A student who disrupted the Israeli ambassador’s speech at the Irvine campus of the University of California is led out by a security officer (Photo: UprisingRadio.org)

A controversial report on Jewish campus life at the University of California is being slammed as biased and harmful to academic freedom by Jewish Voice for Peace. The progressive Jewish group adds to the chorus of voices that have condemned the report, which activists say conflates Palestine solidarity activism with anti-Semitism.

The report was released earlier in the month, and was sparked by high-profile incidents on campus that have occurred in recent years: the debate over divestment at Berkeley, and the disruption of Michael Oren’s speech by 11 students at the University of California, Irvine. Two separate reports, one on Muslim and Arab students and one on Jewish students, were published. The recommendations contained in the report on Jewish student life have proved to be the most controversial.

Writing in Al Jazeera English, Palestinian-American poet Remi Kanazi outlined some core problems with the report:

In the recommendations section of the report, which has the most potential to curtail the rights of students to speak out and organise, the authors suggest instituting a “hate speech-free” policy that extends beyond the “current harassment and non-discrimination provisions… and seek opportunities to prohibit hate speech”. A number of students I spoke with believe this is a bold attempt to squash criticism and block action against Israel’s system of apartheid. The advisory council members seem well aware that they are overstepping their bounds when they write, “the Team recognises that changes to UC hate speech policies may result in legal challenge, but offer that UC accept the challenge”.

Jewish Voice for Peace has more on why the report is harmful in this press release: