Los Angeles, CA – A member of UCLA’s student government was asked
in a hearing whether her Jewish identity presents a conflict of interest.
During a Feb. 10 hearing, four student government members at the
University of California Los Angeles questioned Rachel Beyda’s ability to make
unbiased decisions on cases in which the Jewish community had a vested interest
while being an active in Jewish organizations on campus.
“What followed was a disgusting 40 minutes of what can only be described
as unequivocal antisemitism during which some of our council members resorted
to some of the oldest accusations against Jews, including divided loyalties and
dishonesty,” wrote Beyda’s roommate Rachel Frenklak in the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s
student newspaper.
Fabienne Roth, Manjot Singh, Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed and Sofia Moreno Haq
all raised concerns about confirming Beyda’s appointment to UCLA’s student
government judicial board. Roth pointed to an example case from last May and
argued that two students who had gone on sponsored trips to Israel should not
have been allowed to vote on a resolution that involved targeting Israel with
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions measures.
Beyda’s appointment was initially stalled with a 4-4 vote. However, a
second vote was taken after a faculty member interjected to explain that
Beyda’s Jewish affiliations did not constitute a conflict of interest.
Roth, Singh, Sadeghi-Moyahed and Haq all apologized publicly in the
Daily Bruin.
UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block, who is Jewish, issued a memo to the campus
in the aftermath of the incident.
“The views of others may make us uncomfortable,” the memo read. “That
may be unavoidable. But to assume that every member of a group can’t be
impartial or is motivated by hatred is intellectually and morally unacceptable.”
“Religious affiliations and ethnic identity should not and do not
disqualify someone from being an effective judge,” the Daily Bruin editorial
board wrote on Feb. 12.
