Community Statement in Support of Jewish Students, Faculty and Staff at UC San Diego

Written by Hillel of San Diego, AJC San Diego, ADL San Diego, the Lawrence Family JCC, and Jewish Federation of San Diego.

Last Updated: June 5, 2024, 5:15 p.m.

"We are appalled by the 'UCSD’s complicity walking tour' hosted by several organizations targeting UCSD labs that 'get money from Zionists.' This demonstration is clearly meant to intimidate and harass Jewish students, faculty, and staff and further create a climate of hostility on campus.

Tied to the strike by graduate assistants (UAW Local 4811), this hate is an extension of the antisemitic Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement, the goal of which is to demonize Israel, undermine its existence, and ultimately seek the elimination of the only Jewish state. All of this furthers a culture on campus in which Jewish students, faculty, and staff have felt under siege of harassment and intimidation over the last eight months. When the protestors claim on social media that this is a 'student intifada' and that ‘Our comrades in Gaza call upon us, directly, to escalate our struggle…,’ they make UCSD an unsafe and unwelcoming environment for Jewish students, faculty, and staff.

We thank the UCSD administration for upholding their Principles of Community and not letting the university be governed by mob rule. We urge UCSD to continue its efforts to ensure Jewish students, faculty, and staff feel safe and protected from the hate on and off-campus groups have chosen to perpetrate. We also call on the national UAW leadership to disavow the strike. Such egregious hate should have no place in the union movement or at UCSD."