Univ. of California Student Association Passes 'Secretive' Resolution Condemning Israel of 'Racism

During a secretive closed-door meeting, the University of California Student Association (UCSA) unanimously passed a resolution last month accusing the entire country of Israel of "racism" based on a "wealth of scholarship and legal opinion," Campus Reform reports.

UCSA, or the "official voice of UC students," passed the resolution in response to HR 35, a California Assembly resolution denouncing anti-Semitism in America's higher education institutions.

The resolution, passed by the student organization with unanimous support, claims there is a “wealth of scholarship and legal opinion” that exists affirming “racism” on behalf of Israel.

In a bid to keep the vote quiet, the University of California Student Association did not publish an agenda for the meeting and neglected to contact any Jewish organizations regarding the vote. However, they did invite Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to give a presentation.

The Leadership Institute's Campus Reform has more details:

Internal emails, obtained by the Daily Californian reveal that the planning of the vote was kept quiet in order to intentionally suppress dissent.

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) member Luma Haddad, acknowledged in an e-mail to her organization's board that the vote was kept quiet to prevent opposition.

"There was not much word spread about this in the last few days that led up to the meeting," wrote Haddad. "This was done in order to prevent unwanted lobbying/intimidation tactics."

Stand With Us, a pro-Israel international educational organization, quickly released a statement condemning the vote as "secretive" and a "guerrilla" way to carry out the business of the students association.

"The resolution's attack on legitimate concerns about anti-Israel extremism and anti-Semitism is deeply disturbing, but even more disturbing are the proponents' devious, undemocratic tactics," Stand With Us CEO Roz Rothstein said in a statement.

"It is unacceptable that public tax money supports the UCSA when it promotes anti-Israel bigotry and willfully excludes tens of thousands of students who pay dues and whom it is supposed to represent," she continued.