This posting originally appeared on Grizzly Groundswell.
During the past few years in my reporting on the situation on the UC-Irvine campus that involves on-going tension between Jewish and Muslim students over the issue of Israel, I have occasionally mentioned the consideration that Jewish alumni might stop supporting the university financially and that prospective Jewish students might consider attending other universities. The issue has been raised to new heights in the wake of the February 8th disruption of the Israeli ambassador's speech by members of the Muslim Student Union. The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has issued a call for all alumni to stop donations to UCI and for all prospective students to consider other schools. This has raised a lot of controversy and disagreement within the local Jewish community.
Many local Jewish leaders and students have publicly come out and said that UCI needs more Jewish students in order to increase their voice vis-a-vis the Israel-Palestinian issue and what they consider anti-Semitic hate speech. Some say that it is a bad idea to let themselves be driven away by the activities of the MSU and the words of their sponsored speakers. In addition, the ZOA has taken a lot of criticism for its proposal.
First of all, I think it is important to reiterate that ZOA's call was not directed solely at Jewish alumni/donors or students. It was directed to all alumni/donors and all students. I also think that those who criticize ZOA should remember that no other national Jewish organization has stood up for UCI's Jewish students more than ZOA. Most other national Jewish organizations with branches here in Orange County have been missing in action in the past several years. They know who they are.
As for me, I respect both points of view on the issue of Jewish students. Both sides of the debate have very valid points. I have also met several Jewish students at UCI, most of whom disagree with the ZOA position. They are all very impressive young people, and I respect their viewpoint. Some want to engage in dialogue with the MSU and have often tried. In my years at UCI following this story, I have never seen Jewish students at UCI engage in any inappropriate behavior or speech. As to what each and every Jewish student thinks on this issue, I have no idea. I only know that those who have spoken publicly argue in favor of encouraging more Jewish students to come to UCI. As I said, I respect their opinion.
With all due respect, I would like to point out a few ideas for consideration. For those of us who have spoken out about hate speech at UCI, it has always been first and foremost about the welfare of students on the college campuses-that they can go to school in a peaceful and hospitable environment. It is true that each student has his or her own take on the situation and whether they feel comfortable on the UCI campus. As I have said over and over, 99% of UCI's students are not involved in this issue and should not be blamed.
The Jewish community is quite diverse, both in their identification as religious Jews and toward Israel. Some have little or no interest in the Israel/Palestinian issue and no desire to get involved in the campus controversy. Some are religious; some are not. In contrast, the Muslim Student Union is fervently dedicated to the Palestinian cause. I think it is safe to say that they-on the average-take their religion much more seriously then most of the Jewish students. They are united and they are determined.
I would also point out that today's Jewish students will be gone in 1-4 years and be replaced by a new generation of students-and another-and another. We should not lose sight of those future Jewish students and their college experiences.
No doubt some Jewish students feel that those from outside the university should leave the problem to them to work out. With all due respect, and being from inside the university in my case, I would like to quote one of my friends and colleagues who has stated that if he were to see anti-Semitism at the corner laundry, he is going to fight it. It's every body's business.
There is also another aspect of this that has drawn me into the debate; aside from defense of Israel and standing up to anti-Semitic hate speech, there has also been a fair amount of anti-America speech that I myself have heard at these MSU events by their invited speakers. I don't like it. They have the constitutional right to say it, but I have a right to defend the country that I love-and I will continue to do so.
So as to the question of whether Jewish students should attend UCI, I leave that to them and their families. It is a personal decision that only they can make. I do know one thing, however. There are a lot of Jewish students and their families who have already made that decision and chosen other universities because of the unfortunate reputation UCI has acquired. We are already aware of many anecdotal cases of these students who consciously did not come to UCI. The sad fact is that the damage has already been done.
The unfortunate circumstances at UCI raises the question, unique only to Jews, about whether or not Jewish students should enroll there. Normally it isn’t even a question when choosing schools but for good reasons, it is for UCI. No other group has to even consider ethnic hostility on campus when choosing a university. This alone testifies to the anti-Semitism at UCI. The essence of anti-Semitism is when Jews are treated differently than other human beings.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not the Jewish UCI students feel the anti-Semitism is not the criteria. Students come and go. Some experience anti-Semitism personally and some don’t. Some students are acutely affected and some are oblivious to it. Some say they experience it in front of one audience and that they don’t in front of others.
Leaving aside the students, whether or not anti-Semitism exists at UCI is an imbecilic question to anyone who has heard the Hate Speakers the Muslim Student Union invites to speak on campus and the UCI administration welcomes and justifies as evidence of their commitment to free speech.
One of the Recommendations the Task Force on Anti-Semitism at UCI had in their Report several years ago was that students with a strong Jewish identity should consider enrolling elsewhere. The local Jewish organizations opposed that view, opining that the best response would be more Jewish enrollment. As the situation continued to worsen with the Galloway and Oren episodes, the ZOA published a position that no students should attend UCI unless and until the administration changes the situation there. Once again the Jewish establishment, as differentiated from the Jewish community, stated the same view that more Jewish students was the answer.
For a while it seemed that the real question was why anyone would choose UCI at all, considering that this very real question even existed. It seems that now the best resolution is the exact opposite of the Task Force Recommendation, namely that only Jewish students with a strong Jewish identity should go to UCI. Now most Jewish students are just not as indoctrinated or intensely passionate as their Muslim antagonists. The Muslim students are fully indoctrinated with encyclopedic, albeit bogus, knowledge of the Middle East and the crimes they know with complete certainty committed by the racist, imperialistic, and Apartheid state of Israel. Only those students who are willing to confront the MSU on their terms and with their knowledge and views of the Middle East should go to UCI.
UCI may not welcome the inevitable escalation of confrontation on campus but it is the logical consequence of the years of lenient treatment of the MSU. Past indulgences have emboldened the Muslim students to the point where they are willing to misrepresent the nature of the event to the university so they could hold the Galloway fundraiser for a terrorist front entity on campus and then later exercise the hecklers veto to disrupt and attempt to silence the Israeli Ambassador on campus.
All the MSU students who took part risked expulsion from college and perhaps felony prosecution for the illegal fundraising yet they could feel secure that the UCI administration would do next to nothing to disciple them individually and nothing at all to their organization.
That’s what students, Jewish or not, will have to deal with if they choose to enroll at UCI.