Santa Monica College’s (SMC) student government, Associated Students (AS), unanimously passed a resolution on May 4 condemning anti-Semitism.
The resolution, which was obtained by the Journal, acknowledges that anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide and that Jews are being scapegoated for the COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution also acknowledges that the AS will not infringe upon students’ First Amendment rights and calls for SMC to include anti-Semitism in its anti-bias training for students, faculty and administrators
“The A.S. does not tolerate anti-Semitic harassment or discrimination, including on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnicity, religion, race, national origin, or cultural identity,” the resolution states, adding that “the A.S. advocates for SMC’s commitment to publicly denounce any incidents of anti-Semitism that occur and affect the SMC community.”
AS Secretary Nathan Silberberg, who is in his final year at SMC, sponsored the resolution. He told the Journal in a phone interview that he felt like the resolution was necessary because of various anti-Semitic incidents happening on campus and on social media.
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) “got into a lot of verbal altercations with a lot of Jewish students just based on the fact that we’re Jewish and a lot of us are Zionistic,” Silberberg said.
In 2019, Silberberg said that he was part of a group of Jewish students that brought their concerns about anti-Semitism to SMC’s Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees acknowledged their concerns but didn’t have an answer on what to do about it, according to Silberberg.
“So that got me thinking, what can I do as student government?” Silberberg said.
He worked with the Brandeis Center on the resolution; the resolution initially used the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which states that the demonization and delegitimization of Israel constitutes as anti-Semitism. The initial draft of the resolution also drew a link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. However, the IHRA definition and any mention of Israel and Zionism had to be removed in order for the AS to pass the resolution.
Silberberg and the Brandeis Center decided to revise the resolution to include wording condemning anti-Semitic harassment based on ethnicity, ancestry and cultural origin.
“That’s giving a reference to Title VI laws based off harassment and discrimination, which the school already has in their school code,” Silberberg said. “So this was the best way the Brandeis Center and I thought it would be to get this resolution passed.”
He added that SJP and its lawyers said they were glad that any mention of Israel and Zionism was scrubbed from the resolution so it could be “apolitical,” which left a bad taste in Silberberg’s mouth.
“At the same time, I knew I needed to protect Jewish students somehow,” Silberberg said.
The resolution does expire on July 31, when Silberberg’s term ends, but Silberberg hopes that it can serve as a guide for future Jewish leaders on campus. He also hopes that the resolution will result in SMC administrators calling out anti-Semitism more often.
“I’m so grateful that I was able to do this because it wasn’t easy,” Silberberg said. “It’s not easy to be the person to stand up and speak. I used to be fearful of public speaking, but this was one of the happiest days of my life.”
UPDATE: A spokesperson for SMC said in a statement to the Journal, “Santa Monica College’s current in-person bias trainings address religious discrimination—which is a form of unlawful discrimination—and the college takes a very strong stance against unlawful discrimination and unlawful harassment; this can include anti-Semitism.”
The spokesperson added that “the SMC Board of Trustees, on May 5, passed the “Resolution To Reaffirm Santa Monica Community College District’s Commitment To Provide A Safe Environment For All Students And Personnel” (smc.edu/BOT). In addition, the #NoHateSMC campaign was launched March 24 in response to current events, including anti-Semitic incidents. ”
The spokesperson also pointed the Journal to the following video:
