Presentations of SPME Petition to the
California State University Trustees and the University of California Regents
The Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) Open Letter to the
Governor of California and the Officials of the California State University
and the University of California, was presented to California State
University Board of Trustees on September 20, and to the University of
California Board of Regents on September 21. The presentations reiterated
the statements in the Open Letter that expressed grave concerns about
hostility/intimidation towards Jewish students and/or pro-Israel students
on California public campuses, and repeated our belief as faculty from
California public universities, and as members of SPME, that the hostility
is fueled by anti-Israel/anti-Zionist rhetoric in the classroom and
curricula and at campus events. We asked that the Trustees and Regents
direct faculty on each campus to review course materials, curricula and
invited speakers to ensure that the full range of scholarly views about
Israel and Zionism is presented. In addition, each campus was asked to
develop courses to educate students about contemporary anti-Semitism.
The presentations also reviewed the supporting materials that we had mailed
to the Governor and to each member of the Board of Trustees and Board of
Regents one week prior to the meetings. Each packet contained: 1) a copy
of the SPME Open Letter and a list of the more than 3,000 signatories; 2)
letters in support of the Open Letter from organizations representing a
large and diverse constituency: Jewish, Christian, Arab, academic,
Republican, and Democrat; 3) evidentiary materials documenting the problem
on college campuses in general, and at California public universities in
particular, including testimony from a student at San Jose State
University and UC Santa Cruz; the findings and recommendations of the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights regarding campus anti-Semitism (April, 2006);
the book The Uncivil University (G. A. Tobin, A.K. Weinberg, & J. Ferer,
2005, SF: Institute for Jewish & Community Research), which is a
well-documented examination of the ideology and expression of anti-Semitism
and anti-Israelism on college campuses; and a DVD documentary Tolerating
Intolerance (produced by Stand With Us) highlighting the problem of hate
speech against Jews at California public universities.
The Board of Trustees presentation was made by Leila Beckwith from SPME,
Rabbi Yonah Bookstein from Hillel at the California State University at
Long Beach, and Laura Rheinheimer, a journalism student from San Jose State
University. Rabbi Bookstein spoke of the increasing radicalization of
the campuses, which creates a hostile environment for many students and
interferences with education. Ms. Rheinheimer described her experiences
with two faculty members who brought their anti-Israel bias into the
classroom and became personally hostile to her because of her pro-Israel
stand. One wrote to other faculty that Ms. Rheinheimer was rude and
aggressive, and identified Ms. Rheinheimer as Jewish. The other professor
sent her an intimidating email taunting Ms. Rheinheimer as to her skills as
a journalist. The student’s report aroused the interest of a Board of
Trustee member, who asked if she had informed the administration of the
professors’ behavior. She said that she had, but to no avail.
Professor Beckwith made a similar presentation at the Board of Regents
meeting, which was followed by a brief testimonial by Isaac Traynis, recent
graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Mr. Traynis
described the anti-Israel bias and open hostility towards those expressing
support for Israel, which he said emanated from students, faculty and
administration at UCSC, and which he felt in the classroom, at
university-sponsored campus events and in his role as organizer of a
pro-Israel student group. Mr. Traynis gave as examples: 1) an invited
speaker who praised Hamas suicide bombers and said that Israel had no right
to exist; 2)a professor in a history class who falsified history and
inaccurately stated that in 1948 Israel invaded 5 Arab countries — rather
than the reverse — and would not allow a factual correction from Mr.
Traynis; 3) another professor was observed pulling down flyers on campus
advertising a pro-Israel event sponsored by Mr. Traynis’ student group, and
the students’ attempts to file formal charges against the professor were
foiled twice by the Director of Student Judicial Affairs. As a refugee
from the former Soviet Union, Mr. Traynis stated that he felt the overt
political bias and the stifling of free speech of anyone holding opposing
views were sadly reminiscent of his parents’ experiences at Soviet
universities. Following his presentation, a UC Regent approached Mr.
Traynis and spoke with him at some length.
We feel that our presentations were an important first step in bringing to
the attention of the highest levels of CSU and UC administration that a
university-sanctioned anti-Israel bias creates an environment which many
members of the campus community find threatening, and which compromises the
academic integrity of California’s public universities. We intend to
continue our efforts to ensure that the Trustees and Regents will raise
this issue on the agenda of future meetings, and will establish committees
to investigate independently and address the problem.
Leila Beckwith, professor emeritus in pediatrics, UCLA; lbeckwit@ucla.edu
Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, lecturer in Hebrew, UCSC, tbenjami@ucsc.edu
Ilan Benjamin, professor in chemistry, UCSC, benjamin@chemistry.ucsc.edu
Edward Beck, president of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
