Concern is broader than one teacher, one class, one university
When analyzing the UCI history department’s cancellation of Jewish Texts (History 18A) in fall 2024 and the statement issued by the Dean of Humanities on May 29, 2024, announcing the appointments of two other professors who will teach Jewish Studies, three things became apparent. First, Professor/Rabbi Daniel Levine will still be here, teaching in other departments at UCI and elsewhere, doing podcasts, and serving as the Hillel rabbi. Second, the politics of Jewish Studies departments deserve scrutiny. Finally, the problem is not limited to any one university.
Rabbi Levine’s class, which is extremely popular and always full, also fulfills a requirement for the Jewish Studies program. Students, faculty at UC Irvine, and community members, strongly denounced the actions taken by UC Irvine’s Department of History concerning the Center for Jewish Studies. According to their letter, “We believe these actions run counter to the interests of the campus Jewish community. The Center for Jewish Studies at UCI should be a place of refuge for Jewish students, especially now, as Jewish students on campus are facing undue hostility and stress following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing war. Instead, the History Department, which oversees Jewish Studies, has become a toxic and hostile environment for Jewish students.”
The students, faculty, and community members were concerned that the new people being hired were inexperienced, experts in fields other than Jewish studies, and involved with organizations that are not pro-Israel. The group also voiced trepidation about Professor Susan Morrissey, chair of the UCI history department, who is a signer of a document titled “UC Statement of Solidarity,” which considers Hamas “a result of the systematic annihilation of other Palestinian resistance groups, including the withdrawal of support for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, thus making Israel responsible for the retaliation of its own making.”
Apparently, such issues happen in other Jewish Studies departments. According to Andrew N. Koss, senior editor of Mosaic, “It is precisely now, when Jews are murdered in Israel and bullied on campuses across the country, that one might expect Jewish-studies professors to have something to say. The problem is that they don’t seem to agree. They have become practiced at speaking up only when comfortable for them—when they feel they can reasonably go along with the climate emanating from the rest of the university.”
Rabbi Levine hopes that universities will initiate nuanced thinking. He wants to see positive points of view about Zionism in Jewish studies programs.
“Students are the only reason this became a public issue,” Rabbi Levine said. “I’m inspired by them, and I’ll still be here for them.”
Fortunately, the UCI School of Social Ecology has asked Rabbi Levine to teach “Ancient Texts and Contemporary Problems” in the fall. In the winter he will teach “Medieval Jewish Law” as he did this year. Most of the Jewish studies classes are not in the humanities department, but the configuration of the program could change over time.
“My story has a happy ending, but it concerns me that anti-Israel ideologues are teaching Jewish studies classes in programs all over the country,” Rabbi Levine concluded.
Ilene Schneider is a contributing writer to Jlife Magazine.