Berkeley activists heckle Holocaust survivor, laugh at antisemitism story

• Published date: 29 March 2024
• Author: MICHAEL STARR
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The over three hour session, which included agenda items for a Proclamation in Honor of City of Berkeley Holocaust Remembrance Day and a budget item for the 2024 Virtual Holocaust Remembrance Day, saw a bevy of pro-Palestinian speakers accusing the council of being bought off by Jewish organizations and interrupting proceedings. According to a JCRC video, a Jewish man's video was thrown by an anti-Israel activist at the dias

Speaker Susanne Dewitt, an 89-year-old who had been sent to the Dachau concentration camp with her family when she was four-years-old, was jeered after she said the surge of antisemitism in the wake of the October 7 Massacre made passing the Holocaust remembrance proclamations all the more important.

"We are currently witnessing a horrendous surge in antisemitism," said Dewitt. "Jews are now under existential threat the invasion of Hamas which broke a ceasefire in 2029[sic] led to the murder of 1200 Israeli and the brutal torture and rape of women the destruction of property."

Dewitt ran over the time allotted to her to speak, and pro-Palestinian protesters shouted "time," "lies," and "stop lying," to push her to stop making comments about Hamas atrocities.

At one point Dewitt told a group of activists that encircled her that they were acting like a mob. One woman said that she shouldn't be part of a genocidal entity, and that she should know better.

Melissa Chapman said on Zoom that "The Jewish community and Holocaust survivors in particular feel more isolated and afraid than ever. The climate here has reignited deep trauma suffered by survivors."

Anti-zionist Jews spoke

A speaker and proclaimed anti-zionist Jew named Henry addressed the Proclamation in Honor of City of Berkeley Holocaust Remembrance Day and the budget item for the 2024 Virtual Holocaust Remembrance Day Program, by saying that the lessons of the Holocaust that he had learned from his own Holocaust survivor parents brought him to recognize similar dehumanization, mass slaughter, and genocide was currently occurring against the Palestinians.

"If you continue to pass this proclamation without calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, without recognizing the fascist state that is and always has been Israel, without recognizing the genocide being committed against the Palestinians, without passing the people's ceasefire resolution, you are speaking out of both sides of your mouth," said Henry.

He finished his speech by claiming that the council was dealing in double standards, and...