Letter to the Nine Berkeley Law Groups from a CUNY Professor

Berkeley Law Muslim Student Association;
Berkeley Middle Eastern and North African Law Students Association;
Berkeley Womxn of Color Collective;
Berkeley Asian Pacific American Law Students Association;
Berkeley Queer Caucus;
Berkeley Community Defense Project;
Women of Berkeley Law; and
Berkeley Law Students of African Descent,

My name is Professor Jeffrey Lax. I am a Zionist Jew, both by ethnicity and in my religious belief.

I am also a lawyer with expertise and scholarship in discrimination law and with over 20 years of experience teaching various law courses at The City University of New York (CUNY). I am a co-founder of the pro-Zionist advocacy group, Students and Faculty for Equality at CUNY (S.A.F.E. CUNY). I’ve experienced discrimination personally at my campus, where a purportedly progressive group created rules that excluded observant and Zionist Jews from joining and held meetings on Friday nights to ensure that exclusion.

I advocate passionately for all marginalized groups and, in fact, have proudly written in support of many protected classes represented by a number of groups included on this email’s recipient list. For example, I am a lifelong supporter of, and have written in support of, the LGBTQ community (see here and here), of women’s rights (see here and here), and on behalf of other marginalized groups in various fora, including during my on-air consulting work for several cable news networks. I covered the trial of the horrific murder of George Floyd extensively, and mourned with the black community.

To my Muslim cousins, in particular, I’d like to assure you that I firmly and genuinely do believe that Palestinian civilians are victims who deserve far, far better. By absolutely no measure am I anti-Palestinian or Islamophobic. That’s not what my strong sense of Zionism is about. In fact, those bigoted views would conflict with how I define, experience, and practice my Zionism. I’d love to come show you how all of these statements are congruent.

I write here not to complain about the recent bylaw adoption by the 9 groups on this email that excludes Zionist speakers from presenting for your respective organizations. I am reaching out, instead, to request an invitation to your campus and your group to give a talk about why such a bylaw is illegal and discriminatory under American law in all 50 states. I encourage attendants to challenge my assertions and to engage in spirited debate. I ask only two things: First, that you not turn me away or ignore my email due to my ethnicity and religious belief. Second, that all discussion and debate remain peaceful, civil and respectful.

I hope that you will consider inviting me and I look forward to a highly engaged, thoughtful, courteous, and civil discussion.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Lax
Professor

The City University of New York
Co-founder, S.A.F.E. CUNY