UC Berkeley invitation pulled for pro-Israel Oakland leader
A UC Berkeley instructor disinvited Oakland City Council Member Dan Kalb from speaking to his environmental policy class in November after students objected to Kalb’s social media posts in support of Israel.
Kalb, a UC Berkeley alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in conservation of natural resources, was scheduled to deliver a talk on climate change on Nov. 21.
The day before the lecture, instructor Kurt Spreyer sent Kalb an email asking him not to come after students submitted a letter to protest the council member’s appearance. J. first reported the story.
“Considering your active role in retweeting and spreading pro-Israeli propaganda, which often equates pro-Palestinian as ‘anti-Semitic,’ on social media, questions arise regarding the validity, legitimacy, and authenticity of your views in regard to the advocation of our community,” the letter read. It raised concerns about Kalb’s endorsements from Jewish organizations that support U.S. military funding for Israel.
Last month, Kalb and other Oakland City Council members unanimously approved a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
“It was disappointing,” Kalb said of the letter, adding that because he supports “the existence of Israel as a Jewish homeland,” he had been denied the opportunity to speak on an unrelated subject.
“One lesson that we have in politics is that you can disagree with somebody on something, but you have to work with them on other things,” the council member added. “The real question is not whether I and (the students) disagree on something regarding Israel; the real question is — is that a legitimate reason to not let me come and talk about climate change?”
He accepted Spreyer’s decision to cancel the talk, acknowledging that the instructor was under pressure and had tried — unsuccessfully — to get the students to back down.
“I think he felt that if I showed up, I would never get a chance to talk about climate change,” Kalb said. “They would have pulled the discussion into the Middle East.”
Spreyer did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
A spokesperson for UC Berkeley criticized the instructor’s handling of the situation in a statement.
“What happened in this class is not consistent with the university’s values, particularly because the class discussion had nothing to do with the war between Israel and Hamas,” the statement from university spokesperson Dan Mogulof read.
It went on to say that UC Berkeley Provost Benjamin Hermalin learned about the matter on Dec. 12 and wrote to Kalb to express regret on behalf of university leadership.
Additionally, officials at the Rausser College of Natural Resources met with the instructor “to ensure nothing like this will happen again,” the statement continued.
Hermalin will send a message to every dean and department head, reminding them of “Berkeley’s support for an open exchange of ideas, and our rejection of political litmus tests when it comes to who can speak in our classes,” the statement concluded, characterizing the cancellation of Kalb’s talk as a moment to discuss the dangers of censorship.
Reach Rachel Swan: rswan@sfchronicle.com