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Editor: 

As a member of Students for Justice in Palestine at UC-Berkeley I would like to first thank you for your article “Campus Activists Call for an End to Israeli Apartheid”, in which you gave a much needed voice to a very historic conference being held here in Berkeley “Holding the University Accountable- Divesting from Israeli Apartheid.” However, I would like to voice my concern over the nature of your coverage and some very disturbing inaccuracies.  

Being Jewish and a member of SJP, I am concerned by your inaccurate portrayal of SJP as only a series of Palestinian activists, or even Arab-Americans. We are a very diverse group of individuals, Palestinian, Arab, Jewish, Asian, Hispanic, Iranian, European, Muslim, Christian, atheist, and etc, and we pride ourselves in our diversity and see it as our greatest strength.  

As exemplified by our diversity, this issue is not one of Arab/Muslim vs. Israeli/Jewish, which you seem to imply. This is a human rights issue, one in which crimes against humanity are being committed (according to the Fourth Geneva Convention) by a highly militarized occupying apartheid state (Israel) against a virtually unarmed population, which is exercising their right to defend themselves and fight for self-determination and liberation. 

SJP is a diverse coalition of UC-Berkeley students, staff, faculty, and community members, which is in solidarity with the Palestinians, and all indigenous liberation movements across the world.  

Samuel Hoffman 

Berkeley