UCLA task force found ‘serious instances of racism’ against students protesting on behalf of Palestinians

To the editor: It is disturbing to see that the L.A. Times coverage of the Justice Department’s allegations of antisemitism at the University of California notes only in the last paragraph that there have been accusations of “anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias at UCLA and other UC campuses since 2023” (“Justice Department launches investigation into allegations of antisemitism at UC,” March 5).

In fact, UCLA established a task force on anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism in 2023 at the same time as it established the task force on anti-Israel bias. The task force on anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism, which we co-chair, has produced no less than three substantive reports documenting serious instances of racism, as well as evidence of surveillance and policing of students and faculty engaging in their constitutionally protected right to free speech and protest — penalizing the advocacy of Palestinian rights and speech on Palestine.

Repression is organized and bolstered by university and nonuniversity actors who can harness right-wing media to promote their agendas to the broader public, the Board of Regents and ultimately the U.S. Congress. The power that such individuals possess is formidable.

Very key to this power is institutional approval and support for these activities. Your article colludes with the suppression of speech and the limits on academic freedom when it fails to discuss the documented acts of discrimination against Palestinians, Muslims, Arabs and anyone expressing support for Palestinian human rights at UCLA.

Gaye Theresa Johnson and Sherene H. Razack, Westwood
The writers are co-chairs of UCLA Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Arab and Anti-Muslim Racism.

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To the editor: As a Jewish Angeleno, I’m appalled at efforts to distract Americans from our government’s enthusiastic support for the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians by claiming anyone who opposes it is antisemitic. Let’s oppose all forms of bigotry, including Islamophobia. Stop using my people’s historical sufferings to provide a smokescreen for Israel’s mass murder, and stop funding it.

Jon Krampner, Los Angeles