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February 17, 2010
Chancellor Michael Drake Dear Chancellor Drake: On behalf of B’nai B’rith International’s more than 200,000 members and supporters, we write to express our deep dismay at the severe and persistent anti-Semitic harassment experienced by Jewish students at the University of California, Irvine. Sadly, the hate-filled demonstrations surrounding the appearance by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at UCI on February 8 were merely recent examples of the anti-Semitic animus that has resulted in the intimidation of the school’s Jewish population for many years. In 2007 Jewish students at UCI filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights attesting to a long history of anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination on campus. Unfortunately, the Education Department concluded that it lacked jurisdiction over many of the allegations of the complaint, but the underlying problem clearly persists. One factor contributing to the atmosphere of anti-Jewish hatred on the UCI campus is the frequent appearance of speakers such as Imam Abdul Alim Musa and Imam Abdul Malik Ali, who routinely compare Israel to the Nazi regime. In May 2009 Malik Ali told a UCI student audience that “the Zionist Jewish community” wanted to “destroy your will to resist.” Too often, anti-Israel messages propounded on the UCI campus have far exceeded the line separating legitimate policy criticism from anti-Semitic polemics. B’nai B’rith therefore calls on your administration to recognize these manifestations of anti-Semitism as precisely that and to condemn them as such. The university’s leadership must make clear that denial of the Jewish right to self-determination – to peace and security for Jews in their homeland – is, very simply, anti-Semitism. And to intimidate and incite against Jews – in speeches, sermons, placards, demonstrations, and publications – is most certainly anti-Semitism. We implore the UCI administration not to turn a blind eye to intolerance. Attached for your use is a copy of a working definition of anti-Semitism formally adopted by the European Union in 2005 and widely circulated across the globe since then. We hope that UCI can use this document to better inform students, faculty, and university officials about contemporary manifestations of anti-Semitism in order that they may be better able to identify and combat this ugly hatred. Thank you for your attention to this crucial matter. Sincerely,
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