{"id":2062087,"date":"2023-10-10T14:07:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T18:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anti-israel-berkeley-group-says-israel-is-playing-victim\/"},"modified":"2023-10-10T14:10:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T18:10:08","slug":"anti-israel-berkeley-group-says-israel-is-playing-victim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anti-israel-berkeley-group-says-israel-is-playing-victim\/","title":{"rendered":"Berkeley group claims Israel feigns victimhood."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fanti-israel-berkeley-group-says-israel-is-playing-victim%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2062087&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>An Anti-Israel Campus Group at U.C. Berkeley Supports \u200bHamas and Challenges Israel&#8217;s Victim Narrative<\/h2>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>An anti-Israel campus group at U.C. Berkeley is rallying around \u200dHamas and claiming \u200cIsrael is \u200dplaying &#8220;victim&#8221; after the terror \u200cgroup\u2019s weekend \u2063attacks on Israeli civilians.<\/p>\n<p>Bears\u200c for Palestine, \u200bthe founding chapter \u200bof Students for Justice in Palestine, praised Hamas&#8217;s attacks, which led to the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, as &#8220;resistance&#8221; in a letter dated Saturday and posted to its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bearsforpalestine\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram account<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We invariably reject Israel\u2019s framing as a victim,&#8221; the \u200cBears for Palestine association wrote in\u2064 a letter dated Saturday.\u2064 &#8220;Whereas to demonize and \u200bcondemn indigenous resistance is to overshadow the decades of oppression, \u2062ethnic cleansing, and\u2063 destruction of the Palestinian people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The letter is just \u200bone example \u2062of how\u200c the Students for\u200c Justice in Palestine are leveraging the\u200b terrorist attacks to \u200cspark anti-Israel fervor on \u2064campus. At least 900 Israelis were killed and nearly 2,400 wounded in \u200dthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/israel-news\/2023-10-09\/ty-article-live\/at-least-700-israelis-killed-2-000-wounded-over-130-held-hostage-in-gaza\/0000018b-1298-d2fc-a59f-d3990eb50000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shock attack<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s also not the first time \u200canti-Semitism has hit U.C. Berkeley. Last year the Department of Education \u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/campus\/complaint-alleges-profound-and-deep-seated-anti-semitic-discrimination-at-berkeley-law-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">launched<\/a> a federal investigation into the\u2064 university&#8217;s law school for creating a hostile environment for\u200b Jewish students through &#8220;profound and deep-seated \u2063anti-Semitic \u2062discrimination.&#8221; Earlier this year, \u2062the campus \u200dwas <a href=\"https:\/\/jweekly.com\/2023\/01\/26\/no-jew-go-away-scrawled-on-door-at-uc-berkeley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">defaced<\/a> with graffiti \u2062saying &#8220;No \u2063Jew Go Away.&#8221; And in February, the\u200d student governing body <a href=\"https:\/\/jweekly.com\/2023\/02\/16\/berkeley-student-senate-sinks-ihra-antisemitism-measure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">killed<\/a> a resolution \u2062to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition \u200cof anti-Semitism.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, last August the Students for Justice in Palestine at Berkeley Law School <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/leading-us-jewish-groups-blast-berkeley-law-school-amid-anti-zionism-uproar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">led<\/a> other student associations in banning pro-Israel speakers \u200band &#8220;divesting all funds from institutions\u2063 and\u2062 companies complicit in the occupation\u2063 of Palestine.&#8221; The group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Chh_43tpLnm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">urged<\/a> all student\u200c organizations in the law school to\u200b &#8220;take\u2062 an anti-racist \u2063and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anti-israel-berkeley-group-says-israel-is-playing-victim\/\" title=\"Berkeley group claims Israel feigns victimhood.\">anti-settler colonial stand<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Berkeley&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michelle-obama-bringing-becoming-tour-to-college-students-with-black-ish-star-yara-shahidi\/\" title=\"Michelle Obama Bringing 'Becoming' Tour to College Students with 'Black-ish' Star Yara Shahidi\">assistant vice chancellor<\/a> \u2063for communications Dan Mogulof did not comment on the \u2062Bears\u200b for Palestine statement, \u2063but said university officials &#8220;are working and meeting with Jewish students and other members of \u2064the \u2064campus&#8217;s\u200c Jewish community to provide support and information.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Berkeley has not \u2063issued a\u2063 statement on \u200cthe attacks. Mogulof directed the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> to the University\u200b of California president&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.universityofcalifornia.edu\/press-room\/university-california-statement-mideast-violence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.universityofcalifornia.edu\/press-room\/university-california-statement-mideast-violence&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1697041766204000&#038;usg=AOvVaw2UsgNm55dZStadfWuoiBX-\">statement<\/a> condemning the violence.<\/p>\n<p>Students for Justice in Palestine, or SJP, is\u200b an international campus \u2063organization that got its start at Berkeley, where its founder Hatem Bazian \u200bteaches. Bazian also launched its sponsor group, American Muslims \u200bfor \u200dPalestine\u2014a leader in the anti-Israel Boycott, Sanctions, \u200bDivestment movement.<\/p>\n<p>The anti-Israel campus organizing\u200c comes as similar groups across the country have done the\u200c same. Columbia \u2064University Law School&#8217;s dean <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/campus\/columbia-law-school-dean-gives-both-sides-treatment-to-hamass-terrorist-rampage-in-israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whitewashed<\/a> \u200b the terrorist killers, while a Harvard University dean and 33 student groups have <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/harvard-dean-33-student-groups-blame-israel-for-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blamed<\/a> Israel for \u2062the war sparked by the attacks.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, U.C. Santa Barbara\u2019s chapter, which describes itself as occupying &#8220;stolen Chumash\u2064 land,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ucsbsjp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">held <\/a>an &#8220;emergency&#8221; rally. U.C. Los Angeles\u2019\u200c SJP chapter is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sjpatucla\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">planning<\/a> an &#8220;Emergency Teach-In \u200bon the Crisis in Palestine&#8221; on Wednesday, convened\u2062 by professors of English \u2064and Gender Studies.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile \u2062the national SJP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CyHNxvsvOu_\/?hl=en&#038;img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">heralded<\/a> Hamas\u2019 attack as a &#8220;historic win for \u200dthe Palestinian resistance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;[A]cross land, air, and sea, our people have broken down the artificial barriers of the Zionist entity, taking with it the facade\u2062 of an \u2064impenetrable settler colony and reminding each of us that total return and liberation to Palestine is \u2062near,&#8221; \u200bthe group stated in an \u200dInstagram post.<\/p>\n<p>SJP\u2019s\u2062 sponsor group American Muslims for Palestine has \u2062links to Hamas\u200c through \u200csome of its\u2062 board members who, according to 2016 <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.house.gov\/meetings\/FA\/FA18\/20160419\/104817\/HHRG-114-FA18-Wstate-SchanzerJ-20160419.pdf?utm_source=deployer&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=press+release&#038;utm_content=20201204224426\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">congressional testimony<\/a>, came from an organization shuttered by the\u200c U.S. government\u200c for financing the terror group. Bazian likewise has a history of \u2064defending Hamas, according to\u2062 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adl.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/assets\/pdf\/israel-international\/american-muslims-for-palestine-2013-03-29-v1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anti-Defamation League<\/a>, and was \u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycal.org\/2017\/12\/05\/uc-berkeley-hold-hatem-bazian-accountable-anti-semitic-discourse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">forced to apologize<\/a> by U.C. Berkeley administrators for anti-Semitic social media posts.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> In \u2062what ways has the SJP at Berkeley Law School \u200ddemonstrated their anti-Israel stance \u2062and\u2062 efforts to promote it<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Berkeley&#8217;s anti-Israel campus\u200c group, Bears for Palestine, has expressed\u2062 support\u200d for Hamas and challenged Israel&#8217;s\u200c victim narrative following the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/at-least-11-american-deaths-reported-in-hamas-strikes-on-israel\/\" title=\"Hamas' attacks on Israel result in 11 American fatalities.\">recent \u200dterrorist attacks<\/a> in Israel. The group, \u2062which is\u2062 the founding chapter \u200bof Students for Justice in\u2064 Palestine \u200d(SJP), hailed Hamas&#8217;s attacks as &#8220;resistance&#8221; in a letter posted on their Instagram account. They rejected Israel&#8217;s portrayal as \u2062a victim and highlighted \u2063the decades of oppression, ethnic cleansing, and destruction of the Palestinian people. \u200dThis incident is just one\u2064 example \u2062of \u200chow SJP\u200d is using the terror attacks to fuel anti-Israel sentiments on campus.<\/p>\n<p>The attacks carried out by Hamas resulted in the\u2062 deadliest day \u200cfor Jews since the\u200d Holocaust, with at least 900 Israelis killed and nearly 2,400 \u2062wounded. Unfortunately, this is not the first time\u2064 that anti-Semitism\u2064 has plagued U.C. Berkeley. The \u2063university&#8217;s law school, for instance, was subject to a federal\u200b investigation by the Department of Education for fostering a\u2062 hostile environment for Jewish students due to anti-Semitic discrimination. Additionally, the campus has experienced\u2064 incidents of defacement with graffiti saying &#8220;No Jew Go Away,&#8221; and the student governing body rejected\u2062 a resolution to adopt the International Holocaust\u2064 Remembrance Alliance \u2062definition of anti-Semitism.<\/p>\n<p>Last August,\u2063 the\u2062 SJP at\u200b Berkeley Law School played a leading role in\u2062 banning pro-Israel speakers and divesting all\u2063 funds from institutions and companies involved in the occupation of Palestine. The group urged \u2064all student organizations in the law school to take an anti-racist and anti-settler colonial stand. These actions further illustrate the campus group&#8217;s anti-Israel stance and the extent of their efforts \u200bto promote it.<\/p>\n<p>Berkeley&#8217;s assistant\u200c vice chancellor for\u200c communications, Dan Mogulof,\u2064 did not comment specifically\u2062 on the Bears for Palestine statement, but assured that university officials \u200care working with\u2062 Jewish students and the campus Jewish\u200d community to provide support and information. However, the university has not issued an \u2063official statement regarding \u200cthe attacks,\u2062 instead referring \u2063to the University of California president&#8217;s statement condemning \u2062the violence.<\/p>\n<p>SJP, an international campus organization, was founded at Berkeley by Hatem\u2063 Bazian, \u2063who also established American Muslims for Palestine, a sponsor group and\u2063 leader\u2063 in the anti-Israel Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment (BDS) movement. This \u200canti-Israel sentiment is not limited to\u2062 Berkeley, as similar groups at Columbia University Law\u2064 School \u200band Harvard University have\u2063 also shown \u2062support for Hamas\u2063 and\u2064 blamed\u200b Israel for\u200c the war sparked by the\u2062 attacks.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, the \u200danti-Israel campus group at U.C. Berkeley,\u200d Bears for Palestine, has publicly supported Hamas \u200band challenged Israel&#8217;s victim narrative following the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-reject-measure-to-provide-funds-for-israels-iron-dome-block-attempts-to-sanction-hamas-reports\/\" title=\"Democrats Reject Measure To Provide Funds For Israel\u2019s Iron Dome, Block Attempts To Sanction Hamas: Reports\">recent terrorist attacks<\/a>. This\u200b incident highlights the ongoing issue of anti-Semitism at U.C. Berkeley \u2062and the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A U.C. Berkeley campus group, Bears for Palestine, supports Hamas and accuses Israel of feigning victimhood following the terror group&#8217;s recent attacks on Israeli civilians. The group, a founding chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, commends Hamas&#8217;s actions as &#8220;resistance,&#8221; despite it being the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1604,"featured_media":2062088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2062087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1604"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2062087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2062088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2062087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2062087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2062087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}