UC Berkeley dean who defends free speech laments antisemitic attack
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley’s School of Law and an ardent supporter of free speech, rebuked a group of students for staging a pro-Palestinian protest at his home as the fallout from Israel’s war in Gaza continues to roil US campuses.
By Karen Breslau | Bloomberg
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley’s School of Law and an ardent supporter of free speech, rebuked a group of students for staging a pro-Palestinian protest at his home as the fallout from Israel’s war in Gaza continues to roil US campuses.
The incident on Tuesday evening occurred after a poster depicting Chemerinsky with a bloody knife and fork and the caption “No dinner with Zionist Chem while Gaza starves” circulated on social media and at the law school, according to a letter he posted on the Berkeley Law website.
Chemerinsky, who is Jewish, described the imagery as disturbing and antisemitic but said he recognized it as a form of expression protected by the First Amendment.
“Although many complained to me about the posters and how it deeply offended them, I felt that though deeply offensive, they were speech protected by the First Amendment,” he said in a statement.
Despite the threat of protests, Chemerinsky and his wife decided to proceed this week with a series of dinners to celebrate graduating students.
On Tuesday evening the first of such events was disrupted when a woman stood up with a microphone and began a speech about the Palestinian cause, refusing to stop even after being asked to leave.
“Repeatedly, we said to her that you are a guest in our home, please stop and leave,” he said. “About 10 students were clearly with her and ultimately left as a group.”
The incident comes several weeks after protesters surrounded and broke the windows of a building on the University of California at Berkeley campus where an Israeli speaker was scheduled to appear, then heckled students as police evacuated the building. Campus leaders condemned the incident.
California universities, including Stanford and Berkeley, have been roiled by tensions since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, deemed a terrorist organization by the US and European Union. Israel’s retaliatory bombardment and invasion of Gaza has killed some 33,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, prompting protests and counter-protests around the world.
UC Berkeley is one of several schools under investigation by the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce for their handling of antisemitism on campuses. The majority of the backlash has been concentrated around prestigious East Coast universities, particularly Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. Both institutions have seen the resignation of their presidents following controversial congressional hearings about antisemitism on college campuses.
UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ expressed dismay at the incident involving Chemerinsky, saying the institution’s commitment to free speech doesn’t extend to exploiting private gatherings at someone’s home for protest purposes.
“I am appalled and deeply disturbed by what occurred at Dean Chemerinsky’s home last night,” Christ said in a statement on Wednesday. “I have been in touch with him to offer my support and sympathy.”
Chemerinsky, c0-author of Free Speech on Campus, has vowed to continue the tradition of hosting students dinners, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday evening, with added security measures.
“I am enormously sad that we have students who are so rude as to come into my home, in my backyard, and use this social occasion for their political agenda,” he said. “I hope there will be no disruptions. My home is not a forum for free speech.”
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