RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, any official position of the City of Los Angeles with respect to legislation,
rules, regulations or policies proposed to or pending before a local, state or federal
governmental body or agency must have first been adopted in the form of a Resolution by the
City Council with the concurrence of the Mayor; and
WHEREAS, the National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) have scheduled a
conference for November 16-18 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) which
undoubtedly will promote anti-Semitism; and
WHEREAS, according to recent news accounts SJP members have posted violent
anti-Semitic rhetoric on social media, ranging from calling for the annihilation of the Jewish
people, to admiration of Adolf Hitler and hateful calls to ‘kill Jews’ ‘kill all Zionists’ and ‘let’s
stuff some Jews in the oven’; and
WHEREAS, the National SJP’s website would fall under the International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism that was recently adopted by the
State Department, such as comparing Israel to the Nazis; and
WHEREAS, this conference will not be open to all students: only those who have been
“verified and vouched for” by SJP or another pro-Palestinian group on campus would be
allowed to attend, meaning that most Jewish students would not be allowed to attend the
conference; and
WHEREAS, a public university should not allow any group to implement a litmus test
for event participation on their campus based on an attendee’s beliefs, religion, or national
origin; and
WHEREAS, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of
race, color, or national origin in federally assisted programs or activities; and this includes
protecting students from anti-Semitism and preventing discrimination against most Jews in
admissions to a conference held on a public university campus; and
WHEREAS, while UCLA has a responsibility to allow freedom of speech, our
campuses should never become an environment where Jewish students are harassed, bullied, or
prohibited from learning; and
WHEREAS, the Regents of the University of California should let UCLA know that it
is not appropriate for SJP to have a meeting on campus especially where many of the leaders of
the organization are calling for violence against Jews; it is never a good time to have this type
of event, but given the atmosphere in the country, including the recent shooting at a Pittsburgh
synagogue and arson at synagogues in New York, it is inappropriate for UCLA to host such a
conference;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, with the concurrence of the Mayor, that by
the adoption of this Resolution, the City of Los Angeles hereby includes in its 2017-2018 State
Legislative Program SUPPORT for any administrative action which would cancel and ban the
National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) conference scheduled for November 16-18,
2018 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
PRESENTED BY:
•AUL KORETZ
Councilman, 5'1) District
SECONDED BY:
November 6, 2018
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