Chemerinsky: Nothing Has Prepared Me For The Antisemitism I See On College Campuses Now

Los Angeles Times Op-Ed:  Nothing Has Prepared Me for the Antisemitism I See on College Campuses Now, by Erwin Chemerinsky (Dean, UC-Berkeley):

I am a 70-year-old Jewish man, but never in my life have I seen or felt the antisemitism of the last few weeks. I have heard antisemitic things from time to time through my life. ...

But none of this prepared me for the last few weeks. On Friday, someone in my school posted on Instagram a picture of me with the caption, “Erwin Chemerinsky has taken an indefinite sabbatical from Berkeley Law to join the I.D.F.” Two weeks ago, at a town hall, a student told me that what would make her feel safe in the law school would be “to get rid of the Zionists.” I have heard several times that I have been called “part of a Zionist conspiracy,” which echoes of antisemitic tropes that have been expressed for centuries.

I was stunned when students across the country, including mine, immediately celebrated the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7. ...

Of course, criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitism, any more than criticizing the policies of the United States government is anti-American. I strongly oppose the policies of the Netanyahu government, favor full rights for Palestinians, and believe that there must be a two-state solution. But if you listen to what is being said on college campuses now, some of the loudest voices are not advocating for a change in Israeli policies, but are calling for an end to Israel. Students regularly chant, "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "We don't want no two states, we want all of 48," referring to going back to 1948 before Israel existed.

An oft-repeated mantra among some is that Israel is a settler colonialist country and should be forced to give the land back to the Palestinians.I have no idea how it would be determined who is rightly entitled to what land, but I do know that calling for the total elimination of Israel is antisemitic. ...

There has been enough silence and enough tolerance of antisemitism on college campuses. I call on my fellow university administrators to speak out and denounce the celebrations of Hamas and the blatant antisemitism that is being voiced.

• Josh Blackman (South Texas), Chemerinsky: "Nothing Has Prepared Me for the Antisemitism I See on College Campuses Now"
• Glenn Harlan Reynolds (Tennessee), Welcome To The Party, Pal!

• ABA Journal, Chemerinsky: 'Never In My Life Have I Seen or Felt the Antisemitism of the Last Few Weeks'
• The Federalist, Liberal Jews Have No Reason To Be Surprised By Progressive Antisemitism
• Law.com, War in Israel Has Intensified Free-Speech Battles on Law School Campuses and Beyond
• New York Post Editorial, Cornell University Jewish Threats Prove How Deep Campus Rot Runs