We are faculty at UC Berkeley, and are grievously disappointed by some student organizations’ support of Hamas

There are more than 300 signatories on a faculty letter condemning the attacks on Israel

It was shocking to realize that literally while Hamas terrorists were going house-to-house seeking to murder as many Jews as they could, some pro-Palestinian organizations on our own campus were gathering petition signatures for statements that celebrated these Hamas terrorists as freedom fighters, and rejected any critique of their actions. Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

By Kenneth A. Bamberger, Shafi Goldwasser, Ron E. Hassner, Carla Hesse, Ethan B. Katz, Daniela Kaufer, Eran Rabani, Michael Shapira, Jonathan WurteleOctober 18, 2023

Editor’s note: This piece is excerpted from an open letter issued by University of California, Berkeley faculty. The full letter and ongoing list of signatories can be viewed here.

We are University of California, Berkeley faculty (over 300 at last count, including Carol Christ, Chancellor of UC Berkeley) who are deeply concerned about recent and ongoing events in the Middle East, and about their direct impact upon the safety of our community of students, staff and faculty on campus.

On the morning of Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists launched a brutal and vicious attack, entering Israel from Gaza. In villages and towns near the Israel/Gaza border, they murdered more than 1,000 unarmed civilians in their homes and on the street.

They went door-to-door annihilating whole families. They killed children in front of their parents and siblings. They paraded the bodies of naked, wounded women in the street. They massacred hundreds of young people attending a dance party in the desert. And they took captive at least 199 men, women, children, infants and elderly in wheelchairs, to be used as human shields, and worse.

Some in our campus community have described these massacres perpetrated by Hamas as “resistance” to be “celebrated” in a “freedom struggle.” This is repugnant and indefensible.

While we individually have many different views about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we emphatically agree with President Biden’s characterization of this murderous attack — the purposeful annihilation, kidnapping and execution of civilians — as a violation of every code of human morality.

We condemn this violence for what it is, and we extend our deepest sympathies to Israelis and to Jews worldwide in this hour of terror and brutal devastation. It is possible to do this and simultaneously evince deep sympathy and concern for the people of Gaza as they face a major military onslaught whose impact will indeed be brutal. It is possible simultaneously to condemn unequivocally what occurred this weekend for the barbarism it was and to advocate for justice for Palestinians. We mourn all loss of life and security in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and we pray for a swift resolution to the current violence and the return of the hostages.

We recognize of course that UC Berkeley has students and community members from all regions, including from the Gaza Strip. We cherish our diversity and respect our Palestinian colleagues, students and neighbors. We pray for the safety of all our community members and their families.

To contact the authors, email [email protected].

Kenneth A. Bamberger is the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Law at University of California, Berkeley.

Shafi Goldwasser is a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at University of California, Berkeley.

Ron E. Hassner is the Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel studies at University of California, Berkeley and co-director of the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies.

Carla Hesse is a professor of history at University of California, Berkeley.

Ethan B. Katz is associate professor of history at University of California, Berkeley, where he is the chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Jewish Student Life and Campus Climate and co-founder and co-director of the Berkeley Antisemitism Education Initiative.

Daniela Kaufer is a professor of integrative biology at University of California, Berkeley.

Eran Rabani is a professor and the Glenn T. Seaborg Chair in physical chemistry at University of California, Berkeley.

Michael Shapira is a professor of integrative biology at University of California, Berkeley.

Jonathan Wurtele is a professor of physics at University of California, Berkeley.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

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