A Letter to UC President From a UC Employee re Anti-Semitism

Hat tip to Tammi Benjamin (UC Santa Cruz)

The below letter was sent to me by Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, adjunct teacher at UC Santa Cruz with an authorization to post. It is a latter to University of California President Mark Yudof from Sharon Rappaport, who is a staff employee at UC Santa Cruz and the mother of two UC students.
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President Yudof,

I appreciate your efforts to calm the nerves of Jewish students,
parents, and the wider community regarding reports of hate speech and actions specifically directed towards Jews on UC campuses. As a staff
employee (Santa Cruz) and the mother of two UC students (Berkeley and
Davis), I find that your reserved letter of July 12 to Avi Davis, et
al, indicates you are somewhat out of touch.

In stories, the good king travels incognito among his people to discover how they fare. May I suggest that you dress as do many of your students: with a beard, kippa, and tzitzit--the strings hanging on the outside. Then attend a free speech “talk” by Abdul Malek at UC Irvine or Santa Cruz and discover what it feels like to be pointed at and screamed at by him and intimidated by his menacing bodyguards.

Hang out at “the wall” during “Israel Apartheid Week”--choose any of
the UC campuses--and try entering a discussion with the organizers of
that hate fest, surrounded by banners equating Jews with Nazis. They
will tell you straight out that they believe you should be killed.

Please realize the extent of growing fear and anxiety among the
visibly Jewish students, faculty, and staff, and the reality which
provokes it. Your mild language concerning “campus climate change”
and "campus climate committees” does not instill much confidence. Don’t
make the mistake of addressing this anti-Semitism with anything but
the most aggressive response.

Sincerely,

Sharon Rappaport

P.S. Both of my children have recently moved to Israel, where they
feel free to express their religious identity. G-d willing, my
daughter will complete her college education there.
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Thanks to Sharon and to Tammi. It is always heartening to note that there are a few sane voices at UC Santa Cruz (America's Wackiest University).