UC Berkeley professor Ron Hassner all the way back on March 8, 2024, the day after he started his protest. (Photo/Aaron Levy-Wolins) Education It’s over: UC Berkeley professor ends his sit-in protest Facebook Twitter Email SMS WhatsApp Share By J. Staff | March 21, 2024 Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area. UC Berkeley professor Ron Hassner has left the building. Two weeks after starting a round-the-clock vigil in his office, Hassner announced Thursday that he was ending his sit-in protest and getting ready to head home. His intent was to call attention to antisemitism on campus and pressure the university to address it forcefully, and on both counts he said he achieved his goals. Hassner had taught, ate and slept in his cramped office since March 7. He said it was important to support demoralized Jewish students and push the university to quell the wave of anti-Zionist activity and antisemitism on campus since Oct. 7. What is the first thing he plans to do when he gets home? “Hug my kids and shower,” he told J. in an email. “Maybe not in that order :).” Below is the letter that Hassner emailed to Jewish students at Cal on Thursday afternoon with the subject line: “Free at Last.” Dear students, Yesterday evening, towards the end of my 13th day in the office, I received an unexpected phone call from Chancellor [Carol] Christ. Several minutes later, I received another phone call from Provost [Benjamin] Hermalin. They called to accept all the requests I had made in my letter to them two weeks earlier, without exception, and to answer any questions I might have about how my requests would be implemented. After consulting with student leaders and colleagues, and sleeping on it for one more night, I have started packing my bags so that I can go back home to my family. I made three requests in my March 7 letter to Christ and Hermalin. First, I asked that “all students, even the ones wearing Stars of David, should be free to pass through [Sather Gate] unobstructed. The right of protestors to express their views must be defended. It does not extend to blocking or threatening fellow students.” To that end, the school has now posted observers from the Division of Student Affairs to monitor bullying at the gate. These are not the passive yellow-vested security personnel who have stood around Sproul in prior weeks. The Student Affairs representatives are there to actively document bullying, abuse, blocking, or intrusion on personal space. They are wearing blue lanyards around their neck with a blue badge that says “Observer.” They will be at the gate whenever protestors are there (which happens less and less these days). The protestors who are haranguing students at the gate are hiding behind masks because they are afraid that campus will hold them accountable for their actions. The goal of the observers is to do just that. If you experience any incident of harassment, please approach Student Affairs staff and draw their attention to the incident. If necessary, they will call the police. Hassner with his pillows, sleeping bag and “cheapo” mattress on March 8, 2024. (Photo/Aaron Levy-Wolins) My second request was that Chancellor Christ reaffirm her proud stance to “uphold this university’s venerable free speech tradition” by inviting back any speaker whose talk has been interrupted or canceled. The chancellor did so gladly and confidently. The speaker who was attacked by a violent mob three weeks ago spoke to an even larger crowd this Monday. After students invited him to return to Berkeley, the university invested heavily in protecting his person, the venue for the talk, the audience attending, and the talk itself. This came at significant cost and effort, but the university will not hesitate doing so, again and again, whenever necessary, for any future speaker, be they Palestinian or Israeli, Jew or Muslim, Republican or Democrat, etc. Only those who lack good arguments fear speech. Mobs cannot be permitted to muzzle ideas by threats and heckling, let alone by violence against students and university property, as happened three weeks ago. The third reason for my sleep-in was the absence of mandatory Islamophobia and anti-Semitism training on campus. Chancellor Christ has committed to funding and instituting such training. It is my belief that campus leaders would have fulfilled all these requests of their own accord even in the absence of my sleep-in. Everyone at our university knows that anti-Semitism, sometimes cowering behind a thin mask of “anti-Zionism,” is a real concern, on this and on all U.S. campuses. Our leadership is as annoyed by the nuisance of the blockade at Sather Gate as are all students by now (especially students with disabilities). At best, our sleep-in reinforced the university’s determination to act and accelerated the process somewhat. I say “our” sleep-in, because this protest would have been easy to ignore had it not been for the combined effort of the entire campus Jewish community. Some 80-100 guests came to my office every day to eat, drink, chat, meet friends, and discuss anti-Semitism and free speech. Students, parents, alumni, community members, rabbis, administrators, and colleagues dropped by with food and encouragement. Jewish and non-Jewish students, pro-Israel and even some anti-Israel students spent hours around my coffee table, late into the night, to talk about their identity and their politics. Many hundreds sent messages of encouragement and gifts for students from around the U.S. and the world. The light in my window gets no credit for that accomplishment. You do. In good Berkeley tradition, our effort also shines a light for other California campuses. On Tuesday, 33 of my colleagues across California spent the night in their offices in solidarity with Berkeley students and in protest of anti-Semitism. They posted images of their sleep-ins on social media. Many of these sleep-ins took place on campuses where Jewish faculty had been reluctant to stand up for their rights and their safety. You showed them how to rally, celebrate their Judaism, and hold their heads high. The sleep-in movement against anti-Semitism is now spreading eastward across the U.S. What happens next here? First of all, tomorrow Chabad has invited all students who are still on campus for a celebratory Shabbat. If you’d like to join me, I’ll be walking to Chabad from my office at 7:30 p.m. It will be nice to walk together, if you like. Second: My mattress, blanket and pillows stay at the office. Should the climate on campus deteriorate, and anti-Semitism escalate again, I will not hesitate to lock myself back up. I will look to you, the students, to tell me whether I need to resume my protest. Third: My office remains a home for all students, regardless of identity and politics. In addition to office hours, I will open my doors every Thursday at 6 p.m. to eat and drink with all who come seeking good company and good debate. I will do so as long as students wish. I’ll end with some fantastic news, worthy of celebration. For the last two years, faculty and staff of the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies have worked tirelessly to create an opportunity for students to signal their competency in Israel Studies. Yesterday, [UC Berkeley] announced that all colleges on this campus will offer a minor in Israel Studies, starting this fall! I view this as one of our biggest and most lasting accomplishments in making Berkeley a destination for students interested in Israel, and in changing the campus experience for students once they arrive here. The minor reflects the rich and multidisciplinary nature of the academic field of Israel Studies, drawing on the social sciences and humanities as well as law, business, science and technology. It will offer students an opportunity, not available on many campuses, to integrate rigorous engagement with Israel explicitly into their core studies, and recognize and signal the importance of that work with a Berkeley degree. Attacks and intimidation of students on U.S. campuses are designed to drive some students away. The new minor in Israel Studies will do the opposite. It will attract students from all backgrounds to our campus precisely because we are the greatest campus in the country for studying the complexities of Judaism and Israel in an inclusive and rigorous manner. Yashar Koach! Ron J. Staff Also On J. Bay Area Free trainings across region will teach Jews how to avoid violence Education UC Berkeley chancellor to post ‘observers’ at Sather Gate Bay Area Berkeley professor's sit-in gains fans and followers Bay Area Israeli speaker whose talk was shut down returns to UC Berkeley Subscribe to our Newsletter I would like to receive the following newsletters: Weekday J From Our Sponsors (helps fund our journalism) Your Sunday J Holiday Bytes