Same old; same old

From the Daily Cal: UC Berkeley’s Jewish Student Union released a statement [last] Monday condemning an ASUC Senate resolution passed Oct. 28 that opposed campus’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. The resolution passed 14-1, with the only opposing vote from Joseph Karlan, an ASUC senator endorsed by the JSU. In its statement, the JSU called the ASUC Senate’s actions a “betrayal” of Jewish UC Berkeley students. When UC Berkeley settled a lawsuit with the Brandeis Center in March, campus reaffirmed its consideration of adopting the IHRA definition for discrimination investigations. According to the guidance for the IHRA definition, an example of antisemitism is “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” 

“However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic,” states the IHRA guidance for the definition. The resolution lists primary sponsors as ASUC President Margaret Solomon and ASUC Executive Vice President Sydnee Thy. The executive board of Bears for Palestine cosponsored the resolution. According to Thy, this resolution has been in the works since she and Solomon were elected in May. In addition to Bears for Palestine, they consulted with Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that gave comment at the Oct. 28 meeting. 

The resolution’s main goal is to protect free speech at UC Berkeley, including “criticism of Israeli state policy and advocacy for Palestinian rights,” which sponsors believe is targeted by the IHRA definition. In its statement, the JSU said it was “outrageous” that the ASUC Senate voted to oppose the IHRA definition of antisemitism without “meaningfully consulting with the Jewish community.”The JSU called on UC Berkeley to continue to take action against antisemitism and to remain “undeterred” by the resolution. “It’s disrespectful because it’s an attempt to say this definition is harmful … when it’s something my community feels is beneficial for us in overcoming antisemitism and explaining antisemitism,” Karlan said at the Oct. 28 ASUC Senate meeting...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/news/uc/uc-berkeley-jewish-student-union-condemns-asuc-resolution-against-ihra-antisemitism-definition/article_bb37071e-d5e6-4c56-9cbc-b779e470169e.html.

Yours truly suggests that it's time for something new under the Berkeley sun:

Or direct to https://dn600309.us.archive.org/0/items/a-laugh-a-tear-a-mitzvah/A%20Note%20to%20Berkeley.mp4.