Opinion: Calling BDS activists ‘Jew haters’ doesn’t help Israelis or Palestinians

To the editor: The appearance of posters financed by casino mogul Sheldon Adelson listing members of the group Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA as “Jew haters” is appalling. (“How a casino tycoon is trying to combat an exploding pro-Palestinian movement on campuses,” Aug. 21)

There is plenty of injustice to protest in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s treatment of Palestinians. Informed debate is impossible when anyone who criticizes Netanyahu’s policies on settlements, the wall and blocked humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip is accused of being a “Jew hater.”

The Palestinians’ side of the story has long been suppressed, and those who try to address issues of injustice receive death threats for exercising their right of free speech and advocating for Palestinians.

The status quo is unbearable for Palestinians and, in the long run, untenable for Israel. Anyone who loves Israel should encourage meaningful discussion and work for a resolution of the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Anne Hormann, Pasadena

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To the editor: This article failed to describe how Jewish students are targeted by the pro-Palestinian BDS (or boycott, sanctions and divestment) movement against Israel.

The Times could have juxtaposed UCLA student Robert Gardner’s experience with that of Rachel Beyda, a Jewish student at the university who was initially rejected from serving on a student government’s judicial board because she supports Israel. It could have also profiled Milan Chatterjee, the former president of the UCLA Graduate Student Assembly who was defamed by Students for Justice in Palestine.

This would have provided the reader with a more balanced perspective. Instead the article painted the Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson as the aggressor. The antisemitic innuendo of the “rich and powerful Jew” cannot be ignored.

Brian Cohen, Beverly Hills

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To the editor: I am a professor of Jewish studies at Loyola Marymount University and teach courses on the politics of Israel and Zionism.

The exchange of ideas about the Middle East conflict on college campuses should be encouraged. I believe that colleges should provide space for this discussion to take place.

However, space is also available for a different kind of discussion. Many scholars and stakeholders are convinced that a two-state solution is in the national interest of both the Palestinians and the Israelis. Therefore, the discussion should be about implementing that solution.

This is a practical, land-based problem that can be solved, and while vitriol has its place, I challenge everyone to take part in the very practical discussion of how we live together. Calling for the destruction ofIsrael is a dead end, and blaming all criticism of Israel on anti-Semitism is a tactic used to avoid addressing real issues.

Michael Davidson, Altadena

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