Letters to the Editor: Finding the path toward dialogue around Israel’s war in Gaza
To the editor: I am a 36-year-old Jew, and a newly hired civil procedure professor at CUNY School of Law. When I saw Erwin Chemerinsky’s name in the L.A. Times with the headline, “Nothing has prepared me for the antisemitism I see on college campuses now,” I was alarmed — what was Chemerinsky seeing that was so extreme that I had not seen here at CUNY Law? As I read the piece, I was quickly disheartened: It was a provocative headline, followed by an article that mostly equated antisemitism with critiques of Israel and support for Palestinian freedom.
As a Jewish woman, I have experienced the insidious nature of antisemitism. As an attorney, I worked on prisoner rights cases in the South, navigating swastikas and KKK members. As a professor, I am scared by threats of violence on university campuses. But political expression in support of Palestine is simply not the same — and lumping them together is intellectually dishonest and dangerous.
Palestinian freedom is not at odds with Jewish safety. In a national newspaper, Chemerinsky wields his power, as dean of UC Berkeley School of Law, and his platform to label his students and colleagues as antisemitic because it is “not realistic now” to bring “communities together.”
Rising Islamophobia has also increased the harassment of Muslim and Arab students and scholars in academia, which is well-known. Has Chemerinsky considered how his words contribute to a climate of fear on our campuses? Rather than inflame tensions as dean, what can he do to listen to and be in conversation with those who oppose Israel’s policies and actions?
I implore him to lead with dialogue, rather than dangerous labels; conversation, rather than fearmongering headlines; protection for speech, rather than censorship. Perhaps then we can discuss the ongoing loss of lives and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, instead of making meaningful conversation about it in our universities impossible.
Kara Sheli Wallis, Long Island City, N.Y.
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To the editor: I am gravely disappointed by Erwin Chemerinsky’s op-ed. While he has every right to condemn hateful speech, by equating criticism of Zionism with antisemitism, his article will stifle free speech at a premier law school and abroad.
One can criticize fundamentalist Muslim leaders without the fear of being called “Islamophobic,” yet he creates a double standard. Zionism was based on creating a Jewish state in Palestine, an inhabited land. Israel’s problem with violence shouldn’t be limited only to the current regime. It has used violence, apartheid and disenfranchisement as tools to suppress millions of Palestinians. In fact, many Holocaust survivors, former Israel Defense Forces soldiers, genocide scholars and even rabbis are critical of Zionism. We’ve seen them at the recent Jewish Voice for Peace protests.
It is even more disappointing that Chemerinsky has been lauded as a premier civil rights expert. I have attended his talks at law school and purchased his well-researched books on the history of the Supreme Court. I will no longer support any academic who espouses racism towards Arabs or Islamophobia or refuses to research and learn the violent history of Zionism.
Alice Sarkisian, Los Angeles
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To the editor: To the Israeli powers that be: I agree that the bloody actions of Hamas on Oct. 7 were totally wrong; an unprovoked war crime. However, that does not sanction Israel to commit murder on the Gaza population. Your actions appear to include war crimes too. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
I believe Israel’s leaders need to focus on the highest levels of rogue influence: The leaders of Qatar, Egypt and especially, Iran. Any nation supporting Hamas must be called to answer for this. Forceful negotiations at the bargaining table will be the only way to de-escalate the murders from both sides.
Greg Golden, Van Nuys
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To the editor: My heart certainly goes out to decent people in Gaza. No one should have to endure what they are going through. The article (“Gaza techies were dreamers and builders. After Israel’s bombs, their stories shatter my heart,” Oct. 7) does not mention one thing about Hamas’ attack on Israel or Hamas using civilians for human shields. Clearly, Hamas does not care about civilians in Gaza. The current recipe of a terrorist group attacking Israel, then Israel answering with a tenfold retaliation will never create peace in the region. Somehow, we need to change the channel in the Middle East, but unfortunately, I don’t see that in the near future.
Matthew D. Kerster, Gardena
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To the editor: The humanistic philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism states that all life is precious. It is tragic that the Palestinian people suffer under the control of terrorists. Hezbollah and Hamas have committed barbaric crimes and murdered thousands. There is no hierarchy in victims of violence. Do you remember Daniel Pearl, a journalist of the Jewish faith, who was decapitated in Pakistan? He committed no crime but was murdered by those who have no humanity. We must work together for peace.
Roslyn Wolin, Westlake Village
