Danielle Sobkin, one of the organizers who invited Israeli lawyer Ran Bar Yoshafat, said the mob grabbed a sophomore who tried to attend the event, called him a “dirty Jew” and spit on him. She said that protesters also shoved a senior into the auditorium door as she tried to check in attendees, and that they grabbed a freshman by her neck.
Okay, so this is what I got out of this article:
A massive crowd gathered outside of Wheeler Hall at 5 p.m. Monday chanting so loudly that students inside told Sobkin they couldn’t hear their professors. The event shifted to Zellerbach Playhouse, and the university sent what officials thought would be enough police to protect attendees.
That seems to be factual, and there was no mention of violence. From the University itself:
UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof confirmed that about 200 student protesters mobbed Zellerbach [Playhouse], but could not substantiate injuries. He urged anyone who was hurt to report the incident to UC police and to the school’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination.
So the University currently has no information or evidence of injuries, and hasn’t said anything about specific antisemitic incidents.
And, in closer reading of the article, all the allegations of antisemitism and violence are currently coming from one person -
Danielle Sobkin, one of the organizers
I’m not saying that these incidents didn’t happen. I am saying that it’s a little odd that (so far as has made it to my corner of the internet) no one filmed the antisemitism or violence; that the University hasn’t mentioned anything about any of the incidents maybe being caught on security cameras or (if they wear them) police bodycams; and that, as one of the organizers who is presumably trying to gin up support for Israel, Danielle Sobkin may have a motive to exaggerate any incidents that may or may not have happened.
I’m also willing to change my initial opinion based on security video, bodycam footage, cellphone recordings, or additional corroborating accounts from additional witnesses or bystanders. However, for now, I’m treating this account of antisemitism and violence with scepticism.
There is a mention of the smashed window, but there are other articles that show it being smashed in a video. Like this one - Which has more details in general
Another article which also describes the assault. The student also filed a police report.
In addition:
However, UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof told the Journal in an email that “we are aware of multiple assaults being reported on social media” but the university has only received one report of an assault so far. “That is one reason the Chancellor’s message urges students to come forward,” he added. “We cannot fully and adequately respond or investigate absent the detailed information formal police reports provide.”
Additionally, the student told the Journal that people she knows were called “dirty Jews, Zionist pigs,” and told to “go back to where you came from.”
Yeah, that video doesn’t show any violence either. You only hear broken glass. They don’t even show the window after it was broken.
This is not the way to voice displeasure over what’s happening in Israel
What is the way?
Also can we disconnect anti-jewish from anti-israel? Israel through its actions is literally commiting genocide in Gaza. I work with people from Israel, jewish people that are horrified by the action their government is taking.
This kind of behavior is particularly tricky to manage. While numerous social and political movements ( and even regime changes such as in Eastern Europe in 89 ) started with student protests, violence is, in my opinion, not the answer.
The power of students should come from their perspective outside of the current “box” (whichever system of social and political standards are the norm in a given area at a given time) which can educate the rest of the population. At the same time, I understand that at a certain point, people can feel so unheard, ignored, and suppressed by the norms that they see lashing out violently as their only option left.
So, it is very hard to strike a balance between enforcing the peace and preserving the existence of grassroots student movements. Doubly so in cases like this.
My only suggestion is to moderate yourself and those around you, lest we fall to radicalization.
Unconscionable. The university should make an example of people who engaged in this kind of anti-Semitism to send a message that prejudice, hatred, and violence won’t be tolerated.
Whatever happened to punching nazis?
Yes yes. Killing thousands of people in what looks like genocide? Okay! Protesting the killing resulting in a couple of people getting into physical altercations? This is UNACCEPTABLE! We cannot tolerate antisemitism! Hate is not okay!
Imagine thinking you have to choose between not supporting genocide and not permitting anti-semitic violence.
Imagine thinking that anything that shows, even remotely, some opposition to what jewish people do is antisemitism.
the mob grabbed a sophomore who tried to attend the event, called him a “dirty Jew” and spit on him. She said that protesters also shoved a senior into the auditorium door as she tried to check in attendees, and that they grabbed a freshman by her neck.
That’s antisemitism right there, you didn’t even need to click into the article, just open your eyes a little.
Sure thing buddy. This antisemitism that you’re talking about is happenening right now because people are awful. It has absolutely nothing to do with the genocide in Gaza. Nothing! In fact we have been experiencing “antisemitism” for ages at Berkley every time a jewish speaker was invited to talk. /s
How disconnected are you from the real world?
Imagine excusing violence and antisemitism in America because of the actions of a government thousands of miles away.
Fucking terrorists.
dict terrorism 1 definition found From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: terrorism n 1: the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear [syn: {terrorism}, {act of terrorism}, {terrorist act}]
