On Tuesday, Feb. 24, conservative activist David Horowitz ” target=”_blank”>#JewHaters. The posters linked Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a national campus organization, with the terrorist group Hamas.
Horowitz said this was the first major public action for the Los Angeles-based center’s new campaign called “Jew Hatred on Campus.”
The Journal sought comment from UCLA and pro-Israel campus groups nationwide, and from some prominent Jews in Los Angeles, for responses to Horowitz’s action. Here are their statements.
Bruins for Israel:
Bruins for Israel welcomes support from the community in fighting anti-Israel propaganda. We do not, however, condone the actions of David Horowitz, which were grossly counterproductive. We hope that by working in tandem with the community outside of UCLA, we can strengthen, rather than weaken, pro-Israel efforts at UCLA.
J Street U at UCLA:
J Street U at UCLA unequivocally condemns the actions taken by David Horowitz.
The David Horowitz Freedom Center, which coordinated these posters, acted with no consultation from the UCLA Jewish or pro-Israel community. Their actions, and especially Horowitz's statements in a recent interview, lead us to seriously question their commitment to the health of our community.
We are fortunate to have developed a united front against BDS efforts on campus, in coordination with Bruins for Israel and Hillel at UCLA. These actions taken by external organizations undermine our community's work.
Judea Pearl. President, Daniel Pearl Foundation. Professor of computer science and director of UCLA's Cognitive Systems Laboratory.
I wish David Horowitz would have consulted Jewish Facuty at UCLA before using this poster on campus. For the past several years, one of our strongest argument against Israel defamers has been that Israel and Zionism, as identity-forming symbols to thousands of students on campus are entitled to the same respect and protection from abuse as Muslim students claim for their symbols of identity. Unfortunately, this poster now gives the abusers a pretence to victimhood and an excuse to exacting reciprocity.
Michael Berenbaum, professor of Jewish studies and director of the Sigi Ziering Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Ethics at American Jewish University.
I can’t understand Horowitz’s reasoning, I also think that a campus community is a community, and since the Jewish community has been doing a good job on defending itself and protecting each other and standing up for its values, why would an outside agitator come in uninvited and decide that his priorities should be the priorities of that community?
He’s entitled to his opinions, but I am not sure he’s entitled to go into places where he hasn’t been invited and decide that he has the right solution. Does he know anything about UCLA? I wonder.
Feb. 26, 5:15 p.m.: This story has been updated with a statement from Judea Pearl.
