More than two weeks after 11 students were arrested at UC Irvine for disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador, the incident continues to draw sharp reactions from Jewish, Muslim and civil liberty organizations.Lots more at the link above, but readers should spend some time a Gary Fouse's blog. He teaches at UCI, and he's been reporting on the intense anti-Semitism on campus, and the leftist environment of hate. See, "Erwin Chemerinsky's Statement on UC-Irvine-and My Response." Here's a portion of Gary's response:
But the loudest voices are being raised far from campus, all but drowning out the sentiments of students.
A New York City-based Zionist group quickly urged college-bound students to drop UC Irvine as a consideration and asked donors to rethink their pledges. A leading Muslim civil rights group asked that charges be dropped against the protesters -- even though charges have not been filed. A state assemblyman requested that the Muslim Student Union be banished from campus. And some painted the university as embroiled in Muslim-Jewish conflict.
"I'm Jewish, and I only hear about this stuff at UCI when I'm off campus," said David Meyer, a UC Irvine political science professor who studies social movements.
The repeated interruptions of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren's speech Feb. 8 are the latest in a series of incidents dating back nearly a decade between Muslims and Jews on campus. But the sense among some is that the publicity UCI draws is out of proportion with the attention drawn by other universities, where protests and conflict might pass largely unnoticed.
"Orange County is such a conservative area and Irvine is such a conservative city, there's not that much in the form of activism and rocking the boat, you might say," said Reem Salahi, a civil rights attorney representing the students, known as the Irvine 11 ...
My name is Gary Fouse, and I am an adjunct teacher in the UCI Extension (ESL). I have been teaching part-time at UCI for over 11 years ....RTWT at the link, with video:
I became involved because, though I am not Jewish, I grew up in West Los Angeles among Jews. Later, I served in the US Army in Germany close to Nuremberg, a city with great symbolism in the Third Reich. That experience made me an amateur scholar on the history of the Third Reich. Suffice to say that I am very sensitive to the subject of anti-Semitism.
When I began attending the MSU-sponsored events a few years ago, I heard speech that greatly disturbed me. The primary focus was anti-Israel. Yet, I noted that many of the speakers also bashed America (their right under free speech, I concede), but also used language that I considered anti-Semitic as well (again, protected free speech.)
Let me focus on things that have been said on this campus by MSU-sponsored speakers.
RELATED: At Frontpage Magazine, "The Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine."
Plus, at the Times piece, Professor David Meyer doesn't appear to be an impartial observer. See his faculty page at the Dept. of Political Science. Meyer is the author of The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America, and -- surprise! -- the book appears extremely sympathetic to radical protest movements. Note that Meyer, as cited at the Times, is Jewish. You'd think he'd be more in tune to groups that frankly want Jews back in the camps.
These individuals display their inability to understand the right to free speech rights of others, while at the same time demanding their rights, ie.e, the woman claimed she was an American citizen. Being and American citizen doesn't give her the right to disrupt the speech.
ReplyDeleteAt Columbia, right leaning speakers don;t get the opportunity to finish their speeches, because radical left wing groups disrupt them--and get away with it.
These people look like intolerant fools, because that's what they are.