Who is Steven Davidoff Solomon? Berkeley law professor asks firms to not hire 'my antisemitic students'
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA: Berkeley law professor, Steven Davidoff Solomon has called out his pro-Palestine students for their allegedly “antisemitic conduct” and advised the law firms not to hire them.
In a recent op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, the professor of law for one of the most prestigious law schools, Solomon wrote in his scathing critique that the students defending Hamas’ attack “advocate hate and practice discrimination.”
Steven Davidoff Solomon: ‘Don't hire some of my students’
The professor’s October 15 op-ed follows Berkeley's Law Students for Justice in Palestine group’s protest against Israel on October 11, per Daily Mail.
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Introducing himself as a professor of Corporate Law at Berkeley, Solomon wrote directly in his opinion piece that his students defending Hamas actions should not be hired.
He wrote in his Sunday op-ed, “My students are largely engaged and well-prepared, and I regularly recommend them to legal employers,” before adding, “But if you don't want to hire people who advocate hate and practice discrimination, don't hire some of my students.”
He wrote, “The student conduct at Berkeley is part of the broader attitude against Jews on university campuses that made last week's massacre possible.”
Mentioning that the same group voted to ban pro-Israel speakers from events last year, Solomon added, “It is shameful and has been tolerated for too long.”
He proposed, “It's time for the adults to take over, and that includes law firms looking for graduates to hire.”
Hailing the law firm Winston & Strawn for taking back the job offer from New York University student Ryna Workman for sending out a newsletter saying Hamas’s attack was Israel's “full responsibility,” Solomon said the firm Winston & Strawn set a powerful example.
He added, “If a student endorses hate, dehumanization or antisemitism, don't hire him,” before remarking, “When students face consequences for their actions, they straighten up.”
Solomon also advised the law firms to ask the students which organizations they supported in university during hiring.
He explained, “If a student endorses hatred, it isn't only your right but your duty not to hire him,” before concluding, “Do you want your clients represented by someone who condones these monstrous crimes?”
Berkeley LSJP says the professor's op-ed 'contains hateful misinformation'
The UC Berkeley's Law Students for Justice in Palestine (LSJP) strongly criticized Solomon's op-ed by posting a screen shot of his article and writing condemnatory messages on their Instagram story.
They wrote, "This article, written by a Berkeley Law professor, contains hateful misinformation and targets Berkeley students who support Palestinian liberation from occupation apartheid and genocide."
They added in another message, "When your law school refers to itself as a paragon of free speech but it's (sic) faculty desperately tries to quash any pro-Palestinian speech."
Earlier in a message on Instagram, the group said on October 11, "We condemn the heinous violence of the Israeli apartheid regime and emphasize the ways in which ideologies of Zionism and settler colonialism underpin such targeting."
