Oakland City Council member disinvited from Berkeley after students object to his pro-Israel views

A California progressive was disinvited from giving a talk at the University of California, Berkeley, following a student letter attacking his pro-Israel views.

Dan Kalb, an Oakland City Council member and an environmentalist, was scheduled to speak to a UC Berkeley class focused on environmentalism but was disinvited by the class professor, Kurt Spreyer, following a student letter condemning his support for Israel, as reported by J.

Kalb said Spreyer disagreed with the students’ stance– more than 30 of whom wrote and signed the letter, which was shared on X– but was worried they would disrupt the talk and try to change the discussion topic from environmentalism to the Middle East, J wrote.

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The students wrote to Kalb: “Considering your active role in retweeting and spreading pro-Israeli propaganda . . .  on social media, questions arise regarding the validity, legitimacy, and authenticity of your views in regard to the advocation of our community.”

They claimed that because Kalb advocates for “environmental and social justice” and “universal access to health care,” it is “disappointing and hypocritical” for him to support what they called the “apartheid state of Israel” and the “ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

The students related Kalb’s support for Israel to the subject of his planned talk, environmental policy, by blaming Israel for “environmental apartheid,” claiming: “For generations older than the state of Israel, Palestinians have lived harmoniously with their land, maintaining long-standing indigenous practices of cultivation. However, colonial and imperialist projects, such as the state of Israel, thrive on the oppression and exploitation of land and its people.”

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The students further accused Kalb by stating that “we have deemed the legacy you have left behind to be one of hypocrisy,” but then insisted that “[i]t is not our intention to stifle diverse voices, but rather to ensure that the voices we engage with are grounded in a sincere commitment to knowledge and truth.”

Kalb expressed his frustration with the situation, stating: “If someone wants to go speak about climate change . . . what the hell does Israel or Zionism have to do with that? Why not put a yellow star on our sleeve? How about we do that too?” according to J.

Campus Reform has contacted the University of California, Berkeley, Council member Dan Kalb, and Professor Kurt Spreyer for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.