“A great majority of my friends here are active in the Jewish community and in Jewish groups,” said Gabriel, a regular attendee of Berkeley Hillel Shabbat services. “I wouldn’t be talking to you today as president if they hadn’t helped to spread the word.”
The results come as great news to campus Jews, many of whom have felt targeted by anti-Jewish hostility in recent months.
According to freshman Micki Weinberg, a campus pro-Israel activist, Gabriel’s election illustrates students’ dedication to supporting the best candidate, regardless of religious affiliation.
“This quite impressively illustrates that the campus is willing to support a Jew — that most students here are not as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel as the [pro-Palestinian] activists are,” said Weinberg, president of the Akiva movement, a Zionist youth organization on campus. “In this case Jesse proved himself to be the best candidate. He did not let the fact that he’s a Jew and a Zionist get in the way.”
Adam Weisberg, Berkeley Hillel’s executive director, agreed it was Gabriel’s commitment to issues such as improved safety and academic excellence — not his religious affiliation — that got him elected.
“He didn’t allow the campaign to become about anyone’s persona, politics or religious background and he took a principled stand on the issues at hand,” said Weisberg. “In that sense, he will be a great benefit to the Jewish students.”
Gabriel did, however, say he plans “to serve” the U.C. Berkeley Jewish community.
For instance, he wants to work with campus Jewish leaders “to make sure Jewish students feel comfortable expressing their Judaism” while on campus.
“Am I going to the ASUC as a platform to speak on my own personal beliefs? No. Am I going to speak out when Jews are attacked and criticize those who cross the line from anti-Israel to anti-Semitism? Yes.”
And while he will not take a political stance on the Middle East on behalf of the ASUC, he does want to find “a constructive way” to deal with the growing tensions between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students, something that has distressed him personally.
“There are students who feel strongly about the Middle East, and I am one of them — I have friends and family in Israel,” he said. “But currently nothing constructive is being done to help [pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students] communicate. I would like to set up effective dialoguing between these two groups.”
Gabriel would not comment on the reinstatement of the Students for Justice in Palestine, coinciding with his election on Monday. The group was suspended by university officials in late April, following its April 9 occupation of Wheeler Hall, an act that Gabriel said was “to me, crossing a line.”
However, he said he does “not harbor any ill will” toward SJP or other pro-Palestinian groups on campus.
Gabriel grew up among a large Jewish community in Southern California and currently serves as a senator on the ASUC. During his time as a senator he worked with other Jewish student leaders on campus to obtain more funding for Jewish groups.
“As the budget stands now, if passed, we will have more than tripled the funding this year,” he said.
Despite his pro-Israel viewpoints, Gabriel hopes he will not be viewed as biased. He defined his role as president as “a delicate balancing act” and said he hopes “to learn from people who think differently” from himself.
“I am extremely proud to be Jewish and consider the Jewish community my home. But the president has to speak for all students and represent all students,” he said.
“It’s not a matter of hiding my beliefs, but in terms of advocating, I don’t want to alienate students on campus. I want all students to feel comfortable reacting and dialoguing with me.”