By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

I grew up as a member of a conservative family in Los Angeles, which revered Douglas MacArthur, Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower.  Thus, when I went to law school at Berkeley, I was shocked by the demonstrations on the undergraduate campus against the Vietnam War.

Indeed, I came to the law school as an Army officer who had obtained his commission through ROTC, and was deferred from active-duty service.  Classmates of mine and I would walk down from Boalt Hall—as the law school was named[2]—to watch Mario Savio and others from the "Free Speech Movement" give fiery speeches.[3]

Ultimately, such student demonstrations spread nationwide, and grew into vehement opposition to the senseless war, in which friends of mine died for nothing.  Today, dark and very serious forces are overwhelming Berkeley and elsewhere, trying to stifle free speech and discussions about the war in Israel, which may widen into a much-larger and more-devastating war.

Jewish members of two groups have been arrested in Washington, D.C. for advocating a ceasefire and an end to Israel's Apartheid system: IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace.[4]  At Berkeley, a law school professor named Steven Davidoff Solomon has slammed law students for "anti-Semitic conduct" on the campus, and told law firms not to hire them, which is unconscionable.[5]

Solomon should be terminated now.  He has adversely impacted the careers of Berkeley Law students; and his words and their effects cannot be retracted.  But the weak-kneed law school Dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, is too cowardly to act.  Both Solomon and Chemerinsky are a disgrace to the law school and to the university that gave birth to free speech when another war raged.

God bless the Berkeley Law students, and those who are part of the IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace demonstrations.  History may extend accolades to them for their courage.  And if history is accurate, it will record that Solomon and Chemerinsky disgraced their coveted positions and abused their power at Berkeley.

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© 2023, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate's Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/   He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service).  Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, and Who's Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams.  He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  The photo that accompanies this article shows the law school name being changed from Boalt Hall, which its Dean Chemerinsky was responsible for, or he was is too cowardly to act. 

[3]  See, e.g., https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Speech_Movement ("Free Speech Movement")

[4]  See, e.g., https://thehill.com/homenews/4263321-protesters-arrested-house-ceasefire/ ("Protesters calling for Israel-Hamas ceasefire arrested in House office building") and https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/ and https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

[5]  See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12638085/berkeley-law-professor-students-antisemitic.html ("Berkeley law professor slams students for 'antisemitic conduct' on campus and tells law firms NOT to hire them: 'It's your duty'")