By Acsah Lemma
In late spring 2024, 12 Jewish faculty members from Long Beach State collectively signed an urgent appeal to the university’s administration regarding the “ongoing Israeli attack on Gaza,” according to the statement.
The statement, directed to CSULB President Jane Close Conoley and posted on the College of Liberal Arts faculty forum, outlined declarations they would like the university to uphold.
The five declarations include: Freedom from harassment, CSULB student activism for Palestine, criticism of the Israeli government and military – even harsh ones – are not inherently antisemitic, transparency regarding investments and immediate ceasefire.
In the appeal, the faculty members urged the administration to “come out with a written letter publicly supporting our declarations…”
In an interview with the Current, anthropology professors Steven Rousso-Schindler and Ronald Loewe, who initiated the appeal, explained that their motivation stemmed from concerns with the representation of Jewish voices on campus.
It felt like there was “a singular Jewish faculty and staff voice,” Rousso-Schindler said. This caused frustration since Jewish faculty on campus “have a wide range of beliefs about what’s going on in Israel and Palestine,” he said.
From there, Rousso-Schindler and Loewe gathered signatures, wrote out a draft and sent it to their peers to review before signing their names. The appeal was sent to university administration on June 4.
Signees Rousso-Schindler and Anthropology Professor Wendy Klein met with Conoley a week later.
“We pressed her hard on the divestment, and she said that she was going to make a statement about divestment at the beginning of this semester, which she did, which I found unsatisfying,” Rousso-Schindler said.
Two pro-Israel counter-protestors passed out signs to students on the Fine Arts 4 lawn with the Palestine protestors on Oct. 25, 2023. The counter-protestors walked around with signs supporting Israel as the Palestine protestors spoke with to the crowd about the conflict. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
A major point of contention for Rousso-Schindler and Loewe was declaration number three which states that “criticism of the Israeli government and military – even harsh ones – are not inherently antisemitic.”
Rousso-Schindler, who’s research area of specialty is Israel and Palestine, said, “The one that bothers me the most is this idea that’s been sort of cemented in a lot of people’s minds, that anti Zionism is antisemitism.
“Any government can be criticized… 99% of the time people who are criticizing the government of Israel are not being antisemitic or anti- Jewish. They just don’t like what that government is doing,” he said.
Loewe verbalized his agreement saying, “It dilutes the power of the critique of antisemitism. It’s like the story of the boy who cried wolf, it has less meaning and less impact if it’s used over and over again…”
For Loewe, participating in faculty protests in support of Palestine is more personal.
“I was raised with the idea that Judaism is a faith of love and brotherhood and compassion, and, what’s going on, in the world and on campus, kind of undercuts that vision,” he said. “It’s very traumatizing for people to see that Israel is so anti-Jewish in terms of these notions of fraternity that we grow up with. It’s bothersome to me. That’s why I’m out there protesting.”
Journalism professor Gwen Shaffer, another faculty member who signed her name on the statement, said that for her “it’s about equality and justice, and concerns that Israel’s crossed the line from self-defense to brutality.”
Student protesters in support of Palestine gathered at the Fine Arts 4 lawn on Oct. 25, 2023 as the Israel-Palestine conflict went on. Students brought flags and had signs displaying their solidarity. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
With the enforcement of a new, more restrictive Time, Place and Manner policy, and five CSULB faculty members being cited, other concerns begin to arise.
“It’s extremely troublesome, no matter what side you’re on on this issue or any issue, when faculty are silenced at a university, in my mind, that’s a great sin,” Rousso-Schindler said.
With Conoley announcing her retirement following the end of the 2024-2025 academic year, Loewe and Rousso-Schindler outlined their hopes for the incoming president.
“I’m sure everybody in our group would want a president who’s more sympathetic to what’s going on in Gaza,” Rousso-Schindler said.
Loewe agreed and added “I also think that we want a president that’s more willing to dialogue with students and faculty and listen to our concerns.”
The next step for this group of faculty members includes growing their membership.
“We invite all interested Jewish faculty to contact us about our Hanukkah party,” scheduled on Sunday, Dec. 29.,” Loewe said.
