In recent weeks, controversy surrounding Israel and Palestine once again roiled UCLA’s campus. This time, the catalyst was a talk by Noura Erakat, a professor at Rutgers University, on the theme of “Revisiting Zionism as a Form of Racism and Racial Discrimination.” Campus critics of the event argued that it lacked balance and contributed to a feeling of unsafety for many Jews on campus.

Since Oct. 7, our campus – like so many across the country – has been the site of intense and often tense discourse and action. The divide between those who support the cause of Palestinian liberation and those who support Israel’s right to exist has deepened more than at any point in my 32 years at UCLA, creating a seemingly unbridgeable gulf between the two sides.

This post was updated Oct. 16 at 1:50 p.m.
Our campus has been riven by sharply opposing perspectives on the unfolding disaster in Israel-Palestine. Recent gatherings by supporters of Israel and supporters of Palestinian liberation point to a chasm that will only widen and become ever more combustible.