Yudof: Fine line between what is free speech – Cleveland Jewish News

Mark Yudof, former president of the University of California, said he believes in the right to free speech and opposes the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, but doesnt view the two as mutually exclusive.

He spoke with the Cleveland Jewish News March 15 about recent attempts by the BDS movement on college campuses, including a failed ballot initiative at The Ohio State University in Columbus on March 9. That night, he participated in the Sidney Z. Vincent Memorial Lecture, Free Speech on Campus: Are There Limits? at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood.

Yudof, now chair of the advisory board at the Academic Engagement Network, said he couldnt speak specifically about the failed Ohio State issue, but his organization is there to rally students and faculty who oppose BDS and let administrations know if they handled a situation well or could have done better. Yudof said the Academic Engagement Network, which has its national office in Washington, D.C., acts on a case-by-case basis but tries to answer questions in what Yudof said are mutual learning experiences.

Jewish people are very concerned, concerned about anti-Semitism on campus and concerned with the lack of tolerance of people who disagreed with their point of view Yudof said of the BDS movement on college campuses. We reply mostly to our members on the campuses, since the field was tilted so much in favor of BDS. Well have a few faculty members on campus sign a petition or sometimes we send a letter to the president thanking them for their work on campus.

Yudof didnt think people needed to agree with Israel completely in order to see the issues with BDS.

If you dont like the settlement policy, many of our members dont like the settlement policy Yudof said. If you either like or dislike (Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus) regime, thats neither here nor there in terms of our purpose.

Yudof said often the distinction between Jews and Israelis is lost in the BDS movement, but ultimately BDS is a delegitimization effort.

To me, that creates enormous problems, he said. Its one thing to say were going to negotiate with the Russian government over Ukraine and another thing to say there shouldnt be a Russian government. Its one thing to negotiate with Mexico over border rules and immigration and another to say there shouldnt be a state of Mexico. That is right in your face.

Although his organization doesnt perceive enormous problems with the movement in Cleveland, BDS organizations often frame the issue in a way that is appealing to students, which he says is opportunistic. Yudof said progressive organizations often line up on the pro-BDS side.

Its almost like a coalition, he said. You support me on my issues and Ill support you on yours. Even Jewish students often dont have a good grasp on Israel and where they came from and what its all about.

Yudof said he didnt really understand why there is a connection between many progressive movements and BDS. He said when he was president of the University of California, there was a pro-BDS, anti-fossil fuel rally.

Its born of an ignorance and sort of a knee-jerk reaction to what is progressive, he said.

Yudof, a former constitutional lawyer, isnt trying to completely silence BDS supporters, but wants to get out the correct information about what the movement represents and support faculty members and administration who stand up against it.

Basically, hate speech is constitutionally protected, but if you put a swastika on a synagogue or you burn a cross on the lawn of black familys home, we have precedent that says its not protected, he said. But by and large when someone stands up and says Jewish people are terrible, it may be reprehensible speech. In those cases, what we look for is moral leadership, we dont try to silence the speakers but what we say to the president is look, is if (former Ku Klux Klan leader) David Duke came to your campus and said racist things, youd be all over it, why arent you all over this, which involves an equal amount of hurt to Jewish people when they hear from anti-Semitic speakers?

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Yudof: Fine line between what is free speech - Cleveland Jewish News