UCSD Jewish, Muslim students work together for more dining options

SAN DIEGO—Jewish and Muslim student groups at UC San Diego had an idea they could work on together — creating a campus dining spot with both kosher and halal dishes.

It was a small but meaningful collaboration amid tensions that have arisen from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a global campaign that has sought to put economic and political pressure on Israel, in part, to protect Palestinian rights.

"I don't think anyone on our project team thinks this will solve those disagreements," said Zev M. Hurwitz of the Union of Jewish Students at UCSD. But "we also think it's possible to be progressive and productive on things like campus dining hall offerings."

The students' effort is one of several in the UC system to create kosher-halal dining spots — most of which are still in the planning stages. But Jewish and Muslim students said the opportunity to work together has helped build understanding.