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Letter to the Editor: Flyers targeting SJP do not represent values of Jewish Bruins

By Arielle Mokhtarzadeh

Oct. 13, 2016 2:00 p.m.

To the members of our UCLA Community,

We, the undersigned, represent a diverse cross-section of Jewish leadership, identities and experiences across this campus.

It has been brought to our attention that on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, the David Horowitz Freedom Center posted flyers around our campus targeting members of Students for Justice in Palestine, UCLA faculty and UCLA administrators. This was not the first time, and unfortunately, there is no way to ensure it will be the last.

While we do not agree with SJP’s agenda, its tactics or its politics, we do not condone the deliberate targeting and attacking of members of our campus community.

Let us be clear that the Freedom Center is a third-party organization and does not reflect our values as Jewish Bruins.

As a people whose history has been punctuated by eras in which we were relentlessly targeted and had our names posted to silence our voices, we condemn this tactic in the highest degree. It is entirely beneath us, beneath our history, beneath our faith and beneath our people.

We remain committed to the values of freedom of speech and academic freedom – so long as these foundations do not provide a pretext for hate speech and/or discrimination.

In an August 2016 article, a Los Angeles Times journalist predicted a “war of words” on campus this year. We, as Jewish Bruins, have no interest in engaging in any war of the sort. Instead, we seek to create a more diverse, more robust, more respectful dialogue on campus about Israelis, Palestinians and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Our Jewish values teach us of the importance of dialoguing across difference – in a manner that is respectful. The bulk of our Jewish law, in fact, is the canonization of decades of Jewish dialogue and debate.

We currently find ourselves in the days following Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This season is meant to serve as an opportunity for intentional introspection and reflection. As we reflect on the year that has passed, we also look forward to the year that is ahead.

May the new year cast a bright light on our lives, our communities and our campus.

Hannah Tudzin, Arielle Mokhtarzadeh, Danny Siegel, Gil Bar-Or, Yael Zoken, Rafi Sands, Leah Moyal, Jonathan Feldman, Tal Boussi, Angelica Krauss, Imanouel Tsimchi, Rachel Sass, Amir Kashfi

 

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Arielle Mokhtarzadeh
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