5/2/2014 Troubling UC Berkeley Student Senate Bill on Israel | J Street U

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Troubling UC Berkeley Student Senate Bill on Israel

J Street U joined with a coalition of groups to send a letter to the University of California at Berkeley ExecutiveVice Chancellor and Provost in response to the recent anti-Israel bill passed by the UC Berkeley StudentSenate.

J Street U joined the following groups in signing this letter: American Jewish Committee, Anti-DefamationLeague, Berkeley Hillel, Chabad Jewish Student Center at UC Berkeley, Hasbara Fellowships, Israel CampusCoalition, Israel Peace Initiative, Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marina andSonoma Counties, Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Federation of the East Bay, Jewish NationalFund, Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA), MASA Israel Journey, New Israel Fund,Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, StandWithUs/SF Voice for Israel, The David Project, andUSD/Hagshama World Zionist Organization.

A version of the following letter was read during debate on the resolution:

Dear University of California, Berkeley Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer:

We are a broad-based coalition representing a wide range of perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinianconflict, local and national Jewish community organizations that support and partner with studentson college and university campuses throughout Northern California, including the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley. We are writing to you with deep respect and admiration for the commitmentthat the UC Berkeley student body, faculty and administration has always had for universal humanrights and equal opportunity.

We are deeply troubled, however, to learn that the ASUC Student Senate has passed a dishonestbill, based on misleading and contested allegations, that unfairly targets the State of Israel whilealso marginalizing Jewish students on campus who support Israel.

While the bill states that it is in support of ASUC divestment from war crimes, it focuses solelyon one country, Israel. Though it states that the ASUC resolution should not be considered takingsides in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, the exclusive focus on Israel suggests otherwise.Furthermore, the bills call for the University Regents and the ASUC to divest exclusively fromIsrael contradicts the bills own claim by, in fact, explicitly taking sides.

We request that the administration at UC Berkeley strongly and unequivocally condemn the ASUCStudent Senate resolution. Furthermore, we urge you to state firmly your intention not to divestuniversity holdings from any company doing business with Israel. While the ASUC is a separateentity, its actions affect the atmosphere on campus for which the Chancellors office has primaryresponsibility. Your voice is needed now.

The students associated with our coalition of organizations are deeply committed to securinghuman rights around the world. For this reason they have suggested that the ASUC StudentSenate adopt a single, standard, socially responsible investment policy which would be applicableacross the board. A single standard would allow students to fairly question the actions of anyoneengaged in behavior that threatens and diminishes human dignity anywhere, without doing so undera pall of apparent lop-sided motives.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is complex and goes back decades. It is tempting to lookexclusively at one side or the other to shoulder the blame, to judge one discrete incident withoutconsideration of the larger picture, and to respond with full force. But one-sided reactions do notserve to improve complicated circumstances, rather they exacerbate them.

We believe that this complexity should be reflected in the dialogue on campus rather than singlingout one side or another for condemnation and punishment. This open debate, conducted civilly, willlead to a healthier environment on the Berkley campus for students with a range of political views.Thank you for your time and consideration. If you would like to discuss this topic further with anyone of our agencies, please contact Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman, Executive Director of BerkeleyHillel at (510) 845-7783 ext. 11 or adamnk@berkeleyhillel.org.

Respectfully,

American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Berkeley Hillel, Chabad Jewish StudentCenter at UC Berkeley, Hasbara Fellowships, Israel Campus Coalition, Israel Peace Initiative,Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marina and Sonoma Counties,Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Federation of the East Bay, Jewish National Fund,Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA), JStreetU, MASA Israel Journey,New Israel Fund, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, StandWithUs/SF Voice for Israel, TheDavid Project, and USD/Hagshama World Zionist Organization.

Cc: University of California, Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, University of California,Berkeley Dean of Students Jonathan Poullard, University of California, Berkeley Vice ChancellorGibor Basri, University of California, Berkeley Vice Chancellor Harry Le Grande, and University ofCalifornia President Mark Yudof.

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