-Israel bias has created a highly-volatile, and at times vulnerable, atmosphere for Zionist and Jewish students. Off campus, it has also created a perception in the community, among alumni, and across the nation that UCLA has failed to provide an environment where it is safe to be Zionist or Jewish.
We write to ask for a robust and thorough response to continued incidents of anti-Israel bias and anti-Semitism at UCLA. This response must include: (1) calling out incidents that have no place in an academic setting as and when they occur; (2) monitoring and remediating factors that create a campus environment in which Jewish and Zionist students feel targeted and excluded; and (3) providing education for members of the UCLA administration and faculty who deal with these issues, on an ongoing basis.
Incidents that have contributed to this atmosphere
Unfortunately, campaigns that uniquely demonize Israel and its supporters have gained momentum over the last several years and UCLA has experienced numerous examples, including:
- In May 2014, an “ethics statement” was circulated, demanding that candidates for student office pledge to refrain from taking free or sponsored trips to Israel with ADL, AIPAC, or the Hasbara Fellowship.
- A 2014 campaign to discredit two student council members who participated in Jewish organization-sponsored missions to Israel and subsequently voted against a BDS resolution.
- In February 2015, a student candidate for the Judicial board was subjected to anti-Semitic questioning by members of the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council.
- In February 2017, UCLA’s Daily Bruin ran an anti-Israel cartoon that plainly evoked anti-Semitic tropes.
- In May 2018, anti-Israel protestors staged a disruption during a Students Supporting Israel Indigenous Speakers Unite speaker panel on campus.
- In a May 14, 2019 guest lecture given by Professor Rabab Abdulhadi in Anthropology 144, the lecturer used a highly problematic and derogatory definition of Zionism, and unequivocally linked Zionism with European colonialism and white supremacy.
This list represents a mere sampling of incidents. We are aware of several other issues with faculty, only some of which have been reported. Students have also shared with us as-yet unreported discriminatory experiences with fellow students.
It is important to note that we cherish the value of academic freedom in universities—including when it comes to international politics and, more specifically, the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is predicated on the idea that professors can teach, and students can learn, without other forces interfering in the process, limiting the pursuit of ideas. However, with academic freedom also comes academic responsibility.
The 2016 UC Regents Principles Against Intolerance, in referencing “anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism,” make clear an ugly reality: the demonization of Israel, and of Jews and others supportive of Israel, contributes greatly to the rise of anti-Semitic acts on campus and elsewhere. Taken together, the May 14 guest lecture and the other reported and unreported incidents highlight the need for proactive measures at UCLA.
It is time for action
We call upon the UCLA community leadership (faculty, administration, staff and students) to address this ongoing problem and its impact on and off campus as follows:
- UCLA community leaders, from the Chancellor to the faculty, must be swift and unambiguous in calling out incidents that have no place in an academic setting as and when they occur;
- Clear guidance is needed for all UCLA community members on the lines which separate academic freedom from bigotry and political activism;
- UCLA must monitor and remediate factors that create a campus environment in which Jewish and Zionist students feel targeted and excluded;
- UCLA must educate all members of the UCLA administration, faculty, advisors and students on these issues. These trainings, many of which ADL has provided in the past in limited and one-time settings, need to be institutionalized and on-going. They should include awareness of the history of anti-Semitism, the overlap between anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitism, and the impact of each on the Zionist and Jewish students. These trainings should bolster student dialogue and sensitize administrators and professionals to anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination which may not have been adequately addressed in the past.
Together, ADL and Hillel at UCLA call upon the leaders of UCLA to undertake swift and meaningful steps to address these concerns.
Rabbi Aaron Lerner Amanda Susskind
Executive Director Regional Director
Hillel at UCLA ADL Los Angeles