UC Merced professor accused of anti-Semitic tweets not returning for spring semester

A UC Merced chemical engineering professor who came under criticism for allegedly making anti-Semitic tweets last month is not on the course catalog for the spring semester.

While UC Merced officials have confirmed Professor Abbas Ghassemi is not teaching in the spring semester, they have not commented on his employment status — or whether he will teach at the university again.

Jim Chiavelli, assistant vice chancellor of external relations at UC Merced, told the Sun-Star he “can’t confirm or deny” any information with regard to Ghassemi’s status.

News of the professor’s alleged tweets was reported last month by the Jewish News of Northern California.

Later, the university announced an inquiry into Ghassemi. UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz condemned the anti-Semitic tweets in a statement posted Dec. 29 on the university’s website.

“The opinions presented in this Twitter account do not represent UC Merced or the University of California. They were abhorrent and repugnant to us and many of our colleagues and neighbors,” part of the statement read.

The university said the investigation would determine whether Ghassemi violated the school’s standards and policies. Depending on the findings, university officials would determine what consequences would apply.

In addition, university officials said they would develop a program for the spring semester to address free speech, hate speech and anti-Semitism in academia. Muñoz said he hoped the course would “promote ways to challenge discriminatory insinuations when and wherever they emerge within the university community.”

Plus, the university announced it would update its social media policies for staff and faculty to clarify its “expectations against intolerance.”

Chiavelli told the Sun-Star in an email “the associate chancellor is still evaluating partnerships for specific programming on anti-Semitism” at UC Merced.

Ghassemi’s Twitter account was deleted after news of the tweets was released.

Among the anti-Semitic tweets was a drawn representation of a “Zionist brain” that included a statement underneath that read “the compassion for others’ gland is not shown due to its small and underdeveloped nature, best viewed under a microscope.”

The Sun-Star made efforts to contact Ghassemi and his attorney for this story. Neither could be reached for comment.

Jewish groups speaking out

Jewish nonprofits and other groups have expressed concerns about the safety of Jewish students on campus, following news of the tweets.

Some also want more transparency from the university regarding Ghassemi’s absence for spring semester.

“Questions still remain about whether Ghassemi is receiving a salary throughout his suspension and whether he will return to teaching at some later date. The dangers of allowing him to spread Jew hatred on campus without proper repercussions cannot be overstated,” said Micha Danzig, national board member of Herut, in a statement.

Herut is an organization dedicated to unifying the Jewish community through education and activism, according to the organization’s website.

Danzig is also partner of End Jew Hatred, a movement that centers on Jewish liberation from all “forms of oppression and discrimination,” according to the group’s website.

Dr. Eli Ben-Moshe, CEO and founder of Shield of David, a nonprofit dedicated to standing up to anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination and racism, wants the university to instill training on anti-Jewish discrimination.

Furthermore, he wants the university to allow Shield of David and other nonprofits to speak as part of the training and inclusion.

Moshe said Jewish voices need to be included in the university’s inquiry into the professor’s behavior. “The thought that a panel is advising on an inquiry to the awful professor, without any Jew attending or observing is reminiscent of the Middle Ages or the Dreyfus Affair,” Moshe said in an email.

“Let’s make Merced better than the history that has treated Jews, them nor any other minority deserve this. The brain drawn by the professor would have gotten him fired in a second had it been about any other minority.”

Moshe also wants the university to include a Jewish life center or Chabad on campus.

The Sun-Star asked Chiavelli about that idea. He responded by email that “student organizations are formed by interested students, not by the university.”

In the meantime, Moshe has made it clear that he, other Shield of David members and Jewish organizations won’t stop fighting for Jewish students.

He plans to “provide a safe haven for Jewish kids” by bringing a rabbi near campus to provide counsel and come alongside other Jewish organizations to “take a stand” against the university.

“We don’t enjoy contacting your donors, supporters, meeting with you,” Moshe said in an email to university officials. “We don’t enjoy lawsuits either, but you are forcing us by being quiet. Your silence is deafening.”

This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 5:00 AM.