The dean of Berkeley’s law school, Erwin Chemerinsky, faced a personal incident when pro-Palestinian students disrupted a celebratory dinner party at his home. The students were protesting and demanding their right to speak at a university gathering.
FILE — Erwin Chemerinsky , dean of the University of California, Berkeley ’s law school , in the reading room on campus on Dec. 7, 2022. Chemerinsky has supported speech rights for pro-Palestinian students, but an incident at his home shows how the Israel-Hamas war has complicated the debate.
Catherine Fisk, another Berkeley law professor and Chemerinsky’s wife, can be seen with her arm around Afaneh, trying to yank the microphone away and pulling the student up a couple of steps. The moment has been especially fraught for UC Berkeley, long a hotbed of leftist activism and the home of the ’60s Free Speech Movement. As protests there continue over the Middle East conflict, some Jewish students and alumni have criticized university officials, saying that the school has tolerated activism that veers into antisemitic speech.
Chemerinsky said that he was the subject of an antisemitic flyer, circulated earlier in the week, which depicted a cartoon image of him gripping a bloody knife and fork, with the words “No Dinner With Zionist Chem While Gaza Starves.” The Chemerinsky dinner on Tuesday fell on the last day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. As Afaneh and Fisk both gripped the microphone, Afaneh said, “We refuse to break our fast on the blood of Palestinian people” and accused the university system of sending billions of dollars to weapons manufacturers.Fisk threatened to call police but did not. After she let go of the microphone, Afaneh and about 10 other law students left peacefully and the dinner continued, Chemerinsky said.
Richard Leib, the board chair of the University of California system, and Christ have supported the couple.
Berkeley Law School Erwin Chemerinsky Dinner Party Pro-Palestinian Students Protest University Gathering
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