I've been living in Santa Cruz for nearly 25 years, and have been an active member of the Jewish community for the entire time. Antisemitism has always been present, but it has recently become much more widespread.
If you're Jewish and considering places to live, I strongly recommend against moving to Santa Cruz. This is doubly true for Jewish students considering enrolling at UC Santa Cruz and Jewish faculty considering a position at UC Santa Cruz. Put simply, the climate is toxic for Jews, particularly those who are even minimally observant. If you're identifiably Jewish and celebrate Jewish holidays, you'll be a target on campus.
For details, read on.
Antisemitism at UC Santa Cruz
In the last week of February, there were three serious antisemitic incidents in California, two of which took place on University of California campuses. I wrote the following letter to the Chancellor and EVC (Executive Vice Chancellor) of UC Santa Cruz, asking them to issue a statement regarding antisemitism.
Chancellor Larive and EVC Kletzer:
Three years ago, you issued a formal statement against anti-Asian hate based on a shooting in Atlanta. The statement was based on a single event across the country and, as you noted in the release, some reports indicate the people were targeted for violence based on their perceived race and gender. It wasn't definite, but the response was rapid.
In just the past week, California has seen three major incidents of antisemitic violence, two on University of California campuses.
- A Jewish dentist was murdered by a Muslim former patient.
- The Jewish president of the UCSB Student Senate was targeted personally for her ethnicity and beliefs, and antisemitic messaging was rampant on campus.
- An antisemitic mob attacked a talk at UC Berkeley, causing significant damage.
As leaders of UC Santa Cruz, you must condemn this violence unequivocally and specifically. This is anti-Jewish hatred and violence IN CALIFORNIA. It affects members of the Jewish community on campus as well as others in the UCSC community. Many on campus are fearful for their own safety as well as those of their relatives and friends. This includes me: my son attends UCSB and is Jewishly active. Such violence can, and will, spread to UC Santa Cruz if you do not take a definitive stand now.
Your condemnation must be focused on antisemitism and violence against Jews. If you want to condemn Islamophobia or other forms of hatred, I encourage you to do so in a separate statement, but this statement must be entirely about antisemitism. Mentioning other forms of hatred in a statement is similar to saying All Lives Matter in response to George Floyd's death; we all know such a statement would be considered unacceptable.
The Jewish community in California as a whole and UCSC specifically is facing violent threats on campus and off. It is your duty as campus leaders to publicly support the Jewish community, condemn the violence we have seen over the past week, and remind the campus community that antisemitism is unacceptable.
I received the following response from Chancellor Larive and EVC Kletzer:
The violence and antisemitic conduct that occurred this past week at UCB and UCSB is deserving of condemnation. We stand with the California Jewish community, and all Jewish communities, in solidarity in combating antisemitism. We also stand with our colleagues at UCB and UCSB in their statements of support for community values.
We will not be issuing a statement about these events. Our resistance to hate of all kinds is resolute and universal. Our focus now is on the leadership, programs and supports we can bring to our campus to combat hate, bias, and bigotry.
We are grateful to you for your support of our Jewish community.
Chancellor Larive and EVC Kletzer have issued statements on several incidents of similar types, even in distant locations. For example, as I noted in my initial email, they issued a formal statement condemning anti-Asian racism and violence in reaction to a shooting in Atlanta that killed several Asian-Americans. They also issued a formal statement about the trial of the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. No formal statement is listed on the news.ucsc.edu site regarding the hostage standoff at a synagogue in January 2022.
The UCSC formal statement about the Israel-Hamas conflict states "We have watched with deep sadness the unfolding violence in Israel and Gaza, and we are gravely concerned at the escalating conflict across the region. Our hearts go out to everyone in harm's way and all who have been affected. Along with University of California Board of Regents Chair Richard Leib and UC President Michael V. Drake, we condemn this act of terrorism." However, while the University of California statement clearly condemns "the horrific attack on Israel", the UCSC statement just condemns "this act of terrorism", which apparently refers to both sides.
It's not just the leadership that displays, at best, indifference to antisemitism, while crusading against other forms of hatred. Jewish students and groups on campus have been attacked, and antisemitic language in student government meetings is, sadly, all too common.
Antisemitism in the city of Santa Cruz
Unfortunately, the city of Santa Cruz has become more antisemitic as well. The City Council debated and voted on a ceasefire resolution whose original text didn't mention Hamas or October 7th, instead blaming Israel for the war. To its credit, the City Council passed a substitute resolution that was much more even. However, the behavior of the crowd at the City Council meeting, led by anti-Israel UC Santa Cruz faculty and students, was threatening. Commenters often didn't distinguish between Israel, Zionists, and Jews. Moreover, when the Council passed the substitute resolution, they had to call in the police to maintain order and ensure their own safety. After the Council meeting, multiple Council members, including the mayor, received credible threats.
The Resource Center for Nonviolence, based in Santa Cruz, hosted the founding conference for the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism, a university-based organization whose goal is no less than the destruction of the state of Israel. This Institute, backed by the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz, "join[s] in resistance to structures of racism, group supremacy, violence, militarism, colonialism, and capitalism". It's rather odd that a Center for Nonviolence should host an organization so willing to excuse the murder of over a thousand Jewish civilians as "resistance". However, such support is, sadly, not uncommon in the city of Santa Cruz.