Anti-Semitism has been an ugly part of Jewish history. As a Jew growing up in the United States, a country that has embraced and given me the full opportunity to practice my religion unharmed, it has truly been a privilege and right that sometimes I take for granted. I wear my yarmulke around Berkeley and on campus without issue. My children attend Berkeley public schools wearing yarmulkes, embracing and taking pride in their Jewish expression.
As a Jew living in this amazing country, with all of its faults, I feel blessed to have the freedom to live a vibrant Jewish life. I can sometimes become complacent and even want to ignore anti-Semitism when it is right in front of me.
To see the online Daily Californian anti-Semitic cartoon depicting professor Alan Dershowitz was a reminder that as Jews living in our open society, we are still plagued by undertones of historical anti-Semitism. There should be no excuse or rationalization for this cartoon as “simply” a critique of Israeli policy or the artist’s opinion.
Like any bigoted cartoon, it should be called out, and the leaders of the Daily Cal need to take responsibility for their actions. Jewish students on campus have every right to be included, practice their beliefs and express their passion and love of Israel — their Jewish homeland — without experiencing anti-Semitism.
As a rabbi and educator on campus, I encourage the editorial board and the entire staff of the Daily Cal to take time to learn about the anti-Semitism currently plaguing our society, along with its history. Berkeley Hillel and the entire Jewish community stand ready to work with the Daily Cal, offering training and education about the continuing reality of anti-Semitism. I look forward to hearing from the Daily Cal staff.
Wouldn’t the correct action be to remove the staff of that paper from the privilege of being on the paper? Lets look at what is typically called for on other cases of blatant prejudice.
Pointing out the human rights abuses and murders carried out daily by Israel is not anti-semitic. The cartoon in question simply illustrates the militarily-lopsided scenario taking place in Israel, Gaza, the west bank and illegal settlements throughout Palestine and has absolutely nothing to do with religion. If I call a Christian killer a murderer, is that anti-Christian?! You should be ashamed of yourself for participating in this political theater; you are for human life or you are against it. Thank goodness the Israeli apartheid of Palestinians is finally being talked about on a international stage.
Keep telling yourself that.
I will; enjoy the wrong side of history.
You mean the fact that Arabs can’t simply line up Jews and murder them as was the rule for the last two thousand years? That’s what you call lopsided?
I guess for antisemites like yourself any time a Jew fights back against genocidal attacks is unfair.
There is no justification for trampling on the rights of others no matter what happened historically. If you were a religious person (Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu…etc), you would agree with that, and if you have to deflect from the conversation by calling people anti-semitic, you clearly have no leg to stand on.
Yeah I do. The only rights that are being trampled in Judea Samaria and gaza are the Arabs’ “right” to murder Jews.
Anyone who thinks differently is an anti-Semite.
Ignore the facts and continue to justify and defend a tyrannical state all you want. From human rights watch, a non-political NGO who point out the lopsidedness of this conflict – (you have to be really good at mental gymnastics to call their research lies or anti-semitic):
“Overall, Palestinians killed at least 17 Israeli civilians and 3 Israeli soldiers, and injured 87 Israeli civilians and 80 security officers in the West Bank and Israel as of November 27. Israeli security forces killed at least 120 and injured at least 11,953 Palestinian civilians in West Bank, Gaza, and Israel as of the same date, including bystanders, protesters, and suspected assailants.”
Honestly, Palestine’s hands are not clean by any means as they are guilty of torture and unprovoked attacks but it’s people like you who are undermining any credibility Israel has by ignoring the truth and continuing to call those who are seeking it anti-semitic. Have a good day.
Human rights watch is an antisemetic anti israel group funded by terrorists and terrorist sympathisers that focuses most of it’s energy condemning Israel cause that’s where it’s funding comes from.
Kill or try to kill a Jew or an Israeli and the world should fall down around you like it would if you killed anyone else.
The surprising thing is that the response to gazans shooting ten thousand rockets into israel was so mild. Those rockets were indiscriminately attacks on women
and children aimed at killing and terrorizing millions. That us if you actually think of Jews and Israelis as humans which you obviously don’t. Bring three wars of genocide against anyone else. Do that to any other country and the body count would be in the tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands.
Ask the iraqis and afghanis what happens to you if the us even thinks you had something to do with killing Americans for any reason.
But then americans are actually people aren’t they?
Any one who disagrees with you is anti-semitic.
Everyone who wants to kill me because I am a Jew is indeed an anti-semite. I don’t see you defending Kurds, all you do is propagate hatred of jews. And yes I take it personally. Murder of jews is mothers milk to every anti-Semite. You don’t need to mask it as anti-israel
Dear Sofia,
Please forgive the length of this comment.
Jewish people are precious to me, as is the wisdom Jews have offered the whole world.
One example–evidently a combination of Micah 6 and Rabbi Tarfon–has helped me in my life. You’ll recognize it:
” Do not be overcome by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now; walk humbly now; love mercy now. You are not required to complete the work …” –attributed to the Talmud.
The Holocaust has broken my heart a thousand times. The actions of righteous gentiles have been a steady source of inspiration to me.
My original response was to Earnest Comment, who said “The only rights that are being trampled in Judea Samaria and gaza are the Arabs’ “right” to murder Jews. Anyone who thinks differently is an anti-Semite.”
I disagree with Earnest Comment. He believes the only right denied Arabs is the right to murder Jews. I think other rights are being denied.as well. Because we disagree he is convinced that I’m an anti-Semite. You say that I propagate the hatred of Jews.
My criticisms are not against Jews, but against some policies of Israel. There is a difference.
For example, let’s say I was treated badly as a boy. Many boys were treated just as bad, but as they got older they healed from their cruel injuries. For some reason I did not, I became hostile to a hostile world. Maybe I become a hard person without much mercy. I become cruel to the mothers and the children of my enemies. If my friends and neighbors try to stop me it is not the same as saying it is OK to kill me.
Just as it is possible to oppose the actions of the USA but not hate Americans, it is also possible to oppose the actions of Israel without hating Jews.
Alan, you changed the subject. My point was and is that anyone who wants to kill me BECAUSE I AM A JEW, is an anti-Semite. There is no hesitation in my mind on this point.
I agree that anyone who wants to kill you because you are a Jew is an anti-Semite.
You changed the subject too. You say all I do is propagate hatred of Jews. You could be incorrect about that.
Sofia hello again.
4 days ago, when you said that people who want to kill you because you are a Jew are anti-Semitic, you spoke the truth. There’s no cause for doubt or hesitation on that point.
I hope to hear your opinion on another matter: Do you actually think that all I do is propagate the hared of Jews?
Firstly I don’t know you. Secondly it is for YOU to answer your question
You can’t be an anti-semitic if the people you talk against are not Semitic. Israelis are mostly white Europeans, they are not semites
Earnest Comment’s position is that since Arabs are by his definition genocidal, anything a Jew does to them is fair. To disagree with this position is anti-semitic.
Devin is deranged. Eighty per cent of the world is ruled by dictators, and that includes ALL the Arab countries, without exception (and including “Palestine”)as well the other Muslim countries. Their enormous wealth, especially in the Gulf, has been used to poison the minds of people like Devin. Of course, he has never visited Israel, the West Bank or Gaza and if he did, he would be accompanied by “minders” who made sure he came away with just the impression they want to make. The way the gold medal-winning Israeli judo athletes were treated recently in the international judo championships in the Gulf is a classic example of the way that Israel is singled out, when it is the only democracy in the Middle East and one of the very few in the world. Devin is just as much an antisemite as the scum who produced the cartoon. There is plenty of precedent in the USA, Father Coughlin, for instance.
What nice naive thinking. These people aren’t interested in learning about anti-Semitism and it’s history. They are at UC Berkeley. They have all the options in the world for being educated had they so chosen. But they have indeed chosen, and it is to be blindly anti-Semitic.
Very disappointing to see a paper that is supposed to reflect one of the finer student bodies in the country, reduced to such an ugly and willing demonstration of antisemitism. It is odd how readily hate against Jews draws so little criticism, compared to the roar of voices that would follow the debasement of any other group. Poor choice by the paper’s editorial staff. Who is next on their list?
Christians, conservatives, whites….
Just because an opinion is expressed that may be calling out Dershowitz for posing as a liberal but really secretly supporting a bloody suppresion of Palestinian human rights, does not necessarily amount to anti-semitism. One can be opposed to current &/or recent Israeli government policies without being an anti-semite or even anti-Israel in general. Since when is criticism of Israeli government policies & its supporters the same as anti-semitism? You are not even being logical.
Secretly supporting? My, you have a wild imagination
‘Seems a pretty apt analogy. Je suis Charlie, non?
As a Jewish Republican, I have to say that this cartoon reflects the deep anti-Semitism that runs throughout the left wing of the Democratic party today. The cartoon doesn’t just represent the attitudes of a small fringe group of students – it represents the attitudes of a substantial percentage of left-wing faculty at U.C. Berkeley, and many other universities across the country. If you have children in college, there’s a good chance that they are being taught by faculty who are deeply hostile to the state of Israel, and to Jews in general.