The SPME Board of Directors announced recently that Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, University of California at Santa Cruz Lecturer in Hebrew and Jewish Studies Program has been named to the board.
Her teaching and interests include modern and biblical Hebrew, the Hebrew Bible, and contemporary global anti-Semitism, especially as it manifests itself on college campuses and in academia. Along with her husband, Ilan Benjamin, a Professor of Chemistry also at UCSC, she has formed the the SPME UCSC Chapter and was a founding member of the Northern California Regional Coalition of SPME Chapters.
In naming Ms. Benjamin to the Board, President-Emeritus Ed Beck commented, “Ms. Benjamin’s energy and talent for elevating the Israel narrative as well as addressing issues of anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism on campus was well know even before she became involved in SPME…Her efforts and accomplishments have empowered many other California faculty members and her publications on these subjects have been appreciated throughout the world…we were delighted when she affiliated with us…we were delighted when she and Ilan formed a chapter and we were delighted when she consented to join the board….”
In accepting the position Ms. Benjamin shared her throughts and aspirations,
” In response to the rising incidence of anti-Israelism and anti-Zionism in classrooms and at departmentally-sponsored events at UCSC and on other California campuses, in 2004 my husband Ilan and I established at UCSC the first California chapter of SPME. Since then, our group has sought to document faculty complicity in fostering anti-Israel sentiment at UCSC and on other California public university campuses, as well as to address the problem from within and outside of the university governance structure.
“Our earlier efforts within the university focused on influencing the highest levels of UC
leadership, both administrative and faculty. In September 2006, we presented an open letter with more than 3,000 signatories to the UC Regents, asking them to address the growing problem of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism on UC campuses, and in January 2007 we met with the head of the UC Academic Senate to discuss the problem and how the UC Academic Senate could address it.
“When neither meeting yielded significant results, we decided to shift our focus to our own campus and to adopt a two-pronged strategy for addressing the problem: We have presented evidence to the UCSC Academic Senate suggesting that anti-Israel bias and advocacy in classrooms and at departmentally-sponsored events corrupt the academic mission of the university, and we have argued that it is the responsibility of this faculty body to address the problem. We have also presented evidence to the university administration that anti-Israel advocacy and activism in classrooms and at departmentally-sponsored events is a violation of both university policy and state law, and we have reminded administrators that they are responsible for addressing these violations.
“Outside of the university, our group has endeavored to constrain the university-sponsored
anti-Israel bias and advocacy through public exposure: we have published articles in the local and state press, in on-line periodicals and in a recent book about academic anti-Israelism; organized a speaker series about anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism which has brought more than a dozen distinguished scholars to UCSC; given public lectures; participated in radio and television interviews; created a website; and been involved in a documentary.
“As an SPME board member representing the Northern California Regional Coalition, I will endeavor to help the national board understand the unique challenges that we face on campuses in our region and in the state, and to keep the board apprised of our on-going efforts to address these challenges. At the same time, I will bring the issues and concerns of the national board to the attention of the members of the regional coalition, so that we can work together in the most effective ways.”
