Letters to the Editor: Why UCLA Needs to Be Held Accountable for Anti-Israel Hate [incl. Rabab Abdulhadi]

To the editor: It does no justice to whitewash the actions of those who conflate Jewish victims of white supremacy with their perpetrators -- as guest lecturer Rabab Abdulhadi did in a UCLA undergraduate anthropology course last May. (“In going after UCLA, the Trump administration is attempting to chill free speech about Israel,” Opinion, Jan. 23)

Furthermore, giving a free pass or a mere “slap on the wrist” to proponents of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, like the National Students for Justice in Palestine for promoting speakers like Abdulhadi and actual convicted terrorists like Rasmea Odeh, sets a dangerous precedent for universities in combating incitement to violence and hate.

Regardless of Trump’s partisan agenda, the message to anti-Semites of any race must be unequivocal condemnation. As the sole Jewish student on UCLA’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Student Advisory Board, and as a student signed onto these Title VI cases against my school, I find it extremely necessary to hold the university accountable when it becomes complacent on discrimination and student safety.

Justin Feldman, Westwood

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