Opinion: The State Department defines anti-Semitism for other countries; the U.S. should do the same for its own colleges

To the editor: Lawyer Liz Jackson attacks the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act. I co-sponsored this bipartisan legislation, along with Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), to protect Jewish college students from discrimination. (“The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act would damage free speech rights on campus,” Opinion, Dec. 6)

The Obama administration has ruled that Title IV of the Civil Rights Act protects Jewish students from anti-Semitic discrimination. However, if anti-Semitism is undefined, that portion of the Civil Rights Act is rendered meaningless.

The State Department has issued a definition of anti-Semitism it uses to evaluate the human rights records of other countries. It would be hypocritical if we failed to use the same definition domestically.

The State Department definition makes it clear that a statement is not anti-Semitic merely because it harshly criticizes the government of Israel. In contrast, opponents of the definition frequently make statements defending the killing of Jews as an appropriate response to Israeli government actions. Others call for the liquidation of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of the Middle East of virtually all Jews.

These statements are classified as anti-Semitic under the State Department definition, as they should be.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks)

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To the editor: The ancient Hebrews included in the sacred texts of the Bible stinging criticisms of the leaders of Israel by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Micah, who spoke against the social and economic injustices of the time.

Were they “anti-Semitic”?

The state of Israel, like any other country, is accountable for the treatment of its people. Palestinians cannot be silenced by falsely labeling their struggle for survival as anti-Semitism.

Doris Isolini Nelson, Los Angeles

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To the editor: As a supporter of the two-state solution myself, I feel that what Jackson fails to understand is how the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel all too frequently plays out on college campuses in the form of anti-Semitic speech and incidents. It’s one thing to encourage a different approach by Israel’s democratically elected leaders; it’s altogether different to demonstrate against the entirety of existence of said country.

While relatively more mild in scope, one recent alarming anti-Semitic incident took place at UCLA in March 2015. There, a student seeking confirmation to a student government post was asked, “Given that you are a Jewish student and very active in the Jewish community, how do you see yourself being able to maintain an unbiased view?”

Delegitimizing is wrong. Demonizing is wrong. Disagreeing is OK.

David Alpern, Long Beach

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