Opinion: Teachers Union Israel Resolution Risks Antisemitism At San Diego Community Colleges

By Heidi Gantwerk and Jack Maizel, Times of San Diego

September 17, 2021

The Jewish Federation of San Diego County strongly condemns American Federation of Teachers Guild Local 1931’s “Statement Regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” and we do so with the full support of our community partners listed below.

We are dismayed to find that the union representing community college and continuing education faculty and other employees in the San Diego Community College District and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District voted in support of this misguided and simplistic resolution that has caused sadness, fear, and anger as a result of its false claims and incendiary language.

This resolution creates an unsafe atmosphere for Jewish and Israeli students, faculty and staff, and other members of the San Diego and Grossmont community college communities.

Consider how an anxious Jewish student might feel walking into the classroom of a professor who supported this statement. And consider the situation a Jewish junior member of faculty now finds themselves in with a department chair who supported the statement.

In our current climate, in which anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments are, unfortunately, ever more intertwined, simply asserting these words “are not antisemitic” does not eliminate the harm and the risk incurred by publishing this irresponsible statement.

And that risk is all too real — it was only a little over two years ago when a gunman opened fire in a Poway synagogue just up the road, killing and injuring innocent San Diegans, simply because they were Jews.

Hyperbolic and one-sided rhetoric like that found in this statement contains serious mischaracterizations designed solely for political ends. This resolution does not serve a positive purpose, nor does it serve the goals of an educational institution committed to objective historical review and analysis and the honest exchange of ideas.

We affirm the state of Israel’s right to exist and condemn the rhetoric that demonizes Israel as an illegal state and feeds the current and dramatic rise of antisemitism in the United States and around the world. We affirm the right of the Jewish people to determine their own destinies.

We firmly stand against terrorist groups like Hamas that call for the extermination of Israel and the Jewish people. Violence in the Middle East is heartbreaking, and we all want to see it end in a way that respects life and dignity for all.

We strongly support a healthier, more productive and intellectually honest dialogue about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict throughout the San Diego and Grossmont-Cuyamaca community college districts and our entire region.

We at Federation, along with our community partners, will continue to work tirelessly to build alliances and develop strong relationships so that messages like this diminish in favor of more inclusive representation and understanding within our educational system.Heidi Gantwerk is the interim president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County and Jack Maizel is board chair of the organization. Their column is co-signed by the following organizations and individuals.

ADL of San Diego, Tammy Gillies, Regional Director

Aish-Ahavat Yisrael San Diego, Rabbi Mimoun Miller

Beth Eliyahu, Rabbi Daniel Srugo

Camp Mountain Chai, Buddy Voit, Executive DirectorDavid Bark, Board President

Chabad of San Diego, Rabbi Yonah Fradkin

Congregation Adat Yeshurun, Rabbi Daniel Reich

Congregation Beth Am, Rabbi David KornbergRabbi Matthew Earne

Congregation Beth Israel, Rabbi Jason NevarezRabbi/Cantor Arlene BernsteinRabbi Jeremy GimbelRabbi Michael Berk, Emeritus

Congregation Beth El, Rabbi Ron ShulmanRabbi Avi Libman

Congregation Dor Hadash, Rabbi Yael Ridberg

Hillel of San Diego, Karen Parry, Executive Director

Jewish Collective of San Diego, Rabbi Gabi Arad

Jewish Community Foundation, Beth Sirull, President and CEO

Jewish Family Service of San Diego, Michael Hopkins, CEO

Jewish Federation of San Diego, Rabbi Ralph Dalin

Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Betzy Lynch, CEO

Ken Jewish Community, Executive Committee

Ner Tamid, Rabbi Sammi Seid

Ohr Shalom, Rabbi Scott Meltzer

San Diego Jewish Academy, Zvi Weiss, Head of School

San Diego Outreach Synagogue, Rabbi/Cantor Cheri Weiss

Seacrest Village Retirement Communities, Pam Ferris, President and CEO

Temple Adat Shalom, Rabbi David Castiglione

Temple Emanu-El, Rabbi Devorah MarcusRabbi Benj FriedRabbi Marty Lawson, Emeritus

Temple Solel, Rabbi Alexis BerkRabbi David Frank, Emeritus

Tifereth Israel Synagogue, Rabbi Josh Dorsch

Rabbi Richard Agler, Rabbi Lenore Bohm, Rabbi Laurie Coskey, Ed.D., Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Rabbi Susan Freeman, Rabbi Phil Graubart, Rabbi Leah Herz, Rabbi Ally Jocobson, Rabbi Ben Leinow, Rabbi Jonathan Stein, Rabbi Simcha Weiser

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