Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons On October 31st, UCLA’s Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck sent a cease-and-desist letter to National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) over the logo used in their promotional material. NSJP had created a logo for their upcoming annual conference that featured the UCLA Bruin Bear playing with a Palestinian kite. That same day, the Jewish Journal had publicized the fact that NSJP was using the logo. Beck said, “Taken as a whole, these uses claim, suggest, or imply an affiliation with or an endorsement by UCLA of NSJP and/or its annual conference, which is simply incorrect.” The letter demands that NSJP stop using their logo and only reference the university when referring to where the conference is being held. They must also “obtain prior permission from UCLA for any such promotional materials to assure compliance with this restriction.” Additionally, the university prohibits NSJP from using “artistic renditions of the Bruin Bear associated with a Palestinian kite which some may interpret as an intention to endorse violence against Israel … UCLA did not grant permission for this use nor would it permit use of its name in a manner that could imply endorsement of violence.” Beck even provided helpful links to news articles exposing the fact that the Palestinians have been using incendiary kites to harm Israelis and Israeli land. The annual conference, which is set to take place on November 16-18, has sparked major controversy. While the university has now made it clear that they are not endorsing or promoting the conference, many have called for its cancellation. A petition by Stop Anti-Semitism was started last week, calling on UCLA to cancel the conference altogether. The petition highlights how SJP’s founder, Hatem Bazian, has spewed anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hate and how SJP members have posted countless anti-Semitic comments online. It also points out the fact that SJP’s previous national conferences have glorified terrorists like Rasmea Odeh and Leila Khaled. If the conference is not canceled, they “call to hold UCLA accountable by investigating it for violation of anti-discrimination laws, its own policies against discrimination as were adopted by the UC Regents, and violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including Anti-Semitism) for federally assisted programs and activities.” The upcoming conference has also prompted students and professors at UCLA to speak out. When hearing of unauthorized logo incident, a chancellor professor at UCLA, Judea Pearl, said, “I have served on the faculty of UCLA for 49 years and I have never thought I would see the day when the symbol of my university would turn into a Hamas recruitment poster. The NSJP Conference reminds us that hate did not stop at Pittsburgh. U.S. campuses, emboldened by our blindness and inaction are now offering racist groups a fertile ground to spawn their venom, test out intimidating tactics, and gain academic legitimacy. The stench of hatred and sounds of incitement to hostilities that will emerge from the NSJP Conference will damage UCLA’s reputation irreparably.” Students have gone before the University of California Board of Regents, demanding that the conference be canceled and highlighting SJP’s support of terror and anti-Semitism. The university gave NSJP until November 5th to confirm that they had complied with instructions and removed their promotional material that implied endorsement by UCLA. On November 5th, NSJP tweeted that the cease-and-desist letter was “discriminatory treatment” and that they are “extensively reviewing our legal rights with our attorneys.” NSJP removed “UCLA” but had not removed the bear or the kite from their advertisement. The cease-and-desist letter ended by threatening to “pursue whatever additional remedies or claims it may have, including cancellation of the event, if NSJP fails to fully comply with the terms of this directive.” Therefore, NSJP’s failure to comply in full could potentially cause the cancelation of the conference. On November 6th, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution calling on UCLA to cancel the conference over concerns of anti-Semitism. City councilman Paul Koretz, who introduced the resolution, said, “As we work to increase security at Los Angeles Jewish community institutions in light of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue massacre, bringing the SJP conference to Los Angeles in which leaders and members exhort to ‘kill all the Jews’ and ‘stuff some Jews in the oven’ is also a significant threat to public safety.”