Opinion: Is Cal class on Palestine an exercise in academia or politics?

To the editor: The UC Berkeley student-led class on Palestine, presented “through the lens of settler colonialism,” to me shows why universities have become a joke.

When I was in college, classes were taught by professors, presumably experts in their field. We felt cheated if a teaching assistant grad student was covering.

( “Class on Palestine reinstated,” Sept. 20)

Does anyone really believe that this course is without a political agenda?

If this course really reflects “open-minded curiosity” maybe they would be willing take a week out of the semester to discuss what it is like to live in a city where a suicide-bomber may be at the table next to you in a pizza parlor.

David Goodwin, Los Angeles

::

To the editor: It is encouraging that UC Berkeley has re-instated this class.

Why are pro-Israelis so worried about an open discussion of the state of Israel?

Everyone is entitled to participate because we are a nation predicated on the right of free speech.

Where better to practice that but in an academic environment?

Lillian Laskin, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook