San Diego Jewish Community Statement on Campus Turbulence

By Heidi Gantwerk

SAN DIEGO — Our hearts are heavy as we witness the challenging circumstances faced by Jewish students across the nation and specifically at UCSD and SDSU amidst rising tensions on campus. The presence of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests, including a significant walkout at SDSU and an unsettling encampment at UCSD, has created an atmosphere of intimidation and misinformation that deeply concerns us all.

In response to these events, Federation is fully committed and actively involved in supporting students in partnership with Hillel and other Jewish campus groups. We are proud to join with our Jewish community in offering this statement of support for Jewish students.

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We, as Jewish communal leaders in San Diego, stand with our Jewish college students. Like you, we have been watching, with great concern, as pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests and encampments have rolled out across college campuses across the country, including a walkout earlier this week at SDSU and an encampment at UCSD. We have watched in horror at the misinformation and disinformation on display amongst the protestors, at the students and outside agitators masking their identities with keffiyehs and glasses, in effect, dressing like Hamas terrorists, as if this is something to be emulated.

To say these encampments are peaceful does not begin to capture the intended effect, and the intimidation they are meant to cause. Many of the protesters on campus are not actually students. On the ground on Library Walk at UCSD are chalked slogans like “From the River to the Sea” and “One solution; intifada revolution.” These words are not about liberation; they are about annihilation. From the River to the Sea is a slogan that calls for the obliteration of the state of Israel, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Calling for “Intifada,” the term commonly used to refer to two periods in Israel known for horrific terror attacks designed to kill Jews, is a call for violence.

We agree that a university campus should provide a marketplace of ideas, but violence and intimidation are not provided for under free speech. These encampments violate campus protocols to which all students and faculty agree to abide. They are fueled by a campaign of misinformation and by underlying antisemitism, and we appreciate the steps that the university has taken and strongly encourage further action to ensure their code of conduct is honored, the encampment gets shut down, and to hold those responsible accountable for their actions, while protecting the safety of everyone involved.

Collectively, we are in close contact around this situation, led by Hillel of San Diego and our campus partners. We are extraordinarily proud of the Jewish students who have been strong, resilient, articulate, supportive of one another and who have represented the Jewish people with remarkable care and courage. They have asked that community members not engage or antagonize the protestors.

Rather, they have asked that the community attend any of the public events during the student-led Peace in Israel week, May 13-17, which includes important speakers, demonstrations against the atrocities committed by Hamas along with a rally and nighttime shuk.

We all want to see peace in the Middle East. We want to see the more than 130 hostages still held in Gaza home safely, and an end to the fighting. And every single one of us wants to see our college students free to enjoy all that a university education entails without fear, intimidation or harassment simply because they are Jewish, or support the right of Israel to exist.

[Signed as of 3 p.m. May 3]: ADL San Diego AJC; San Diego Camp Mountain Chai; Chabad Hebrew Academy Chabad of San Diego County; Congregation Beth Israel; Hadassah Southern California; Hebrew Free Loan of San Diego; Impact Cubed;  Jewish Community Foundation; Jewish Family Service/ Center for Jewish Care; Jewish Federation of San Diego; Kindness Initiative;  KindnessG’MACH;  Lawrence Family JCC | Jacobs Family Campus; Leichtag Foundation; Ner Tamid Synagogue; San Diego Jewish Academy; Seacrest Village Retirement Communities; StandWithUs; Temple Emanu-El;  Temple Solel; The Butterfly Project; Rabbi Cantor Arlene Bernstein, Congregation Beth Israel; Rabbi David Castiglione, Temple Adat Shalom; Rabbi Matt Earne, Congregation Beth Am; Rabbi Benj Fried, Temple Emanu-El; Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel, Congregation Beth Israel;  Rabbi David Kornberg, Congregation Beth Am; Rabbi Avi Libman, Congregation Beth El; Rabbi Devorah Marcus, Temple Emanu-El; Rabbi Jason Nevarez, Congregation Beth Israel; Rabbi Scott Meltzer, Ohr Shalom Synagogue; Rabbi Ron Shulman, Congregation Beth El;  Rabbi Yael Ridberg, President, SDRA; and Cantor Billy Tiep, Temple Solel.

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Additionally, Federation has been actively supporting with Hillel of San Diego in efforts ensure the well-being and security of Jewish students. Including:

Security Measures: Under the vigilant guidance of our Community Security Director, Bill Ganley, we are taking significant steps to safeguard Hillel and advising staff on the best practices to maintain a secure environment for all.

Program Support: Beyond physical necessities, we are backing student-run programs, both logistically and financially.

Direct Assistance: We have provided food and goodies to students refueling their bodies for midterms and finals.

Our students have shown remarkable restraint and maturity, and we wholeheartedly support their request for community members to refrain from engaging with or antagonizing protesters as well as their request for the community to participate in the student-led Peace in Israel week.

Wishing a Shabbat Shalom to you and all our Jewish students,

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Heidi Gantwerk is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego.