UCLA Anti-Semitism Bill Targets Israel ‘Demonization’

Rachel Beyda stirred controversy when she was questioned about her Jewish faith by fellow UCLA student government members.

By JTA March 11, 2015

The undergraduate student government of UCLA unanimously passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism.

On Tuesday night, the Undergraduate Students Association Council voted 12-0 for the measure after more than 100 students spoke in support of it, The Daily Bruin student newspaper reported.

The resolution calls on the student government to fight anti-Semitism and condemns recent incidents of anti-Semitism on University of California campuses, including the questioning last month of Rachel Beyda, a Jewish member of the UCLA student government, by fellow members about whether she can be impartial because of her religious ties. It also noted swastikas painted on the door of a Jewish fraternity at UC Davis.

Also, the resolution also calls for diversity training for student government members and an end to the demonization of Israel, but leaves room for “appropriate and acceptable criticism of Israel.”

Members of the campus Hillel and Council President Avinoam Baral drafted the resolution, according to the Daily Bruin.

The Jewish Voice for Peace organization in a statement issued after the vote said it was “deeply concerned” that the resolution “further enshrines long-standing political efforts to silence legitimate criticism of the state of Israel by codifying its inclusion in the definition of anti-Semitism.”

Also Tuesday, the student government voted to make the video of the Feb. 10 hearing that included the questioning of Beyda available on YouTube.

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