SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Hillel student leader Bianca Kermani succeeded in campaigning to achieve a UC San Diego resolution that condemns antisemitism and adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of
antisemitism.
Both UC San Diego’s Associated Students and Graduate Students Association unanimously passed the resolutions this
week.
Kermani started the campaign effort last fall, and built a groundswell of support with 60 co-signers across San Diego
Jewish community organizations.
“I felt it would be momentous to be able to do this at UC San Diego because we are a campus that had already passed
a Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Israel (BDS) bill. I felt reversing a bill from 8 years ago would not be a productive thing
to do. Acknowledging antisemitism would be a better foundation for other things to come. I wanted to start that.”
Hillel at UC San Diego Campus Director Lisa Motenko said, “Passing this resolution is validation for the student
community on campus, it’s an important tool for educating and a way to guide conversations.”
Bianca added, “I think the significance of passing this resolution is different for UC San Diego as opposed to other
campuses because we have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirement. Yet, DEI requirement courses offered
currently only focus on African American, Hispanic and Pacific Islander communities. I think this resolution is the
necessary foundation to be able to expand that for others to learn about Jewish history as well.”
Kermani is a fourth-year student at UC San Diego, studying Linguistics & Global Health with plans to attend medical
school after graduation. Born and raised in Persian-Jewish household in Las Vegas, Bianca has served as the president
of Tritons For Israel through Hillel and held several Hillel leadership positions that have culminated in passing the
IHRA definition on her campus this year.
Karen Parry, Executive Director, Hillel of San Diego, commended UC San Diego’s student government for unanimously
adopting the IHRA working definition of antisemitism in an effort to name, identify, and educate about antisemitism.
“This is an important step in the right direction for making UC San Diego more inclusive and a safer college experience
for hundreds of current Jewish students and for future Jewish tritons,” Parry said. “La Jolla has a long history of
antisemitism and this resolution serves as another new and promising turning point for our entire Jewish community.”
Hillel of San Diego supports every Jewish student in San Diego to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning,
and Israel. Hillel of San Diego has programs at UCSD, SDSU, USD, and CSUSM.
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And, in Massachusetts, there was this news at Tufts University….
After legal advocates from The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) intervened on behalf of a Tufts University student threatened with impeachment for expressing Jewish identity, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), who filed the complaint, today (Friday) withdrew it.
Max Price, the Jewish Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) member, was informed today that the complaint filed by SJP that sought to have him removed from office for expressing Jewish identity, was withdrawn and the hearing cancelled. The hearing represented a continuation of a months-long campaign of intimidation, harassment and discrimination targeting Price on the basis of his Jewish ethnic identity. After Price attempted to point out baseless lies in SJP’s proposed Deadly Exchange referendum, he was harassed, targeted and marginalized, slandered in the student newspaper, interrogated as to whether he is fit to hold office, muted for an entire student government zoom meeting that he was elected to participate in, and attacked with age-old anti-Semitic tropes about money and power.
Earlier this month, the Brandeis Center demanded Tufts President Anthony P. Monaco halt the disciplinary hearing and end the harassment and discrimination that has infringed on Price’s freedom of speech, denied him due process and deprived him of equal opportunity and equal access to university programs in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Tufts University’s stated institutional policies.
The following are statements from Price and the Brandeis Center on SJP’s withdrawal of the complaint.
Max Price: “I was notified today that after facing public outcry and criticism of their discriminatory actions, SJP has withdrawn their complaint and cancelled my hearing. They tried to intimidate the Jewish community into silence, to force Jews to renounce their shared heritage, to exclude Jews from leadership. They got caught. While I am relieved that my Judaism is no longer on trial, this change in course does not absolve SJP of their behavior. I am disappointed that university administrators failed to intervene, and have not yet reached out to me to address my concerns. Unless Tufts introduces sweeping reforms to combat anti-Semitism, this will happen to somebody else. Now that my position in student government is secure, I look forward to devoting my energy to beating back the rising tides of bigotry and injustice on campus. I encourage all Jewish students who have faced anti-Semitism to make their voices heard. As Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis once said, ‘Sunlight is the best disinfectant’.”
Alyza D. Lewin, president of the Brandeis Center: “We’re gratified that Max will no longer be subjected to a discriminatory impeachment hearing on Sunday. SJP got caught, their harassment of Jewish students was exposed, and they backpedaled. But this goes beyond Max. Now is when the real work begins. It is time for the Tufts administration to take concrete steps to end the ongoing marginalization, harassment and discrimination of Jewish students on campus. President Monaco should issue a statement condemning anti-Semitism in all its forms and publicly acknowledge that, for many Tufts students, Zionism is integral to their identity as Jews. The University should (1) officially adopt and utilize the IHRA Working Definition of Anti-Semitism and its contemporary examples when investigating and responding to incidents of harassment and discrimination to determine whether such conduct is motivated by anti-Semitic animus or bias; (2) revise its non-discrimination policy to include a prohibition on discrimination based on shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, including anti-Semitism; and (3) conduct training for the entire University community concerning the many manifestations of anti-Semitism. We are eager to work with Tufts President Monaco and his administration to improve the climate at Tufts for Jewish students. The time is now.”
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Preceding provided by UCSD Hillel and the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.