Berkeley Law Professor Condemns Own Students for Anti-Semitism and Discrimination
Steven Davidoff Solomon, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has publicly criticized some of his own students for their anti-Semitic beliefs regarding the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “Don’t Hire My Law Students,” Solomon drew attention to the prevalence of anti-Semitic conduct on college campuses, including at Berkeley. The law professor began by stating that his students are “largely engaged and well-prepared” and are regularly recommended by him to legal employers. However, Solomon went on to explain that some of his students preach anti-Semitic rhetoric and should not be considered for legal positions.
“If you don’t want to hire people who advocate hate and practice discrimination, don’t hire some of my students,” Solomon wrote in the Wall Street Journal op-ed. “Anti-Semitic conduct is nothing new on university campuses, including here at Berkeley.”
Solomon has also condemned the student group, “Berkley’s Law Students for Justice in Palestine,” after the group asked other student groups on campus to adopt a bylaw that would ban supporters of Israel from speaking at events. Last year, the group’s efforts to ban speakers who support Israel prompted Berkeley’s School of Law Dean to defend the First Amendment and criticize the student groups attempting to stifle it.
“The bylaw caused an uproar,” Solomon wrote. “It was rightly criticized for creating ‘Jew-free’ zones. Our dean—a diehard liberal—admirably condemned it but said free-speech principles tied his hands. The campus groups had the legal right to pick or exclude speakers based on their views. The bylaw remains, and 11 other groups subsequently adopted it.”
The controversy around the Israel-Palestine conflict has ignited intense debates on college campuses. Harvard, for example, came under scrutiny after more than 30 student organizations at the university signed a letter condemning Israel, calling it an “apartheid regime” and stating that only Israel is to blame for the atrocities currently unfolding by Palestinian terror groups. Following this incident, multiple Israeli donors from Harvard University’s board resigned, calling the President’s handling of this letter “insensitive.”
