UC Berkeley

The UC Berkeley campus in California, United States, December 11, 2012. (Charlie Nguyen/CC BY 2.0)

Anatomy of a scandal: Unraveling the myth of ‘Jewish-free zones’ at UC Berkeley

The manufactured controversy surrounding a student group pledge underlines the dangers of legal attempts to conflate anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

By Nate Orbach October 26, 2022

UC Berkeley students demonstrate after the student senate the student senate did not overturn a veto on a bill that would divest from American companies profiting off the occupation. (photo: Ramsey El-qarey)

How the Palestine movement taught me to confront anti-Semitism

On American university campuses, pro-Palestine activists are routinely smeared as anti-Semites seeking to destroy Israel. But contrary to what pro-Israel activists claim, the BDS movement has been instrumental in challenging anti-Semitism on the left. By Tom Pessah Anti-Semitism is unlike most other forms of hatred, in that it is both a form of bigotry and a false…

By +972 Magazine March 4, 2018

SJP member holds Palestinian flag in front of make-shift coffins at Sproul Plaza on Jan. 21, 2009. SJP was protesting the Israeli attacks on Gaza, Palestine which took place on December 2008 through January 2009. (photo: Ramsey Al-qare)

How a Jewish Agency fellow becomes a one-state activist

When Gila Hashkes arrived at UC Berkeley as a Jewish Agency Israel Fellow, she felt like she was jumping into the heart of pro-Palestinian activism. Her job was to organize Jewish students on campus, strengthen their connection to Israel and give them tools to justify its policies. But after a year-long journey of digging deeper…

By +972 Magazine September 7, 2013

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Israeli and American flags (photo: flickr / hoyasmeg CC BY 2.0)

A house divided: Campus divestment reveals cracks within the American Jewish establishment

How can a community which so highly regards deliberation and dissent demand such unwavering unity on what is, perhaps, American Jewry’s most controversial issue? By Roi Bachmutsky Uproar recently broke out regarding world-renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking’s recent decision to cancel his headline appearance at the fifth annual Facing Tomorrow Presidential Conference hosted by Israeli President…

By +972 Magazine May 16, 2013

Is an attack on Israel an attack on individual Jewish identity?

A report by a University of California advisory council threatens to limit free speech on its campuses by determining that dissent of Israel can amount to an attack on one’s personal identification with the state. By Tom Pessah In February of this year three members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were jailed after…

By +972 Magazine August 1, 2012