UC Berkeley Student Assesses Campus Anti-Semitism

 

UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley freshman Elijah Z. Granet has written an interesting account of anti-Semitism that he has faced there and on Facebook.  Granet’s op ed in The Daily Californian relates his own personal experience with anti-Semitism before he even set his foot on UC Berkeley’s ground. He elaborates on the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights’ decision to dismiss claims that the university had failed to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitism at that campus. Granet argues that OCR would never hold Berkeley legally liable, no matter the degree of hostility faced by Jewish students because the issues faced by Jewish students stem from the general student body and not from a single organization. Recent incidents and reports reinforce the idea that Jewish students are not welcome at UC Berkeley.  Despite these hateful events, Granet believes we can still move on. 

 Recently Brandeis Center President Kenneth L. Marcus expressed his thoughts about the OCR’s recent decisions on anti- Semitic harassment at Berkeley in a Jerusalem Post op ed.  Mr. Marcus relates the obstacles that Jewish advocates have recently experienced before OCR. However, despite these challenges, Marcus emphasizes that civil rights legal advocacy must remain available for Jewish students who face discrimination on college campuses. It is crucial to continue fighting, because such cases alert people to the discrimination taking place on U.S. college campuses. Also UC Berkeley and other campuses should enforce their own institutional principles against anti-Semitism even if OCR won’t take legal action.