UCSD Faculty Members, Fearing Danger to Jewish Students, Appeal for SJP Event Cancellation

Updated with UCSD’s response

By Donald H. Harrison

LA JOLLA, California — Rachel Millstone, Ed.D, a lecturer in Education Studies at UC San Diego, has called for the cancellation of a planned anti-Israel protest rally  at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, “to prevent hateful, violent acts on the UCSD campus.”

She was joined by Prof. Shlomo Dubnov of UCSD’s Music and Computer Science faculties who wrote to the university’s administration that the planned event “is sure to incite harassment, assault, battery and property damage.  The legal repercussions of failing to protect your students and grounds during the events would be numerous, though I hope that is not your only incentive to prevent this event.”

Matthew Nagel, a spokesman for UCSD, told San Diego Jewish World: “We are aware of the student-planned event mentioned in the letter. UC San Diego unequivocally condemns antisemitism and all forms of hate. As a public university, UC San Diego supports everyone’s right to free speech, which is a cornerstone of the U.S Constitution as well as academic freedom. The university is preparing for this demonstration and will have an increased level of security as well as provide resources such as counseling support for students.”

Dubnov noted that the planned demonstration is scheduled for the same day that the Associated Students plan to discuss a resolution for boycotting, divesting, and sanctioning (BDS) Israel,  He said “the text of the resolution is full of lies, incitement and demonizing the Jewish state, denying Jewish people right to their national state, which is antisemitism”

“Our students are relying on you for their personal safety and well-being as Tritons,” Millstone wrote to UC San Diego officials as well as to State Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego.) She said a flyer publicizing the planned event advertises it as “the biggest protest in UCSD history” and that  social media messaging calls for a “significant eruption against Zionists and Jews.”

Another flyer circulated by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) pictured and quoted Aaron Bushnell, the Air Force enlisted man who recently fatally set himself afire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. “I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” he stated.  “I am about to act in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it is not extreme at all.  This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal. Free Palestine.  Free Palestine. Free Palestine.”

That flyer linked Bushnell’s actions to a similar self-immolation during the Vietnam War on the UCSD campus by George Winne Jr.  He carried a sign reading, “In the name of God, end the war.”

Millstone, in her letter, wrote: “It is only a matter of time before things escalate into significant tragedy that can be stopped now. Please use your moral compass and vested authorities to help protect students and to calm the climate that is rapidly escalating across our campus at UCSD.  Antisemitism and anti-Zionism are creating a hostile learning and working environment, and I, with many faculty, staff, students, and distinguished donors and campus guests, fear if it is not halted there will be horrific consequences.”

Millstone, who serves as the supervisor for secondary education in UC San Diego’s Department of Education Studies, explained in her letter that she wrote “in light of the recently highly publicized antisemitic, anti-Israel violence at the University of California, Berkeley.”

In that incident, violent protesters prevented IDF reservist and attorney Ran Bar-Yoshafat from telling a student audience about his experiences in Gaza.  Another speech by Bar-Yoshafat at the Holocaust  Museum in Los Angeles, scheduled Thursday, Feb. 29, similarly was disrupted.

Bar-Yoshafat’s national speaking tour is sponsored by Club Z, a national organization dedicated to building a comprehensive education program for Jewish teens. Following the disruption in Los Angeles, he commented: ““I am profoundly disappointed that hate has once again stood in the way of a critical dialogue on the Israel-Hamas conflict. As falsehoods increasingly influence international opinion, I am unwavering in my commitment to bring awareness to the realities of the situation on the ground.”

Masha Merkulova, founder and executive director of Club Z, commented: “Club Z is appalled by the attempts to shut down Ran Bar-Yoshafat’s speaking engagements. These demonstrations are not just isolated attacks on dialogue but an alarming symptom of the explosive rise in Jew-hatred in the United States, particularly among the younger generation.”

San Diego Police and the Jewish Federation of San Diego’s Security Community Network  have been asked to comment.  This article will be updated with any response.

Meanwhile, Karen Parry, the director of Hillel of San Diego, wrote in a newsletter, “Next week, there will be a massive anti-Israel protest at UCSD–in fact, people are being bussed in. We were told we needed to double our security [at the Hillel House near UCSD].  We were told to tell students it would be safer if they didn’t come to campus. We were told not to let anyone in Hillel that we don’t know.

“And so what are we doing?  We are doing what we at Hillel of San Diego are uniquely positioned to do.  We are serving our students in every sense of the word.  We are working with the administration. We are actively advocating for Jewish students and pushing back against the antisemitism students are experiencing on campus. We are serving as a safe space and filling students’ lives with joy so that their entire Jewish experience isn’t defined by the vile antisemitism they are experiencing on campus. We are the open arms they come to. We are their collaborators, cheerleaders, speech editors, and surrogate family — helping to fill in all the gaps to support them at this critical moment.”

Parry continued: “People keep asking what they can do to help.  If you’ve been on one of our Zoo updates, you’ve heard, “Don’t come to campus; we will let you know when students need you.”  Next Wednesday, you have a chance to physically show up for our students. The anti-Israel protest will be at 3:00 p.m. and the Associated Students (AS) meeting will be at 6:00 p.m.  Do not go on campus, please.  We will be hosting students all day, and a student representative will be speaking at the AS meeting remotely (because students don’t feel safe being there in person.) Come to the Glickman-Hillel Center if you want to be there to support students.  We will not let anyone in who hasn’t registered, so if you’d like to come, you can register here.”

Millstone reacted to Parry’s message: “Looks like Jewish students have been encouraged not to come to campus.  This is not okay that Jewish students are forced to leave their own campus for fear of safety.”

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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted via sdheritage@cox.net