(Note: This Interview was recorded before 6/7, when the University of California (UC) found an Orange County Judge to declare a restraining order on the UAW in order to suspend the legal strike action.)

Over the past months, encampments were set up to demand fiscal transparency and divestment from Israel’s militarism. Although this mass movement has commonly been accused of spreading antisemitism, Jews have disproportionately taken part in this movement to hold their universities’ administrations accountable.

At the campuses of the University of California, this movement has taken a unique turn as academic workers, organized through UAW 4811, launched a strike to challenge the unfair labor practices imposed to repress the student movement.

In this episode, Ben interviewed Rebecca Gross and Max Sàrosi. Max and Rebecca both have been key organizers of Jews Against White Supremacy (JAWS) on the campus, and Rebecca is also a leader of the union on campus.

While locally focused, this conversation explores JAWS as an organization that has been part of the wider movement at UCSC, and places the specific dynamics of the movement at UCSC within its context as part of the UC Divest coalition. We hope this conversation will help listeners better understand the character of this locale within the historic movement.

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Big thank you to Aly Halpert for continuing to allow us to use her music!