Support Free Speech at UCSC

A recent letter from 22 Jewish alumni to UCSC Chancellor Blumenthal calls for cancelling an upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation talk by Angela Davis.

The group lambasts Davis as a critic of Israel, calls her anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic, claims she demonizes “the Jewish state,” and her talk is “deeply offensive” to them. Further, they don’t feel welcome at this event (which questions their assumptions?), and their feelings are hurt (because the talk is “deeply insensitive to them”).

Ironically a news report of a new film indicates such dissent is acceptable in Israel because, a military leader says, “it’s representative of a vibrant democracy, where everything can be and is openly discussed.”

The film examines the 1967 war in which Israel confiscated the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. In the film, Israeli veterans reveal they were told to “show no mercy,” and just kill everyone. These Israeli kibbutz veterans question the reasons for the war and its aftermath.

One veteran observed the war would only create a more serious and profound hatred towards Israel. Not only would the war not solve the nation’s problems, it would complicate any solution and set Israel up as a conqueror. Another warned that if Israel didn’t immediately work for peace and return the conquered territories, there would be continual strife. They both claim their voices were swamped by Zionist propaganda but their predictions held true.

Another illustration of the freedom to debate Israeli policies in Israel involves 43 veterans of an elite secret military unit who refuse to take any actions against Palestinians for moral reasons. They claim their work hurts innocent people, is simple political persecution and makes resolution of the conflict more difficult. Rather than throw them in jail, the military discharged them. Why can’t Americans debate Israeli support without being called anti-Semitic?

There are reasons why people oppose Israeli policies that need public debate because the U.S. remains the key supporter of Israel. Not only did the U.S. provide nuclear-tipped, armor-piercing shells, which allowed Israel a quick victory in the 1967 war, but the U.S. also gave Israel almost $8 billion in loan guarantees and $234 billion in foreign aid since 1949. Today the U.S. provides almost $9 million a day in military aid to Israel.

The Washington Report on Middle Eastern Affairs estimates that larger costs of supporting Israel, including regional aid, trade preferences, and loan guarantees, tops $3 trillion. That’s four times more than the Vietnam War cost the U.S.

On the political front, the U.S. stymied 79 U.N. Security Resolutions critical of Israel, including a 1947 resolution recommending the partition of Palestine. The U.S. also propped up dictatorships in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, lavished military aid on Middle Eastern countries, and invaded Iraq to protect Israel. Some claim that an American president cannot be elected without whole-heartedly supporting Israel.

Other countries are critical of Israel for a number of reasons. Subject to U.N. resolutions for violating human rights, Israel is condemned for land confiscations, the destruction of over 30,000 houses, restrictions on Palestinian movement, and assassinations of Palestinian officials. Gaza experiences constant bombing by Israeli jets, which killed thousands of civilians. Additionally, Israel occupies 262 Jewish-only colonies that house 500,000 people on Palestinian land, and maintains a 425-mile-long barrier to isolate Palestinians. Despite such policies, any attempt to limit Israeli support or actions is met with anger from Israeli supporters in the U.S.

At the same time, the position of the Jewish UCSC alumni is understandable. The recent death of Bess Myerson reminds us that until recently Jews were discriminated against. Selected as Miss America in 1945, the talented and beautiful Myerson was the first and only Jewish contestant chosen. Unfortunately major corporations would not give her endorsements because she was Jewish, and a number of hotels and country clubs that normally hosted Miss America bared her because of her ethnicity.

Despite past wrongs, questioning U.S. policy is important because most Americans simply do not understand the extent of U.S. support for Israel, nor do they understand the enmity of Middle Eastern countries elicited by U.S. policies. Such questions do not lead to anti-Semitism and UCSC can benefit from opinions at odds with a handful of Jewish alumni who support Israel.

UCSC has a reputation for supporting free speech and addressing many unpopular issues. Let’s hope that tradition survives and UCSC stands up to these critics.