To the editor: Report from UCLA’s Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Bias Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and its aftermath, underscores the urgency of developing effective strategies to combat antisemitism on college campuses.

The report also puts a clear focus on the need to clearly distinguish what is and is not antisemitic in campus protests. Unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism can risk the suppression of legitimate, peaceful protests and potentially create an environment in which more extreme and indefensible actions are escalated.

Nexus Working Group’s Campus Guide to Defining Antisemitism in a Time of UnrestGuidelines for making these important distinctions are provided, created by a group of leading academic experts on antisemitism.

At the same time, making these distinctions does not legitimize or condone violence. Those who advocate or defend armed resistance against Israel by deeming it legitimate on the grounds that it is not anti-Semitic, divert attention from the moral decadence of violence. When support for violence brings Israel and Jews together, this defense becomes even more dangerous and turns into antisemitism.

Jonathan Jacoby, Sherman Oaks

The author is the national director of the Nexus Project.

..

To the editor: The third paragraph of your article says: “More than a year has passed since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the nation’s retaliatory war in Gaza…”

I was shocked when I read this sentence. This is not a war of retaliation.

First, Hamas still holds 101 hostages, refusing to release these poor people. Israel is trying to save the hostages.

Second, Hamas has built hundreds of kilometers of tunnels in an attempt to destroy Israel from the face of the earth. Israel needs to destroy these tunnels to protect itself.

Finally, thousands of rockets were fired at Israel over the years. This must be stopped.

Israel has every right to rescue kidnapped hostages and defend itself. This is not retaliation.

Mark Dressner, Long Beach

This story first appeared on: Los Angeles Times.