Article from our Spring 2022 issue by: Alexandra Salkin

“How dare you tell me what is and isn’t helpful for the community, and what is and isn’t antisemitic. I hope you all take a good long look in the mirror and realize you are opposing a statement created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Members of my family did not get murdered in the Holocaust for you to deny me a right to safety on campus. And now in 2022, that hate is resurging at alarming rates. History does not look too fondly on people who deny Jewish people the right to safety. . .”

When choosing what college I wanted to attend, I considered many different places. In the end, I decided to attend UCSC. There were many factors that went into this decision. Location was one, my major was another, but something I also factored in was safety. I felt UCSC would be the safest place for me as a Jewish person. I quickly learned how wrong I was.

In the span of one and a half years, I have experienced more antisemitism at UCSC than I have in my entire life. The trouble started brewing in spring quarter of 2021. A member of the Student Union Assembly had tweeted about an upcoming SUA meeting. The statement was related to issues with Israel. Many Jewish students wanted the statement to follow IHRA guidelines, so they would not have to deal with antisemitic attacks.

IHRA is a definition created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The definition explains what acts are considered to be antisemitic. The IHRA definition is, “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities,” IHRA then includes several examples of what could be considered antisemitic such as:

• “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion; 
• Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations; 
• Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.” 

Following IHRA guidelines would make sure the statement would not cause issues for Jewish students. IHRA helps define what is and isn’t antisemitism. Following these guidelines during the SUA meeting would ensure that Jewish people would not be held accountable for the actions of a government they have no control over. Instead, this meeting was filled with a host of people entering the Zoom meeting to launch a series of antisemitic slurs. What occurred during those several SUA meetings was truly some of the most disturbing things I have ever experienced. The Zoom bombers began to interrupt speeches, and private message me and several other attendees to “go back to Auschwitz,” and other disturbing and upsetting comments. No apparent action was made to identify and hold the perpetrators of these attacks responsible for their actions. What happened during those meetings made me truly question if I made the right decision to attend this school. How could I attend an institution that does not care about students’ safety and well-being? The only thing that kept me from leaving was the thought that something terrible like that couldn’t happen again, but unfortunately, UCSC has found a way to top itself.

Following those incidents in Spring 2021, some fellow Jewish students and I felt that UCSC needed to update its current definition of antisemitism. We decided to approach the SUA during winter quarter 2022 with the IHRA statement and request that they incorporate this statement into UCSC’s guidelines. I personally want IHRA to be passed because it would give me some piece of mind when walking around campus because of past experiences I’ve had with antisemitism. As a Jew, I’ve never felt 100% safe anywhere in my entire life. The threat of violence towards me and my family and community is always there. At summer camp there were always guards roaming around. My temple has several security guards stationed, and uses locked doors on the outside and inside for double safety. Security is always around when we host large events, and I have had to report swastikas throughout my life. From people etching them into my chair at school to a desk partner drawing them while sitting right next to me. 

We went into the SUA meeting expecting this statement to pass very easily. In actuality what occurred was a disgusting example of antisemitism. Certain members had issues with the statement just because it mentions Israel. Those members misunderstood and ignored that the statement was simply intended to define antisemitism and expressly intended to allow for criticism of the Israeli government; while decoupling such criticism of a government and its leaders from stereotyping and defaming a religion and its people. Those members invited students from across the UCs to enter this meeting and stack the meeting with dissension. Many Jewish students then attempted to get the conversation back on track. The dissenters had shifted the conversation from safety for Jewish students to a conflict that has nothing to do with IHRA. The meeting was nothing short of a microaggression. Constantly bringing up the actions of Israel when Jewish people are asking for support regarding their safety is antisemitic, plain and simple.

After that meeting fellow Jewish students and I rethought our original game plan. We decided to start small and go up the political food chain. I am the VP of public relations of the C9 Senate, so I thought we could start there. It was a known domain, and I was 100% certain that it would be a clear cut simple meeting. . .

I presented the IHRA statement to the College 9 senate, and there was a bit of pushback, which I expected. We decided to table the topic and resume once everyone had time to research more. 

The day was Thursday, March 3rd. I went into the meeting anxious, but I had some faith that it would be a civil and educational meeting. We went through some of the usual topics, and then the IHRA slide came on screen. I took a deep breath and began to speak. I repeated what I had said the previous time we discussed the topic, this statement would help Jewish students when navigating antisemitism on campus, and it would show that C9 Senate supports the safety of Jewish students. I stopped my speech. Someone raised their hand and began to speak about their opinions, as they kept going I felt my stomach drop. It felt like I was going down the steepest part of a rollercoaster. The wind was being knocked out of my lungs and I was struggling to get my bearings. What this person said made me lose all my faith I had in the place I thought I would be safest.

The dissenting member speaking claimed the statement was not beneficial to Jewish students, and that it excuses the actions of Israel. Once again, a non-Jewish person was steering the narrative away from the issues of Jewish people’s safety in an attempt (successful) to further their own agenda. What this meeting proved to me was that people were more willing to push their own agendas, instead of showing their solidarity for Jewish people and their safety. Just the small mention of Israel took the conversation off Jewish people and their safety, and made it about a conflict that has nothing to do with IHRA. 

Immediately after, it felt like I was having to defend my existence, instead of trying to openly discuss IHRA. I had no one there to support me. No one should ever have to defend their existence or prove to people that they deserve safety, but that is exactly what I attempted to do. It became a back and forth with non-Jewish people telling me what is and isn’t antisemitic, and me trying to educate people the best I could. This game kept happening until we had to stop to take a final vote. I and two others voted to vote on the statement, and everyone else voted to once again table the issue. We adjourned the meeting, and I immediately broke down. It suddenly occurred to me that tabling the issue meant that I would have to go through this traumatizing experience for a third time. I thought to myself, “how many more times can I put myself out there just to be attacked and questioned?” Why must Jewish people hold the burden of educating people about antisemitism?

After this meeting, I felt extremely defeated. It was March 5th, a Saturday. I was in a meeting with the Leviathan advisor, Susan, and I was telling her about what had happened during the meeting. I was explaining why we wanted this statement, and how this wasn’t the first time I had dealt with this, and then she said she just received an email from the chancellor about graffiti found on campus. I went into my emails and lo and behold, I saw from Chancellor Larive: 

“Dear Campus Community,

Overnight, Crown and Merrill Colleges were defaced with anti-Black, antisemitic, and white-supremacist graffiti. The spray-painted images and words are horrific and have historically been used to inspire terror and to degrade and dehumanize Black and Jewish people”

I stared at the email and felt nothing. I kept scrolling through and said “hey, at least they listed Hillel as a resource for students, we had been pushing for that earlier in the year.” Susan responded, “I’m glad you were able to find something positive from this.” After she said that I began to reflect. Have I really become so desensitized to this that I feel no emotions whatsoever? I and other students have faced so many horrific things that graffiti right in our backdoor feels like nothing. Why must Jewish students constantly face these traumatic situations, when will admin and students take this seriously, and help us fight to end antisemitism?

People are unable to focus on issues that affect Jewish people, specifically the fact that we regularly experience antisemitism. They jump to discussing a conflict that has nothing to do with antisemitism. We are all doing what we can to support and educate people on issues that affect the Jewish community, and unfortunately, we’ve been met with misguided antisemitic attacks. UCSC needs to take the burden off of Jewish people when it comes to education and make comprehensive programs to support Jewish students. 

So UCSC admin, when are we getting a Jewish resource center on campus?