In August, nine student groups at Berkeley law school signed a statement sponsored group Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine pledging not to invite “speakers that have expressed and continued to hold views … in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.”
Two things need to be clarified. First, by “support” for “the occupation of Palestine” SJP means “supports the existence of Israel.” So any speaker who thinks Israel should exist is forbidden. Second, the pledge is to not invite any speaker on any subject who comes within the scope of the ban. So, for example, if the “Women of Berkeley Law” group wanted to invite a speaker from NARAL to speak about post-Dobbs abortion rights activism, the group would decline to do so if the speaker has ever publicly stated that she’s not in favor of Israel being destroyed (the flip side of Israel existing).
