In response to the antisemitism at UC Merced, we demand that the university #EndJewHatred by doing the following:

1. Accountability and consequences for Professor Ghassemi. We want the school to enforce a clear red line here.
2. For the school to train faculty and community members in understanding Jew Hatred and how to dismantle it. End Jew Hatred is happy and available to provide that training.
3. Adopt the internationally recognized IHRA definition of anti-semitism.

Background:
Professor Abbas Ghassemi of UC Merced was discovered to have been spreading hateful antisemitic graphics and memes on his Twitter account. When this became public, UC Merced ignored the issue. It was only after outrage from the Jewish community that it announced that an inquiry would be launched into Ghassemi. However, this is not enough. We demand accountability and consequences for Professor Ghassemi for his manifest Jew hatred.

We need the school to enforce a clear red line here to protect Jewish students and its reputation as a welcoming and inclusive campus.

We are calling for the school to adopt the internationally recognized IHRA definition of antisemitism to show your commitment to protecting Jews, and to create clear guidelines so this debacle does not happen again.

Additionally we understand that the school is to  “develop programming for the spring semester that addresses free speech, hate speech and anti-Semitism in academia and promotes ways to challenge discriminatory insinuations when and wherever they emerge within the university community.” End Jew Hatred is willing to provide that training to ensure it properly reflects an approach which will dismantle Jew hatred and bring about liberation and healing.

We expect to be kept informed of developments and updated about the investigation and for the Jewish community to be included and not threatened. We will be monitoring the situation.