Aug. 22, 2025 7 AM PT
To the editor: The Los Angeles Occasions (“UCLA’s Jewish community unites against Trump’s $1-billion demand: ‘Misguided and punitive,’” Aug. 1) failed to totally confront statements by UCLA school that minimized antisemitism. In actual fact, the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group (which I chair) and the Task Force on Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias at UCLA have documented repeated and violent assaults on Jewish college students and school by pro-Palestinian protesters earlier than, throughout and after the 2024 encampment. Minimizing this actuality retraumatizes Jews on campus who’ve already endured hostile situations.
Over the previous 18 months, JFRG has supplied UC leaders with evidence and a roadmap to deal with antisemitism. The true query is whether or not the college’s leaders, school and the media have studied this proof with the seriousness it deserves — or skimmed previous it, selecting the consolation of distance over the accountability of motion.
Kira Stein, Los Angeles
This author is an assistant medical professor on the David Geffen Faculty of Medication at UCLA and founder and chair of the Jewish School Resilience Group.
..
To the editor: I can’t agree extra with the writers of this piece (“Trump’s claim of fighting antisemitism at UCLA is a dangerous charade,” Aug. 19). I’d identical to to emphasise and paraphrase a few its ideas: President Trump needs $1 billion from UCLA and if UCLA doesn’t discover a answer aside from the settlement, there can be devastating losses to analysis, jobs, and so on. Really a Faustian discount with robust traces of a mafia-style shakedown. And Trump says he’s doing this to fight antisemitism. This outrageous scheme can be laborious to imagine if it weren’t occurring earlier than our eyes.
Nate Tucker, Costa Mesa
..
To the editor: I don’t imagine for a minute that Trump goes after UCLA for the advantage of Jews and to combat antisemitism. He couldn’t care much less about us and is utilizing us to additional his trigger, no matter that be. He’s placing the Jewish individuals within the highlight for all of the fallacious causes, and is, in reality, inflicting extra antisemitism. Please, Trump, go away and depart us alone.
Batiya Anna Lane, Palm Desert
..
To the editor: The absurdity of the $1-billion tremendous Trump proposed for antisemitism at UCLA was proven by the 2 op-eds on one web page of The Occasions (“Black people on campuses support fighting antisemitism and also wonder, ‘What about us?,’” Aug. 19).
Trump’s tremendous jogged my memory of Isaac Asimov’s warning that “when stupidity is taken into account patriotism, it’s unsafe to be clever.”
Trump’s persevering with assaults on our universities, data and information are extraordinary risks to our democracy.
Brian Federici, Riverside
