Editor’s E-Mail Box: December 13, 2018 (3 items)

Ten UC chancellors condemn academic boycott efforts against Israel

In reply to a letter from 101 organizations and calls from thousands of concerned citizens, the University of California (UC) became the first university to issue a statement of condemnation against any attempts by faculty to implement an academic boycott of Israel on campus.

“As chancellors of the University of California campuses, we write to reaffirm our long- standing opposition to an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions and/or individual scholars. Our commitment to continued engagement and partnership with Israeli, as well as Palestinian colleagues, colleges, and universities is unwavering. We believe a boycott of this sort poses a direct and serious threat to the academic freedom of our students and faculty, as well as the unfettered exchange of ideas and perspectives on our campuses, including debate and discourse regarding conflicts in the Middle East,” wrote the chancellors.

The statement was signed by all 10 UC chancellors.

Acting on political grounds, college instructors have recently begun attempting to implement the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) guidelines and prevent their students from studying in and about Israel. Earlier this fall, two University of Michigan faculty refused letters of recommendation to Michigan students applying to Israel study abroad programs, and Pitzer College faculty attempted to shut down Pitzer’s Israel study abroad program altogether, as the PACBI boycott calls on faculty to do. Other PACBI guidelines include having faculty scuttle their colleagues’ research collaborations with Israeli universities and scholars and cancel or shutdown student- and faculty-organized educational activities about Israel to take place on their own campus.

Last week, in a letter organized by AMCHA Initiative, 101 national and local organizations called on the 250 college and university leaders, including UC, who in 2013 had issued statements opposing the American Studies Association’s anti-Israel boycott, to sign the “University Leaders Statement Against the Implementation of an Academic Boycott of Israel.” It recognizes the very real harms the implementation of an academic boycott of Israel will cause to students and faculty on American campuses and condemns “in the strongest terms” faculty who would attempt to implement an academic boycott of Israel on their campuses, making it clear to faculty that such behavior will not be tolerated. Some of the organizations are B’nai B’rith International, NCSY, the Academic Engagement Network, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, many Conservative and Reformed national organizations, and the American Zionist Movement.

The 101 groups on Thursday strongly commended the chancellors for their understanding of the direct threat the academic boycott poses on U.S. students and for their unequivocal commitment to protecting students’ rights, stating, “Our 101 organizations applaud you for issuing a strong and unwavering statement of condemnation of the implementation of an academic boycott of Israel on UC campuses, in response to our request.” They also thanked the chancellors for “speaking up in defense of the academic rights of all students and faculty at the University of California,” and they called on other university presidents to follow UC’s lead.

To support last week’s group letter, this week, AMCHA asked its supporters to sign a national petition and to write letters to their respective college and university leaders urging them to sign the University Leaders Statement or to issue their own statements condemning implementation of an academic boycott. Nearly 2,000 individuals have already signed the national petition and hundreds have written letters.

“While the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has long been understood as an effort aimed at Israel and Israeli universities and scholars, that is only a piece of the actual picture. As UC has correctly recognized, an academic boycott, if allowed to be implemented, will directly violate the rights of, and substantively harm, students and faculty on U.S. campuses, many of them Jewish students,” stated Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, AMCHA’s founder and director. “If this was just about Israel, we would not be involved, as AMCHA is not an Israel advocacy organization. However, this is about protecting the academic freedom and educational rights of Jewish students, which will be violated if an academic boycott is permitted.”

“Now that professors are actually attempting to implement PACBI’s academic boycott and curtail American students’ rights, the statements issued in 2013 are no longer sufficient,” added Rossman-Benjamin. “University leaders must sign the University Leaders Statement or issue their own statements as UC has done, making it abundantly clear that under no circumstances will faculty be allowed to implement an academic boycott of Israel and put their own political interests above their own students.”

Presidents can sign the University Leaders Statement or use it as a model for their own condemnation statements. The University Leaders Statement acknowledges that PACBI tactics will not only inflict serious harm on Israeli academic institutions, but on faculty and students at U.S. schools; affirms that implementation of the academic boycott of Israel subverts the scholarly and educational opportunities and curtails the academic freedom of students and faculty on U.S. campuses; and puts faculty on alert that behavior that treats students as collateral damage to a political agenda is wrong and violates the principles of collegiality and academic integrity central to higher education institutions and will not be tolerated. — From the AMCHA Initiative

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State Sen. Ben Allen and Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel to head California Legislative Jewish Caucus

The California Legislative Jewish Caucus announced the election of a new Chair, Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), and a new Vice Chair, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-San Fernando Valley), for the 2018-19 legislative session.

The Jewish Caucus, which now includes 15 members of the State Legislature, has become one of the larger caucuses and a growing force in Sacramento.  As it enters its fifth year, the Caucus will continue to advance its mission of representing California’s diverse Jewish community and bringing Jewish values into the policymaking process.

“My Jewish upbringing instilled in me the values that I carry every day in my work in the legislature. I am proud to be a part of a Jewish legislative body that leads with compassion, works to protect the vulnerable among us, and fights for justice,” said Chair Senator Ben Allen. “As the incoming chair of the Jewish caucus, I commit to leading this group to vigorously support the values we hold dear: creating a vibrant and liberated Jewish community that cares both for ourselves and others.” Senator Allen grew up in Santa Monica and is a member of Kehillat Israel. He previously served as Vice Chair of the Jewish Caucus, and is an attorney with degrees from Harvard, Oxford, and UC Berkeley.

“California has an incredibly vibrant and diverse Jewish community.  Our caucus is committed to serving the community, strengthening the California-Israel relationship, and advancing policies that reflect our Jewish values,” said Vice Chair Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel. Gabriel, a constitutional rights attorney, is a longtime Jewish community activist, a former board member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, and an active member of Valley Beth Shalom synagogue in Encino.  Gabriel lived in Israel as child and, as a senior advisor to former U.S. Senator Evan Bayh, helped draft the landmark Iran sanction legislation that was signed into law in 2010.  Assemblymember Gabriel holds degrees from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School.

Senator Allen and Assemblymember Gabriel are both graduates of the Jewish Federation’s New Leaders Project (NLP), and worked together to create the California Nonprofit Security Grant program, which has provided nearly $3.5 million to nonprofits at risk of violent attack, including numerous Jewish institutions in California.

The Caucus, as well as newly elected Chair and Vice Chair, offered their sincerest appreciation and thanks to outgoing Chair Assemblymember Marc Levine (D- Marin County) for his hard work on behalf of the Caucus and the Jewish community in California.  — From the California Legislative Jewish Caucus

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Americans for Peace Now condemn Palestinian terror, urge Israeli government reform

Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its Israeli sister-organization Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) in condemning this week’s Palestinian terrorist attacks in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and in urging both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to prevent further escalation. APN sends its condolences to the families of the victims of this week’s attacks and wishes a full recovery to those injured.

As our Israeli Peace Now colleagues point out, the ongoing violence demonstrates the toll that Israelis and Palestinians are paying for the Israeli government’s policy of “conflict management,” a policy that systematically resists seeking peace negotiations over a compromise peace deal with the Palestinians.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government has not made serious efforts to advance conflict-ending diplomacy with the Palestinians. Instead, Netanyahu is giving in to his coalition partners as they push to take advantage of the recent violence in order to “legalize” unauthorized settlements and deepen the occupation. On Thursday, Netanyahu stated his intention to legalize thousands of settler homes in the West Bank built in violation of Israeli law. APN joins Peace Now’s call on Netanyahu to resist the temptation to pander to Israel’s far-right wing at the expense of a secure and democratic Israel.

In a release issued earlier Thursday, Peace Now stated: “It’s time to honestly address the public and admit that only peace will grant security.” APN urges world leaders, including President Trump, to convey this message to Israeli and Palestinian leaders and to assert the vision of two states coexisting in peace and security. — From Americans for Peace Now

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Preceding items culled from news releases.  Please send yours to editor@sdjewishworld.com