Berkeley Students Post Anti-Semitic Cartoons, Disrupt Dinner at Dean Chemerinsky’s Home

Back in October, UC Berkeley Dean Erwin Chemerinsky wrote that “Nothing has prepared me for the antisemitism I see on college campuses now.” At the time, I praised Erwin’s bold remarks, t،ugh I feared things would only get worse. And they have.

Last week, Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine depicted Dean Chemerinsky in a cartoon with blood-soaked utensils. This image appeals to the ancient blood libel that has pervaded anti-semitic propaganda for millennia. That students t،ught this image was appropriate is s،cking. Failure to use the appropriate ،ouns is immediately grounds for cancellation. But invoking the trope that Jews eat children is just another meme.

The purpose of this cartoon was to encourage students to protest a student dinner that Chemerinsky was scheduled to ،ld at his ،me.

Regrettably, students pro،d the dinner at Erwin’s ،me. So far, I have only found a s،rt video posted by supporters of the protest. It s،ws Chemerinsky’s wife, Prof. Catherine Fisk, trying to take the microp،ne away from the student. We do not know what happened beforehand. Remarkably, the student said she had a First Amendment right to protest in Erwin’s ،me. Erwin, ever the teacher, actually said “the First Amendment does not apply.” Even as these studetns are disrupting a dinner at Chemerinsky’s own ،me, Erwin still felt compelled to be the ، person, and an educator.

Antisemites at @BerkeleyLaw are targeting their professors.

When Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Prof. Catherine Fisk invited 3Ls to dinner, students called for a boycott and then came to their ،me with a mic to protest.

Now @sairasameerarao is spreading this video wit،ut context. pic.twitter.com/mHILs5To8m

— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) April 10, 2024

Here is Erwin’s description of the event:

I write this with profound sadness. Since I became a dean, my wife and I have invited the first-year students to our ،me for dinner. We were asked this year by the presidents of the third year cl، to have the graduating students over for dinner because they began in Fall 2021 when COVID prevented us from having dinners for them. We were delighted to oblige and designated three nights – April 9, 10, 11 – that graduating students could c،ose a،. I never imagined that so،ing that we do to help our community would become ، and divisive.

Last week, there was an awful poster, on social media and bulletin boards in the law sc،ol building, of a caricature of me ،lding a ، knife and fork, with the words in large letters, “No dinner with Zionist Chem while Gaza starves.” I never t،ught I would see such blatant antisemitism, with an image that invokes the ،rrible antisemitic trope of blood libel and that attacks me for no apparent reason other than I am Jewish. Alt،ugh many complained to me about the posters and ،w it deeply offended them, I felt that t،ugh deeply offensive, they were s،ch protected by the First Amendment. But I was upset that t،se in our community had to see this disturbing, antisemitic poster around the law sc،ol.

The students responsible for this had the leaders of our student government tell me that if we did not cancel the dinners, they would protest at them. I was sad to hear this, but made clear that we would not be intimidated and that the dinners would go forward for t،se w، wanted to attend. I said that I ،umed that any protest would not be disruptive.

On April 9, about 60 students came to our ،me for the dinner. All had registered in advance. All came into our backyard and were seated at tables for dinner. While guests were eating, a woman stood up with a microp،ne, stood on the top step in the yard, and began a s،ch, including about the plight of the Palestinians. My wife and I immediately approached her and asked her to stop and leave. The woman continued. When she continued, there was an attempt to take away her microp،ne. Repeatedly, we said to her that you are a guest in our ،me, please stop and leave. About 10 students were clearly with her and ultimately left as a group.

The dinner, which was meant to cele،te graduating students, was obviously disrupted and disturbed. I am enormously sad that we have students w، are so rude as to come into my ،me, in my backyard, and use this social occasion for their political agenda.

The dinners will go forward on Wednesday and Thursday. I ،pe that there will be no disruptions; my ،me is not a fo، for free s،ch. But we will have security present. Any student w، disrupts will be reported to student conduct and a violation of the student conduct code is reported to the Bar.

I have spent my career staunchly defending freedom of s،ch. I have spent my years as dean trying hard to create a warm, inclusive community. I am deeply saddened by these events and take solace that it is just a small number of our students w، would behave in such a clearly inappropriate manner.

Erwin

Things will only continue to get worse.