Berkeley’s $3 billion budget comes from taxpayers through tuition paid for by government scholarships, state, local and federal grants, state funding and tax deductible contributions. While the University of California school insists that “the state provides just 14 percent of the university’s revenue”, taxpayers actually fund or underwrite much of its operation.
And that operation is systemically antisemitic.
When nine campus groups at the UC Berkeley School of Law announced that they wouldn’t host the vast majority of Jewish speakers (as Dean Erwin Chemerinksy admitted that it “would exclude about, I don’t know, 90 percent or more of our Jewish students”), it made headlines around the world. It was also in violation of federal and state not-discrimination laws.
The University of California is a 501(c)(3) and the UC Berkeley Foundation is the college’s own nonprofit. And UC Berkeley Law is eager to accept everything from gifts of stocks to cryptocurrency. Taxpayers subsidize this system even though the UC Berkeley Foundation which has assets approaching $3 billion. That money helps fund its systemic antisemitism.
Systemic antisemitism at the UC Berkeley School of Law is not just a private policy. The creation of “Jewish-Free Zones” at the law school are being subsidized by taxpayers.
And by Jewish donors.
In ’21, Scott Shenker, a computer scientist, wrote UC Berkeley a $25 million check. That same year the Wertheim Family Foundation pledged $100 million to UC Berkeley Optometry. A year earlier, Bob Haas injected yet another $24 million into UC Berkeley. And they are not alone.
In 2021 alone, large Jewish donors and foundations provided an estimated $450 million in donations and multi-year pledges to UC Berkeley including funding a dorm with yoga and meditation rooms. UC Berkeley Law, specifically, scored a $250K and at least a million dollar donation from Jewish donors.
That money funds the excesses and abuses of an antisemitic campus and university system.
Rather than being grateful for the assistance of Jewish donors who subsidize their comfortable lifestyle and education, including meditation rooms, UC Berkeley’s student leftist groups lashed out at them. When the Helen Diller Foundation, which also funds pro-Israel, conservative and anti-terrorist groups, provided a $10 million donation to UC Berkeley Law to create a Jewish and Israel studies program, campus anti-Israel groups demanded that the school “immediately return the $10 million donation and restore the original name of the institute.”
Despite taxpayers subsidizing UC Berkeley and its schools, there is a similar lack of gratitude toward the country by student leftist groups who agitate against America on a daily basis.
UC Berkeley has a long storied history of antisemitism, not just by bigoted students organized into campus hate groups like Students for Justice in Palestine, but coming from the top down.
Hatem Bazian, the former student activist who co-founded Students for Justice in Palestine and who has done more than any single figure to normalize antisemitism on college campuses, still teaches at UC Berkeley’s Center for Race and Gender. After one of his antisemitic outbursts, UC Berkeley’s Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion agreed that Bazian had “crossed the line between criticism of Israel and unacceptable anti-Semitism.”
That was in 2017. Five years later, Bazian is still there.
There’s no level of “unacceptable anti-Semitism” that UC Berkeley isn’t willing to accept.
Andrew Gutierrez, an academic BDS supporter, heckled a rally against antisemitism after swastika vandalism. He’s still there too. And Jewish donors keep funding this antisemitic swamp.
While UC Berkeley has done nothing about antisemitism, it has vigorously responded to efforts to fight campus antisemitism with lies and legal threats.
After the story about UC Berkeley’s “Jew-Free Zones” broke, UC Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky rushed to vocally deny that any such thing is taking place, claiming that the boycott of Jewish speakers is “offensive”, “but they have the right to say it. To punish these student groups, or students, for their speech would clearly violate the Constitution.”
But when Accuracy in Media protested the “Jew-Free Zone” with a campus truck that broadcast the names of antisemitic students, Chemerinsky was furious. “Whatever the disagreement on issues, to put students’ names on the side of the truck was despicable,” he ranted.
“We’re exploring whether there’s any action that can be taken against the Accuracy in Media for the truck,” he threatened.
According to Chemerinsky, banning Jews is protected by the Constitution, but naming antisemitic students should be subject to legal action.
These are the antisemitic double standards at UC Berkeley and UC Berkeley Law.
Systemic discrimination is based around double standards such as these. And taxpayers and Jewish donors unfortunately continue to subsidize the systemic antisemitism at UC Berkeley.
If Jewish donors want to continue the self-destructive funding of antisemitism at UC Berkeley with their own money, that is their own business, but taxpayers should not be subsidizing it.
A university system that engages in systemic discrimination, no matter how politically correct, whether that of affirmative action, antisemitism or any other kind, should not be able to fund itself with nonprofits and should not be backed by taxpayer funds through direct funding, grants or any kind of public subsidies. We should not pay for systemically racist systems. Period.
Systemic antisemitism persists at UC Berkeley because there are never any real consequences. A few news stories come out and some public figures tepidly condemn the latest hateful act and call for action. But the university knows all too well that while the temporary outburst of indignation may slow down the pace of a few donations, the money will come pouring in anyway. The only way to change the culture at UC Berkeley is to cut off its cash flow.
As long as systemic antisemitism remains profitable for UC Berkeley, it will not go away.
rocco barbella says
How does the UC School of Law, get away with openly stating they will not host any Jewish students, or groups, from speaking on their campus? How does this happen without any consequences?
The “Jewish” donors are oblivious to this? Gluttons for punishment? Sounds more like they don’t identify as Jews, but as Marxist’s, atheist’s, etc. No different than Rino’s. Maybe it’s the Stockholm Syndrome.
I’m not big on “Jewish and Israel” studies programs, just as I’m not big on Afro Studies, Gender Studies, Basket Weaving Studies programs. Can these universities make up any more degree’s to sell off?
With the endowments and tax dollars these universities receive they could cut tuition rates, and assist in paying off student loans. Instead, the play the game, persuade students to apply for useless degree’s that saddle them with debt.
When Trump was president he said he would hold these universities accountable for discrimination and antisemitic behavior. Biden, on the other hand, turns a blind eye.
And yes, get rid of affirmative action. It’s nothing more than legalized discrimination against whites and Asians. How long does it take blacks to get their act together?
Ray says
>>How does the UC School of Law
Not to be aggressive sounding towards you, but thats not what happened. A coalition of student groups within the law school banned Zionist or pro-Israel groups.
TruthLaser says
Law schools are being coopted ideologically. If the groups abusing power nd being victimized were reversed, the reaction of the law school would be different.
Ray says
That is true. Maybe it should be put to the test? Jews would have to lift their skirts and find their balls, but it make headlines and mobilize a lot of Americans to fight back.
rocco barbella says
Moderator, can you speed up the “Your comment is awaiting moderation?”
Algorithmic Analyst says
“Trusted user” status for regular commenters would save the moderators a lot of time.
Intrepid says
“Jewish donors gave UC Berkeley over $450M in one year.”
What a surprise. In America secular liberal Jews and the ADL have always voted for their own executioners.
The Progressive Left has always been the source of Jew Hatred and Israel hatred, most significantly since the Six Day War. They always couch it in anti-Zionism. The woke Ivy League law schools are breeding a generation of Jew Hating lawyers who will end up in government. I can only imagine the anti-semitic policies that will be developed and enacted by future Democrat admins when these little Hitlers are running things. For now the Jew hating Ivy League legal activists don’t have the guts to pull the trigger. But wait a few years.
Dr2xFour says
So as Ye said…. “It’s the Jews”
Ray says
I’m glad you wrote about this, Daniel. I will never give money to any institution of higher learning. Beyond that, I’m just burned out on the whole thing. I confronted Bazian– F2F-several times on the SFSU campus. Jewish “leaders” were too busy hobnobbing with various elites in DC and high finance to notice that the rank and file was getting its ass kicked. The GUPS won, we lost. Now we’re sorta fighting a rear-guard action while we retreat; to where, who knows?
Daniel Greenfield says
thank you for your activism on this and your work remains invaluable
but yes, it’s tough, still hoping people will wake up as it gets worse
Algorithmic Analyst says
It was already bad in Berkeley during the 1980s.
It seemed good in the 1970s, maybe I just didn’t see it.
William James Ward says
Another hate indoctrination center that should be shut down, no excuses allowed for
antisemitism, hate is stupid and should qualify for a denial of a law license.
John Sweet says
Jewish “progressives” think that they can win the intersectional wars. They are delusional. They should know, by now, that they are at the bottom of the intersectional ladder and their fellow “progressives” will come for them.