Editor’s Note: The piece Torkian is responding to was originally published in Vol. 59, Issue 4, with the headline “UCSD recklessly promotes study abroad program in Israel.” The UCSD Guardian welcomes the feedback, criticism, and continued dialogue of our readers in the form of letters to the editor. Our full policies for submission can be found here.

Dear UCSD Guardian Editor,

The critical article that Staff Writer Jaechan Preston Lee published last month regarding the study abroad program in Israel parades misinformation and pushes harmful rhetoric. Following his call to eliminate the program would undermine UC San Diego’s commitment to academic freedom and further demonize Jewish community members.

First, the characterization of Israel as an “apartheid state” is easily disproven. Arab citizens of Israel enjoy equal rights, and policies regarding disputed territories are temporary and were established in response to the threat of attacks. When the violence ends, so will security apparatuses. 

The genocide libel is equally dubious. Lee not only treats Hamas’ debunked casualty figures as credible, but also ignores that no perpetrators of genocide have taken life-saving measures or ceased operations after their hostages were released. He’s turned a legal term that properly applies to Hamas into a political weapon against Israel.

All the sources Lee offers have faced criticism for dishonesty and bias against Israel for decades. The hyperlinked United Nations report was cowritten by a rapporteur so antisemitic that she has been sanctioned by the U.S. government. Lee also cites Hamas-allied Al Jazeera to suggest that Israel attacked neighboring countries for no reason, without mentioning resident terrorist groups. 

One of his arguments targets Israel’s archaeological work, which Lee portrays as a means of exerting control over land. By acknowledging the existence of Jewish artifacts, he affirms Judaism’s roots in the region, yet dismisses that as irrelevant to Jewish land claims. He also overlooks concerns that these sites would face destruction under Palestinian control. This debate underscores the importance of students seeing Israel’s archaeological realities firsthand. 

Even Lee’s concern for safety buckles under scrutiny. Lee rejects professor Geoffrey Braswell’s comparison to similar UCSD programs in countries with the same travel advisory, both by denying they happened — they did — and by making a nonsensical claim about organized crime. If he believes Hamas terrorism is less predictable and more dangerous than cartel crime in Guatemala, why does he believe these terrorists should control the land?

The whole article seems like an excuse to isolate Zionist students and persuade readers to do the same. Don’t take Lee’s word for it: Immerse yourself in Israel’s vibrant communities, speak with people from diverse backgrounds, and form opinions you can defend with your own experience.

If you don’t want to visit Israel, the solution is simple: Don’t visit. But to deprive students of the opportunity is to attack their freedom of choice. And if students being exposed to opposing perspectives derails your cause, perhaps it isn’t an honest one.

Campus culture has been divisive and exclusionary toward Jews and Israelis since Oct. 7, 2023. Harmful narratives shut out anyone who does not agree, and Lee’s piece contributes to this trend.

By hosting this trip, the anthropology department demonstrates a commitment to fostering critical thinkers who inform their opinions through conversations rather than 60-second videos on their TikTok feeds. If we all learn to listen, as the program’s participants do, maybe we can see one another as more than sides of a centuries-old geopolitical conflict.

Sincerely,

Ellia Torkian

Revelle College 2026

Los Angeles