Claim: Out-of-State Tuition Linked to Rise in Antisemitism on UC Campuses

The rampant rise in antisemitism throughout University of California campuses–particularly at Berkeley, Davis, UCLA and Riverside–has prompted a claim that the state’s thirst for out-of-state tuition has attracted students from countries with endemic anti-Israel prejudices.

That claim comes from California syndicated columnist Thomas D. Elias, who also wrote that the rise of the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement against Israel
throughout college campuses could play a big role in contributing to the atmosphere of disdain for Jews.

Elias explained:

Between 2001 and 2013, the number of UC graduate students from Iran — where a mantra in public schools reportedly has students daily reciting “Death to America, Death to Israel! — rose from six to 113. Plus, last fall’s enrollees included 74 undergraduates from Saudi Arabia, 53 from Turkey and 51 from Pakistan, to name a few countries where anti-Semitism is common….

It all makes some wonder whether the upsurge of campus anti-Semitism is linked to greater numbers of students from strongly anti-Israel countries, including Malaysia, which sent 164 undergraduates to UC last fall.

With a $23,000 annual per-student difference from foreign enrollees, the cash-strapped UC system may wish to ask as few questions as possible about where students come from or what they believe.

“No one asks their nationality at demonstrations, but almost invariably, campus BDS leaders have Muslim-oriented names,” Elias wrote.

Elias reported that the university system denies any link between the two. “I don’t think there’s any link. There’s been no huge influx of students from countries where anti-Semitism is official policy,” Dianne Klein, media relations director for UC’s central office told the Valley Tribune.

A group called Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is the the driving force behind the majority of these BDS and antisemitic movements on campus. Here are some recent incidents:

• UC Davis: ‘Not a Great Week to be a Jewish Student on Campus’
• UCLA: Student Government Candidate Attacked for Being Jewish
• Muslim Students Shout ‘Allahu Akbar‘ at Jews at UC Davis
• Antisemitism, Again: UC Riverside Approves Anti-Israel Course
• UC Students Vote to Divest From Israel — And America
• Stanford Student Files Complaint After Jewish Faith Questioned
• ‘Grout Out the Jews‘: More Anti-Jewish Vandalism at UC Davis

Elias acknowledged that regardless of foreign tuition money, “some of this activity would have hit California campuses.” He concluded, however, “From all appearances, though, one unintended consequence [of seeking out-of-state tuition] is that the phenomenon is more intense than it otherwise would be.”

Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz