Campus Watch June 22, 2023

El Camino Community College Superintendent Denounces Commencement Speaker Accusing Israel of “Killing and Torturing Palestinians”

El Camino Community College Superintendent Brenda Thames denounced the recent commencement speech from student Jana Abulaban, who accused Israel of “killing and torturing Palestinians.”

The New York Post reported that Thames said in a statement that Abulaban’s speech “was not approved by El Camino College officials and does not reflect the values and views of the school.” Thames also said that Abulaban was only supposed to “introduce another speaker” and that the school has since informed Abulaban that her speech was inappropriate. However, Abulaban told the Post that her advisor approved her speech a couple days before the ceremony and he “backed me up on it.”

Jewish Legal Groups Urge ABA to Investigate CUNY’s Accreditation 

Three Jewish legal groups wrote a June 13 letter to the American Bar Association (ABA) on June 13 urging the organization to investigate if the City University of New York (CUNY) should have their formal accreditation revoked.

The American Association of Jewish Lawyers, National Jewish Advocacy Center and International Legal Forum argued that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) activist Fatima Mousa Mohammed’s May 12 commencement speech “was rife with unadulterated antisemitism” since she  “equated Zionism…) with racism and white supremacy, falsely accused Israel of indiscriminately targeting Palestinians, as well as expressed support for the discriminatory boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and invoked antisemitic tropes about Jewish ‘investors’ and ‘donors.’” The legal groups added that Mohammed’s speech was “loudly applauded by school officials” and that the subsequent condemnation from CUNY was “grossly inadequate.”

Hayward School District Unanimously Approves Another Contract with Liberated Ethnic Studies Group

The Hayward Unified School District unanimously approved another contract with the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium (LESMCC) on June 14, a move that the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs “strongly condemns.”

“The district is continuing to ignore concerns raised by the Jewish community and many others,” StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein said in a statement. “Ethnic studies can help educate about marginalized communities, fight racism, and empower students to build a better future. Unfortunately, LESMCC has done the opposite with statements and content that fuel hatred and division across California and beyond.” 

As previously reported by the Journal, the Hayward school district had approved a contract with the LESMCC in July 2022 as well; in response to criticism from Jewish groups, a spokesperson from the district told the Journal in August 2022 “that the district “strongly and unequivocally condemns all forms of hate, including racism and antisemitism” and that “Jewish Studies and Israeli Studies are not part of the Ethnic Studies discipline. However, that will never preclude those topics from being included in other parts of our students’ curriculum.”

Jewish Teacher Quits, Says School Didn’t Properly Respond to Antisemitic Harassment He Faced from Student

A Jewish teacher resigned from his position at a Massachusetts middle school on June 15, claiming that the school didn’t properly respond to antisemitic harassment he was facing from a student.

Insider reported that the teacher, Morrison Robblee, claimed that he sent a sixth-grade student at Nessacus Regional Middle School in the town of Dalton to detention for mocking the kippah that Robblee was wearing; the student later gave him a drawing that had the words “Sorry Jew” with a drawing of Adolf Hitler standing over a dead body identified as a “Jew.” The student was suspended and removed from the class but continued to harass Robblee in the hall and over email, the teacher claimed. The student is now facing a criminal harassment charge.

Robblee was placed on administrative leave after he made a face to the student in the hall and for talking to other students about the student; Robblee admitted to making the face in response to the student swearing at him, but denied mentioning the student to other students.  

Three Berkeley Law Jewish Students Honored with AJC Award

Three Jewish students at Berkeley Law received an award from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) during the AJC Global Forum in Tel Aviv on June 13.

The Jewish News of Northern California (The J) reported that the award was the AJC Sharon Greene Award for Campus Advocacy for “college-based advocates who combat antisemitism while supporting Jewish life on campus,” according to an AJC press release. The three students who received the award lead the Jewish Law Students Association at Berkeley Law and “led the Jewish student response” to the myriad student groups that passed bylaws banning Zionist speakers to campus.