Students at UC Berkeley were taken aback by the announcement of a new class set to begin in Spring 2025. The class, English Composition in Connection with the Reading of World Literature, was to be taught by instructors Christian Gonzalez Reyes and Harry Mizumoto and included the following description:
“With the US-backed and funded genocide being carried out against indigenous Palestinians by the Israeli Occupying Force, many have found it difficult to envision a reality beyond the one we are living today. At the same time, we have also seen a rise in global socialist (and in particular Leninist) movements that are actively combating this destructive imperial agenda. From the Hamas revolutionary resistance forces combating settler-colonialism to a continuous anti-imperialist politic…”
Once a post about the class began circulating on social media, it sparked a backlash. In response, the university removed the description and the names of the instructors were replaced with “staff.”
This incident is not the first time UC Berkeley has faced accusations of antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric from both students and faculty. These tensions have escalated in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Numerous reports have surfaced of Jewish students being physically attacked and intimidated by pro-Palestinian groups on campus. There have also been instances of some UC Berkeley professors participating in pro-Palestinian rallies and advocating for a boycott of Israel.
This incident is not the first time UC Berkeley has faced accusations of antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric from both students and faculty.
“The fact that the number one public university in America can get away with publishing— no matter how briefly— a class description which declares Hamas as a resistance group fighting settler colonialism is astounding, almost parodical,” said Abby, a Jewish student who asked to withhold her last name. “When Hamas is given the pithy title of “freedom fighters” to little public outcry, it’s a small wonder that Jewish students are souring against Berkeley’s administration.”
Abby, who is an English major and is on her third year at the university, added that she was dismayed to see comments applauding the class. “It really drives home the notion that anti-Semitism is an acceptable evil, even preferable given other forms of bigotry. Students have been taught that all forms of resistance are equal, even when those forms of resistance include wholesale butchery of civilians. It’s acceptable not in spite of those civilians’ Judaism, but precisely because of it.”
In a statement to the Journal, UC Berkeley commented:
“This is a course designed by graduate students. The content of this course including the syllabus has not been approved by the instructor of record, the chair, the department, and the academic administration. The course description was published without adequate review and has been removed from campus webpages pending rigorous academic review. The department will review its processes for publishing course descriptions as a result of this incident.”
