Other items in this column include:
* Project Ruth in Chula Vista praised by USC Shoah Foundation
*Political bytes
*Coming our way
*Recommended reading
*In memoriam
SAN DIEGO – Congratulations are due to San Diego State Professors Peter C. Herman and Risa Levitt Kohn, as well as to representatives of the campus Hillel, and the regional Anti-Defamation League for protesting the proposed inclusion of two anti-Semitic speakers on a planned, as yet unscheduled, panel presentation on whether African-Americans deserve reparations for the time their ancestors were enslaved and the subsequent institutional discrimination against their people.
The panel was conceptualized by graduate student Terry Silvers, one of four students who shared in a $170,000 grant from the Office of Provost to create programming for SDSU and the Claremont Graduate School on the Black experience. Initially, Silvers proposed as panelists three representatives of the American Descendants of Slavery group — author Ta-Nehisi Coates, economist Yvette Carnell, attorney Anthony Moore – and Prof. Frank Wilderson, and the two speakers whose names immediately prompted controversy, Nation of Islam spokeswoman Ava Muhammad, and Uhuru Movement spokesperson Omali Yeshitela.
Herman, in a December Op-Ed for Times of San Diego publicly protested the inclusion of Muhammad and Yeshitela. He noted an online video in which Muhammad refers to Jews as “Godless” and also described Jews as “blood sucking parasites” whom she accused of being only interested in the Black community to “sell us alcohol, drugs, depraved sex, and every other type of low-life thing.”
Yeshitela was described by Herman as a Holocaust denier who contends that Jews utilize the Holocaust “to hide the crimes that imperialism has committed against the rest of the world.” He also opposes Israel’s right to resist.
Initially, Herman’s concerns were treated almost dismissively. He reported that Prof. Marva Capello, who chairs the joint SDSU-Claremont doctoral program, said in response: “I’m just thrilled and so proud of my students who are doing amazing work. They’re doing more than talking the talk. This is a real demonstration of advocacy.”
That was followed by an equivocal joint statement by three members of SDSU’s administration: Hector Ochoa, the provost; J. Luke Wood, the chief diversity officer; and Christy Samarkos, the interim vice president for student affairs.
“In some cases, speakers may be invited to speak on a specific topic of interest despite having viewpoints in other areas that are not in alignment with the values and beliefs in our community,” the statement said. “This does not mean, however, that speech intended to denigrate or dehumanize others is consistent with SDSU values—which it is not. SDSU is committed to supporting an inclusive and respectful community. We seek to create an environment affirming respect for people from all backgrounds and promoting a pursuit of deeper understanding through the free and civil exchange of ideas.”
Herman noted that statement did not explicitly condemn anti-Semitism. “I cannot imagine that if someone had invited David Duke to speak on our campus, the university would issue such a tepid response,” he wrote in his Times of San Diego op-ed.
Risa Levitt Kohn, who is director of SDSU’s Jewish Studies Program and chair of the Religious Studies Department, along with representatives of Hillel and the Anti-Defamation League – including ADL’s national chairman Jonathan Greenblatt – continued to protest the possible inclusion of Muhamad and Yeshitela, and eventually the university announced that Silvers had revised his proposed list of speakers, leaving their names off.
So the matters stood until Wednesday, Feb. 19, when speakers representing the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) utilized San Diego State University’s free speech area on the steps of the Student Union to denounce the withdrawal of the invitations to Omali Yeshitela, who is the chairman of their party, and Ava Muhamad. As SDSU is a public university, anyone can use the free speech area without need of university approval, Herman explained in an interview.
One unidentified speaker urges listeners to “send a message to SDSU and their Zionist masters that we stand with Minister Ava and Chairman Omali,” according to a filmed report on KGTV-Channel 10.
This prompted student Dylan Meisner to respond to KGTV that “a synagogue [Chabad of Poway] was shot 45 minutes from where we are right now. … We cannot have people coming on campus who are going to say things that directly incite violence against Jewish people.” He added this is even more concerning when “our tuition dollars [are] being used to pay for a speech of people who have incited hatred against Jewish people in the past.”
Prof. Levitt Kohn told a 10New reporter, “We’re all open to objective research on any given topic. But when hate speech enters the dialogue at a university that touts itself as being a leader in openness, acceptance and diversity, then I think you do run into a problem.”
On Thursday, San Diego State University issued this statement: “We strongly reject anti-Semitic and other disparaging messages and actions. SDSU will offer support to the student organizer to ensure that the original basis for the event – a critical exploration of slavery and reparations—can proceed.”
San Diego State also stated, “We appreciate input from our on and off campus community members, including faculty staff and Jewish leaders. This input and collaboration have helped the university to directly address the concerns raised. SDSU is also in active conversations to help ensure members of its Jewish community are supported, has revised the review and approval process for student events and is looking to expand diversity training. Additionally, SDSU Hillel Center has been a proactive and supportive partner and we value their continued collaboration. Any effort that serves to further societal division is antithetical to what SDSU values. We are a diverse community, and it is our diversity and the preservation of an inclusive environment that creates our greatness.”
SDSU President Adela de la Torre added on Thursday: “An important message was released earlier today from our University and our Chief Diversity Officer. Let me also say that we stand in solidarity with our Jewish community and find anti-Semitic speech to be reprehensible.”
Meanwhile, Silvers is in the process of finalizing his recommendations for speakers for the panel, the date of which remains to be set.
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Project Ruth in Chula Vista praised by USC Shoah Foundation
Stephen Smith, executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation, has praised the Project RUTH: Remember Us The Holocaust exhibition at the Chula Vista Library as “the first Holocaust exhibition in San Diego.”
“Telling the story of 12 Holocaust survivors who settled in the South Bay area, you have brought history to life and made it accessible to a new generation,” Smith wrote to the exhibit’s organizer Sandy Scheller.
“Students, teachers and others in the region can, for the first time, travel locally to see a Holocaust exhibit and learn about it from those who were there, and from people who have settled in their own neighborhoods,” Smith wrote. “This localization increases the link people make between the historical experience and their own lives, forging a powerful connection that results in deep learning. RUTH forges this connection beautifully, demonstrating a model to which USC Shoah Foundation also aspires: giving people a localized and personal connection to larger historical events.”
Project RUTH was named after the late Ruth Goldshmiedova Sax, who is Scheller’s mother. The main library of Chula Vista is located at 365 F. Street in Chula Vista.
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Political bytes
Bend the Arc Jewish Action has announced a national campaign to defeat white nationalists for reelection. ““We are working to fulfill the promise of a nation where everyone experiences freedom, fairness, security, and belonging no matter what we look like or where we come from,” said Bend the Arc CEO Stosh Cotler. “We won’t let politicians who harm our communities expand their own wealth and power. Together, we will defeat the white nationalist movement that seeks to destroy us all.” (See video embedded above.)
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Coming our way
Temple Emanu-El plans a Purim carnival , with a Star Trek-themed costume contest, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, March 8, at 6299 Capri Drive. There will be a petting zoo, game truck, bounce houses, cake walk, jewelry making, arts & crafts, salon booth, face painting, and food and drinks. Hamantashen at $15 per dozen of a single flavor will be sold at the carnival, or they can be ordered online, with a dozen mixed flavors at $18. The Reform congregation plans a megillah reading at 6 p.m. Monday, March 9.
*Jean Stern, director emeritus of the Irvine Museum and an authority on California impressionism, will lecture on “Art and Art Collecting: A Personal Perspective” from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at the Timken Museum of Art, 1500 El Prado, in Balboa Park. Tickets are $45 for members, $65 for non-members.
*A Yiddish-themed Shabbat at UC San Diego Hillel will be conducted at 6 p.m., Friday, April 3, st 8976 Cliffridge Avenue, La Jolla. RSVP via this email.
Recommended reading
Algemeiner ponders whether Jews will sit out the election if Bernie Sanders is nominated for President by the Democrats.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Iran has threatened, in an act of retaliation against Israel, to destroy the Tomb of Mordecai and Esther in Hamadan.
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In memoriam
Vanina M. Bunton, 56, died Feb. 19. Services are planned at 2 p.m., Friday, Feb. 21, at El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego. Rabbi Scott Meltzer of Ohr Shalom Synagogue will officiate.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com. Obituaries in San Diego Jewish World are sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg.