Chancellor Carol Christ announced this week that UC Berkeley will expand anti-Semitism education to all incoming students starting this fall, as pro-Palestinian protests over the Israel-Hamas war have raised concerns among many Jewish campus members.
For the first time, the campus will offer all freshmen, leaders of official student organizations and residential assistants a five-year funding commitment to broaden the academic effort that began on a much smaller scale in 2019. Berkeley will strengthen the Center for Jewish Studies with a new designation that will allow it to have its own endowed chair and faculty member and begin a faculty search. A new Israel Studies minor, which has been in the works for years, will begin this fall.
The new programs will aim to combat a “deeply worrying” rise in anti-Semitism in Berkeley and elsewhere following the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel. Christ said in a letter Addressing members of its Advisory Committee on Jewish Student Life and Campus Climate.
“I understand and believe that many members of our Jewish community felt deeply troubled, even unsafe, by the presence and persistence of expression that could reasonably be construed as anti-Semitic,” Christ wrote. “You can be assured that there is no negligence among campus leadership on these issues.”
Berkeley has been accused of failing to protect Jewish students and combat anti-Semitism, allegations which campus officials deny. US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and there is a House Committee Investigation of the reaction of the compound Jewish groups also agree with such allegations. The university is sued His suit alleged a “long-standing, unchecked spread of anti-Semitism” — a charge that Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky called “stunningly false.”
Masih has faced criticism from some members of the Jewish community Signing an agreement in May In return, she said she would support a review of investments on campus to ensure they are consistent with Berkeley’s values of upholding equality, human rights, and an abhorrence of war. Crist also promised to review complaints about global exchange and internship programs for any discrimination against Palestinians and others.
Some Jewish critics believed the agreement made unreasonable concessions to protesters violating campus bans on overnight camping and other rules without consequences. Others feared that a review of campus foundation and endowment holdings, along with global exchange programs, would open the door to boycotts, divestment or sanctions targeting Israel, said Berkeley faculty member Ethan Katz, who chairs the advisory committee and directs the Center for Jewish Studies.
But Christ clarified in his letter that the commitments to the protesters reaffirm existing campus policies regarding human rights and discrimination and are not aimed at Israel.
“I have repeatedly expressed my opposition to any U.C.-wide, campus or foundation policy that boycotts, divests from or sanctions Israel,” he wrote.
Katz said Masih has worked hard to listen to and respond to the concerns of the Jewish community since the Oct. 7 attack — and in particular Camp was held in AprilHe said that although the atmosphere at the camp was largely free of violence, protest slogans and signs demonizing Israel and Zionism sometimes veered into anti-Semitism and caused fear and anxiety among many Jewish campus members.
“This made the environment feel very hostile to a lot of students,” Katz said.
But Katz said he never called for the camp to be removed and shared Masih’s desire to avoid violent encounters with police like those at UCLA, Columbia and the University of Texas at Austin. He also said he opposes all efforts to “weaponize” anti-Semitism allegations to silence pro-Palestinian speech or promote other political agendas.
Members of UC Berkeley’s Jewish campus rejected the move to bring in pro-Israel outsiders to the counter-demonstration, as they feared it could lead to similar incidents. Stampede at UCLA,
Katz described Christ’s letter as “reassuring,” reiterating the university’s position against withdrawing investment from or boycotting Israel, and in favor of support for robust academic exchanges and Israel studies programs.
But he said members of the Jewish community are concerned about what might happen once students return to classes in the fall and whether protesters who violate campus rules will be held accountable. Katz said he hopes the campus takes a middle path between mass arrests and no consequences.
Christ said in his letter that the campus is reviewing its rules regarding protests.
