Quick Take
Three Santa Cruz Jews – Sheila Carillo, Caroline Kuspa and Dorah Rosen – say Temple Beth El’s leadership does not represent their views, particularly in response to decisions made since Oct. 7, 2023. They oppose the temple’s support for the film “October 8,” which they say misrepresents the pro-Palestinian protest movement as antisemitic and violent, and ignores the large number of Jewish activists involved and the police response they faced at UC Santa Cruz. They argue that the temple’s stance, along with similar actions and statements by local Jewish leaders, has alienated Jewish community members and allies.
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We represent three generations of Santa Cruz Jews and want to say Temple Beth El’s Jewish community leadership does not speak for us. We have opposed the temple’s decisions on four major recent issues affecting our community. We feel compelled to speak out now as we feel increasingly estranged and frustrated by leaders who keep alienating us.
The first point of disagreement is the campus protest movement that began in spring 2024 to support Palestinian rights. We stand behind the movement and the actions of student protesters. That’s why in April, we were dismayed to see the film “October 8” play in our community. The film depicts the pro-Palestine protest movement as antisemitic and violent.
Our experience makes us feel otherwise.
We believe that by showcasing a film depicting pro-Palestine students and activists – many of whom are Jewish – as responsible for the rise of antisemitism, these influential leaders are in effect legitimizing the targeting of peace activists, while ignoring the vibrant Jewish pro-Palestine movement. Santa Cruz is home to two anti-Zionist Jewish groups that are actively advocating for the end of the Israeli occupation: Santa Cruz Jews for a Free Palestine and UC Santa Cruz group Jews Against White Supremacy.
At the UCSC encampment last spring, about a third of the participants were Jewish, by our estimation. Jews – including one of us – were among the more than 110 arrested after the university administration called in 100-plus armed police officers to remove protesters and clear the encampment; a year later, many students and supporters remain traumatized. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against UCSC for its violation of students’ constitutional rights.
Reflecting our experience here in Santa Cruz, an informative, newly released film, “The Encampments,” better reflects our experience of the encampment and will be available for viewing in Santa Cruz on Saturday at The 418 Project as part of the Reel Work film festival.
We – and others in our circle – regard “October 8” as a deadly distraction that turns the spotlight away from actual antisemitism and allows what we view as Donald Trump’s fascist repression to slip under the radar. The film depicts diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in education as leading to antisemitism – an accusation used by the Trump administration to obscure our racist history
The film also fails to cite the antisemitism underlying efforts by the mostly evangelical Christian Zionist movement – 30 million strong in the U.S. alone – which believes in the ultimate erasure of Jews via a conversion to Christianity that will come from their return to the Holy Land.
Rabbi Shifra Weiss-Penzias’ recent Lookout commentary, calling out our government for its anti-immigration stance, gave us similar pause. We appreciate her opposition to our government’s “use of plainclothed, masked immigration officials who handcuff and whisk people off.” But we wish she would have mentioned that many of those targeted are student activists and academics expressing opposition to what is now widely considered a genocide in Gaza.
We also would have liked her to point out the reality that our government is playing on the Jewish community’s legitimate fears of burgeoning antisemitism to justify cracking down on the civil liberties of anyone who protests Israel’s narrative.
Temple Beth El takes pride in being a congregation based on social justice, but sadly, we feel misplaced accusations of antisemitism are alienating some of the very communities the congregation claims as allies.
In a second instance, in November, TBE’s Jewish Community Education Forum got involved in Pajaro Valley Unified School District school board discussions about the implementation of an ethnic studies curriculum. Group members insisted that PVUSD’s ethnic studies curriculum was antisemitic. Their accusations led to an abrupt halt in the district’s ethnic studies instruction and a draining two-year struggle by ethnic studies teachers and students to counter the charges. On April 16, the school board voted unanimously to bring back the ethnic studies contract – a position we supported and applaud.
In a third instance, last August, local Jewish leaders alienated allies with misplaced accusations of antisemitism, when Pajaro Valley Pride (PVP) selected Palestine Solidarity Central Coast (PSCC) — of which we are all members — as Grassroots Organization of the Year. Unconscionably, two rabbis and a Jewish gay-rights activist called a meeting with PV Pride organizers to convince them to cancel the award, claiming that PSCC is an antisemitic group and “Jews would feel unsafe attending.”
Despite pressure and a looming boycott, PVP stood firm in its decision.
Jews in attendance not only felt safe, but also honored to receive the award and march in the parade. The unfounded, divisive accusations wasted precious time, caused distress and diverted organizers from their mission “to transform the city of Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley area into a community that accepts and celebrates all forms of diversity.”
Tragically, the fracas appears to have left the future of Pajaro Valley Pride celebrations in question.
And finally, in January of 2024, we were among a crowd of Santa Cruzans flooding the Santa Cruz City Council chambers for 11 hours as the council was asked to endorse a Gaza cease-fire resolution. About 80% of the speakers – we among them – supported endorsing the resolution, which had been created by representatives of both sides of the issue.
Leaders of TBE led the minority opposition, with Rabbi Paula Marcus pointing out the resolution’s lack of condemnation of Hamas. After seven hours of impassioned testimony, the resolution failed, leaving many supporters alienated and angered by TBE leadership’s opposition and the city council’s deaf ear.
We believe that antisemitism is real and demands vigilance. But conflating pro-Palestine activism with antisemitism is a dangerous distraction.
We call on our Jewish leaders to recognize and point out the parallels between our Jewish experience of demonization, persecution, near-annihilation, and what Israel has long inflicted on Palestinians. We beseech them to educate their congregations regarding the dangerous misuse of the accusation of antisemitism.
Caroline Kuspa, is a digital artist and marketer. She organizes with Santa Cruz Jews for a Free Palestine, UC People’s Tribunal For Palestine, and Palestine Solidarity Central Coast and is an active member of Jewish Voice For Peace and Santa Cruz’s Tzim Tzum congregation. She is a millennial who was born in Santa Cruz.
Dorah Rosen, a member of Temple Beth El, Jewish Voice for Peace South Bay, and local Anti-zionist groups, has advocated for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine since 2002. She is retired from Santa Cruz Public Libraries and volunteers weekly with the Amah Mutsun Land Trust native plant restoration project and Salinas Valley State Prison’s Boundless Freedom Project. She has lived in Santa Cruz for 20 years and has traveled to Palestine and Israel twice as a volunteer teacher.
Sheila Carrillo is a retired educator and multicultural event producer. She is a Jewish social justice activist, writer, urban farmer, and 50-plus-year resident of Santa Cruz County. She began writing political commentary in 2016, after a trip to the West Bank. She is a member of Palestine Solidarity Central Coast and Santa Cruz Jews for a Free Palestine. In 2024, she was published in a collection, “When a Woman Tells the Truth: Writings and Creative Work by Women over 80.”