Jewish Tritons Outline Situation Facing Jews at UCSD

Editor’s Note: The following press release from Triton Jewish Leaders was addressed to the UCSD Administration and Community.

LA JOLLA, California (Press Release) –Antisemitism has grown rampantly since the October 7th massacre carried out by Hamas, and rising Jew-hatred has caused Jewish students to feel increasingly unsafe on campus. We students are fearful of expressing our identities on campus, and especially in the classroom. Many professors, TAs, academic departments and our own student government have been directly prejudicial toward Jewish and Israeli students, actively revising Jewish history and pushing an agenda that demonizes the Jewish people.

Following the October 7th terrorist attack, we reached out to SJP and MSA to come out
with a joint statement to proactively condemn all forms of bigotry on both sides, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, in an attempt to inspire civility on campus, yet our request was ignored. Then, after being called “murderers” at an Associated Students meeting, UCSD administration recommended we have a professionally mediated conversation, and again, it was rejected by SJP and MSA.

For months, our Jewish voices have been silenced, and this vile hatred grew to new
heights with the establishment of the SJP and JVP encampment on May 1st. To be clear, any claim that those “protests” were peaceful could not be farther from the truth. At the encampment, Jewish students have been incessantly harassed and vilified, with innumerable cases of anti-Semitism and calls for violence. Here is a list of only some of the examples:

–Stickers around the encampment showed an image of a bank blown-up with the words
“hit them where it hurts.” SJP is already guilty of making claims that Jews control the banks and media at an Associated Students meeting, and this sticker further perpetuates the antisemitic libel of the Jewish people controlling the banks. If this movement was about peace, would these stickers be posted? If this movement was not about Jew hatred, would this sticker be posted?

–Another sticker depicted women with rifles in hand along with the phrase “resistance for a free Palestine.” Is glorifying gun violence in the name of “resistance” a symbol of peace?

–Brochures were handed out with an image of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad Al Quds
terrorist, and the encampment openly displayed chants and phrases such as “Glory to the
martyrs,” “We don’t want two states, we want ‘48,” “Death to America,” and “End Israel.” Are these clear endorsements of violence calling for the destruction of our American nation and the state of Israel peaceful?

–Additionally, an image of Aaron Bushnell on fire was depicted in chalk outside of the
encampment. This is a glorification of extreme violence and a praise of self-immolation,
encouraging students to disregard their own safety in the name of the group’s cause. Is that peaceful?

–An identifiably Jewish student was told, “murder the Jews” next to the encampment.
Does this sound peaceful?

–Genocidal chants like “there is only one solution: intifada revolution,” “we are the
intifada,” and “globalize the intifada” provide reference to the series of terror attacks that
deliberately targeted Jewish civilians during the First and Second Intifadas. Calling for the death of innocent Jewish civilians because of their heritage is undoubtedly antisemitic, no matter your opinion on the ongoing war. Is preaching the murder of Jews peaceful?

To believe that this illegal protest was peaceful is incredibly ignorant. This past week,
Jews from around the world lit memorial candles honoring the lives of over six million Jews who were deliberately massacred in the Holocaust simply for the sake of their Jewish identity. Before the mass genocide, antisemitism was commonplace in Eastern Europe. And today at UCSD, this despicable hatred of Jews has become normalized and is somehow considered peaceful. We ask you to hear our cries and understand that what we’re experiencing is blatantly antisemitic. Your cursory cries of “never again” mean nothing if you continue to turn a blind eye to the genocidal rhetoric Jewish students are assaulted with daily at this university.

For the vast majority of Jews, Judaism cannot be separated from Zionism. The two are
inextricably linked. Since our exile nearly two thousand years ago, we have prayed in the
direction of Jerusalem, and our prayers, culture and holidays are filled with references to Israel, Jerusalem, Zion, and our desire to return to our ancestral homeland.

As students, we have a right to an education free of hatred and harassment. We have a
right to attend classes without being forced to hide our identity in order to get a good grade. We have a right to exist.

Our tuition money should not go toward funding rides for arrested students who openly
call for violence and genocide against the Jewish people.

We call on the university to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
working definition of antisemitism and recognize Israel’s essential role in the Jewish religion, culture, and identity. We ask the university to increase education about antisemitism and unequivocally condemn and act against the students who call for violence and genocide against the Jewish people and Israel.

Please, protect us from antisemitic students, staff, and departments, and help us
collectively work toward a campus that fosters civility and peace, where Jews are included in the principles of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

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Preceding letter was issued in the name of Triton Jewish Leaders.