CAMPUS ISSUES: The Jewish Student Union should admit J Street U to its membership, despite legitimate concerns raised by the union.
Once
again, individuals within and without the UC Berkeley Jewish community
are struggling to understand the Jewish Student Union’s vote to deny
membership to the student group J Street U at Berkeley. While leaders of
the union have offered some compelling justification for the decision,
the union — and the student body at large — would greatly benefit by
including J Street U.
For the second
time in as many years, J Street U unsuccessfully applied to join the
union, which acts as an umbrella organization for Jewish student groups
on campus. This time around, defenses of J Street’s rejection have
largely rested on the grounds that the progressive campus group aligns
itself with another organization composed of Israeli military veterans
who speak out critically about their experiences. That group, Breaking
the Silence, understandably makes some students uncomfortable, but it is
not a sufficient reason to exclude J Street U from the union.
After
discussions with union leaders Daphna Torbati and Ariel Prince, as well
as campus J Street U leader Elon Rov, it became clear, in the opinion of
this board, that there should be a place for J Street within the union.
According to copies of the union’s bylaws and Israel-related policy
provided by Torbati, part of the union’s purpose is to look for ways of
improving the Jewish experience on campus, and it also strives to
provide a safe space where students can express “a wide spectrum of
views regarding their relationships with Israel.”
Admitting the
campus J Street U chapter would directly serve both of those goals: It
would improve their community’s experience by making the union more
inclusive. It could also go a long way toward attracting a more diverse
set of students to the union. At least some Jewish students within the
larger campus community who are not currently part of the union might
become more involved were a group like J Street U one of its members.
Still, the
union’s reservations are valid. Many students affiliated with the union
do not support the political agenda advanced by the campus J Street U,
specifically reflected by its association with Breaking the Silence. And
policy the union follows clearly states that it must not support
speakers who promote views inconsistent with its underlying principle of
strong support for Israel. While that principle could be interpreted to
apply against J Street U in this instance, it can also be interpreted
differently. There are multiple methods of expressing support for
Israel, and the union should do its best to encompass all such
perspectives, even if they are highly critical.
Torbati and
Prince indicated in their discussion with this board that J Street U
would be more likely to gain entry into the union if the group also
brought speakers to campus who provided a more supportive perspective on
the Israeli military. Although Rov said J Street U expressed support
for a speaker series like that at the meeting where the union considered
J Street U’s membership, more concrete proposals need to be pursued
moving forward. Perhaps if J Street U and the union collaborated on a
diverse speaker series that included Breaking the Silence and groups
with opposing viewpoints, it could be a first step toward working
through some of the specific problems that arose this semester.
As others have
said with regard to this issue, there is not one way to be pro-Israel.
But there is only one path toward a more inclusive and representative
Jewish Student Union: full inclusion of J Street U.
Editor’s Note:
Opinion page editor Noah Kulwin recused himself from this editorial
because he is the West Coast representative to the J Street U national
student board.
Comments: Posted to continue the debate-your thoughts?
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