"Nothing has as yet, been 'resolved'"

This letter to the editor is in response to OC Jewish Life's publishing of an article praising the ADL for its work in combating anti-Semitism. See here for details on that article.

To the Editor of Orange County Jewish Life:

Thank you again, for the allowing me opportunity to write articles in past issues of Orange County Jewish life magazine. I believe that the magazine is as a great source of current events for our community.

In the November issue, an article entitled "Combating discrimination", contains what I believe to be an incorrect and potentially misleading statement. The side bar chronicling ADL's past accomplishments, reads as follows: "2005- ADL helps to resolve the Jewish/Muslim conflict on the UCI campus." This is by no means to diminish the past accomplishments of ADL, however it would be unfair to your readers, the community and most of all the students, to characterize this as a "conflict" which has been resolved. Furthermore, labeling this a "conflict" between Jewish an Moslem students is almost like saying that there was a "conflict" between Jews and Germans in the twenties and thirties.

I think that most community members know that many Jewish Students have alleged physical and verbal harassment from Moslem students, from the late 1990's until the present. The May 2006 "Holocaust in the Holy land" week and the October 2006 Malik Ali hate speech at UCI attest to this. During a recent interfaith panel at UCI, the Moslem Imams vicious anti-Zionist, anti-Israel diatribe was interrupted by enthusiastic Moslem students shouting "Allah Akhbar," as the Vice Chancellor and Dean of students sat quietly nearby. Furthermore, the university administration has been resolute in it's refusal to publicly denounce anti-Semitism.

Moslem Students continue to bring speakers on campus who:

1. Call for the destruction of Israel, (the advocacy of genocide is a crime in international law)
   
2. Invoke anti-Semitic rhetoric such as " Zionist Jews control the news media" .
   
3. Mock or deny the Holocaust.

I have recently spent many hours on the UCI and the CSUF campuses and attended many programs. Believe me, I have seen and heard much of this hateful rhetoric and worse. A recent anti-Israel "symposium" sponsored by CSUF philosophy department, the CSUF Political Science Dept. Middle Eastern Studies Program, CSULB, The Stanford University Coalition for Justice in the Middle East, the Al Awida Palestine Right to return Organization, and the American Friends Service, went completely unchallenged.

Several groups have been formed in OC with the goal of effectively dealing with anti-Semitism and providing support to the Jewish Students on campus. Your readers should also be aware that a Federal investigation, initiated by a complaint from the ZOA on behalf of Jewish students at UCI, is in progress. Nothing has as yet, been "resolved".

Sincerely,

Ted Bleiweis