124 Jewish organizations signed a letter March 9 calling for the UC Board of Regents to act on a report alleging that university faculty and academic programs are contributing to antisemitism faced by students.<\/p>\n
The report, released in February, was conducted by the AMCHA Initiative, a nonprofit aiming to investigate, document and report incidents of antisemitism in higher education.<\/p>\n
In its report, the AMCHA Initiative stated that, during the 2023-25 academic years, UC Berkeley employed at least 171 faculty who publicly endorsed the UC Berkeley Faculty Statement of Solidarity with Palestinians, which called for an academic boycott of Israel.<\/p>\n
Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, co-founder and director of the AMCHA Initiative, said she opposes the use of academic boycotts as a form of protest, including the academic boycott of South Africa, which concluded in the 1990s after its stated goal of ending apartheid was achieved.<\/p>\n
UC Office of the President spokesperson Rachel Zaentz said the UC system takes AMCHA\u2019s report \u201cseriously\u201d and is currently reviewing the cited incidents.<\/p>\n
However, campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof questioned the validity of the data and statistics provided in the report.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we appreciate this organization\u2019s dedication to confronting antisemitism, it is unfortunate that no apparent effort was made to seek information directly from the campus and\/or confirm information, some of which appears to have been gathered from unreliable sources,\u201d Mogulof said in an email.<\/p>\n
Mogulof pointed to the Anti-Defamation League\u2019s 2026 Campus Antisemitism Report Card, released a day after the letter to the UC Regents. The report card rates the quality of campus Jewish life as \u201cExcellent\u201d and rated the campus administration\u2019s response to antisemitism as \u201cAbove Expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that it\u2019s illegal or unacceptable or even a violation of university policies, but if they\u2019re promoting a particular opinion or position outside of the classroom that directly affects the students that you teach, there is a question of professionalism,\u201d Rossman-Benjamin said in reference to the statement of solidarity. \u201cI can\u2019t point to a particular policy, but it\u2019s just common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report names history professor Ussama Makdisi, the inaugural chair of the Palestinian and Arab Studies program, regarding his role as a co-author of the statement of solidarity.<\/p>\n
Makdisi stated in an email that the report is an attack on the \u201cprinciples of basic decency and academic inquiry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weaponization of false charges of antisemitism is not new,\u201d Makdisi said in the email. \u201cThis is yet another attempt to smear, to defame, and to intimidate anyone who uplifts Palestinian history and humanity by those who deny the reality of genocide that the entire world can see.\u201d<\/p>\n
The AMCHA Initiative report claims that antisemitic incidents that involve the \u201ctargeting of Jewish members of the campus community for harm\u201d rose to 101 during the 2023-25 academic years. This marks an increase of 531% from the 2021-23 academic years.<\/p>\n
In their letter to the UC Regents, the 124 organizations affirmed the report\u2019s recommendation to \u201censure systemwide compliance\u201d with UC Regents Policy 2301, which prohibits the \u201cmisuse of the classroom by, for example, allowing it to be used for political indoctrination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mogulof added that campus is \u201ccommitted\u201d to enforcing Regents Policy 2301, as well as Regents Policy 4408, which governs \u201cPublic and Discretionary Statements by Academic Units.\u201d<\/p>\n