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On 3/4/15 3:54 PM, MM via Marxism wrote:
I’ve never had any affiliation with any of the groups mentioned, but I actually
think we*should* walk on eggshells when language is involved that plays even
unconsciously into anti-Semitic caricatures - but I believe this more for tactical
reasons than moral ones. That isn’t to deny for a moment that willful
anti-Semitism is repugnant, but even perfectly fair and desparately necessary
criticisms of the state of Israel, or of individual Zionists or Zionist
organisations, are constantly spun by Zionists as anti-Semitic - and I think we
should be absolutely vigilant in avoiding and distancing ourselves from language
that makes that easy for them to do, precisely in order to protect the space for
the enormous amount of criticism that needs to be made, as part of a broader
campaign of opposition and resistance. >From our previous exchange, and from
your description of the piece you’re writing, my sense is that you may disagree
with my approach on this issue. I hope you’ll at lea
st allow
that it may be a reasonable and considered one.
This is an important point. Our movement is trying to persuade young
people, especially Jews, to turn against Zionism so any blunder, if one
that is innocent in character, can be used by our enemies against us.
I was reminded of this from a recent incident at UCLA where a member of
Hillel was asked about her qualifications as Inside Higher Education
reported:
A University of California at Los Angeles student was nearly denied a
position on the student government’s judicial board last month after
student representatives questioned whether her ties to the Jewish
community were a conflict of interest.
The sophomore candidate, Rachel Beyda, originally failed to win the
majority of votes she needed to serve. She was later unanimously
approved for the position, after a faculty member intervened. The votes
came after an interview with the student, in which she was asked, “Given
that you’re a Jewish student and very active in the Jewish community,
how do you see yourself being able to maintain an unbiased view?”
Critics have said that they are stunned that being Jewish and active in
the Jewish community could be cited as a reason to reject a candidate
for a student government position.
full:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/03/03/ucla-student-government-questions-judicial-board-nominee-being-jewish
Instead, she should have been asked whether her membership in Hillel
might be a problem, especially in light of this:
Campus Hillels across the country have distanced themselves from their
University of California, Los Angeles affiliate following revelations
that UCLA Hillel acted as a pass-through for political donations to
pro-Israel student government candidates.
Hillel International, the campus centers’ parent body, nevertheless
strongly supports the donations, which UCLA’s student newspaper revealed
recently.
The donations, which came to light in early July, when The Daily
Californian obtained several personal emails disclosing them, have
raised concern in some quarters about Hillel venturing into student
government politics as a partisan player.
“I couldn’t remotely even think about getting involved in that,” said
Rabbi Leah Cohen, executive director of the Hillel at Yale University,
referring to the type of actions UCLA Hillel undertook.
Originally, the money in question came to UCLA Hillel as a single $1,000
donation from Los Angeles-based real estate mogul Adam Milstein, a
prominent pro-Israel activist. The emails obtained by the Daily
Californian showed that Milstein asked UCLA Hillel to direct his money
to “UCLA Student Government Leaders.” Milstein wrote that he wanted the
contribution to be used to help pro-Israel student candidates “prevail
vs. some anti-Israel, pro-BDS students” competing for the same seats.
“BDS” is an acronym for the movement to boycott, divest from and
sanction Israel to protest its occupation of the West Bank and policies
toward the Palestinians.
full:
http://forward.com/articles/202616/why-did-ucla-hillel-funnel-cash-from-pro-israel-do/
The question to Beyda might have been poorly formulated but they were on
the right track.
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