Anti-Semitism in Berkeley- K-12 (Make That K-PhD)

 “Parents have repeatedly reported anti-Semitic incidents to the administration, but BUSD has done nothing to address, much less curtail, the hostile environment that has plagued BUSD for more than four months. Instead of addressing teachers’ anti-Semitic behavior, BUSD officials have chosen to disrupt the Jewish students by moving them into new classes, further ostracizing and marginalizing them from their peers, and normalizing anti-Semitic behavior.”

-Brandeis Center

Things have gotten so bad in Berkeley for Jewish students that the Louis D Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have filed a complaint with the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights against the Berkeley Unified School District for anti-Semitic bullying and harassment of Jewish students since the Hamas terror attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. Reportedly, this harassment comes not only from other students but teachers and staff as well! The press release from the Brandeis Center can be accessed here.

Meanwhile, up the street at UC Berkeley, anti-Jewish intimidation and harassment extends another 4-7 years depending on how far you want to subject yourself to this misery just to get an advanced degree. In just the latest incident, pro-Hamas protesters disrupted yet another pro-Israel speaking event featuring a speaker (veteran) from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Legal Insurrection has the report, which links to a report by the campus paper, The Daily Californian.

Let’s be frank here: Everybody has known that Berkeley is an intellectual cesspool and has been for a number of decades. The city has suffered under poor political leadership while the university has degenerated into a center of indoctrination by the left. Like Harvard, it is considered one of the premier universities in the land, but it is all an illusion. Throw in disruptive pro-Palestinian activism on campus, and things have gone from bad to worse for Jewish students. This latest incident is just an example. Not only was the event shut down, but protesters reportedly fought with police, and windows were broken. What kind of institution is this?

Meanwhile, Chancellor Carol Christ, in true academic fashion, prattles on about how the “values” of the university were violated. I have no idea what those values are, but my question is what she is going to do about it? Will violent protesters be prosecuted? We don’t even know if anyone (who reportedly fought with police and broke windows) was arrested. Will anybody be expelled? We will never know because actions against students are protected by privacy rules.

This city and this university should not receive a single dime in federal funding.