US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issues report on UCI's response to anti-Semitism

I will comment later once I have time to read through everything.

The 11-page report, as published by the OC Register

Full article: (Link)

Civil rights investigation clears UCI
Agency says lack of evidence in allegations by Jewish students.
by MARLA FISHER
The Orange County Register

IRVINE – A federal civil rights investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism at UC Irvine found “insufficient evidence” that the university failed to respond appropriately to complaints by Jewish students, according to a reportreleased this afternoon.

Investigators with the department’s Office for Civil Rights visited the campus 11 times since 2006 to monitor demonstrations and interview students and staff. They failed to substantiate complaints that campus officials had ignored or downplayed anti-Semitic behavior, according to the Nov. 30 report released today.

UCI has earned a national reputation, spread largely by bloggers and pro-Zionist organizations, of being, in one organization’s words, “the most notoriously anti-Semitic campus” in America.

That appellation has been vehemently denied by campus officials, who say tensions between Jewish and Muslim students on their campus are about the same as at similar schools.

Earlier this year, the University of California released a report showing that 85 percent of UCI students said they believed there was respect for all students regardless of race or religion on campus. That is about the same percentage as other UC campuses around the state.

The Department of Education investigation was launched in 2004, after complaints filed on behalf of students by the Zionist Organization of America, a pro-Israeli organization with chapters in a dozen cities, including Los Angeles.

Some Jewish students complained about harassment, including reports of swastikas on campus and destruction of a Holocaust memorial display.

Muslim students have similarly complained about problems, including a fire that destroyed a mock depiction of the Palestine wall.

Jeffrey Rips, executive director of the Hillel Foundation of Orange County, which operates a Jewish student union at UCI, said he had not had a chance to review the report yet today, which is the last day of Hanukkah.

“I’m glad they finally came out with a report,” Rips said. “One way or another, it can give direction to the campus.”

The Los Angeles office of the Zionist Organization of America referred callers this afternoon to the East Coast office, which had closed for the day.

In its report, the civil rights office said that none of the 13 allegations could be substantiated. Some could not be acted upon because they were too old. The agency requires that complaints be filed within 180 days unless they show a pattern of discrimination.

According to the report, the agency found that several years-old complaints, including one of a rock thrown at a Jewish student and destruction of a Holocaust memorial in 2003, did not contribute to a hostile environment on campus because they “constitute isolated acts that were unrelated to the timely alleged acts.”

In other cases, investigators found that university officials acted appropriately, or that the complaint could not be conclusively identified as anti-Semitic.

For example, a swastika found in a bathroom in the Social Ecology building could not be considered anti-Semitic because it was accompanied by a vulgar phrase toward Asians.

In another reported incident, where a Jewish student’s flag of Israel displayed on the door of her dorm room was defaced with a swastika, the agency found that the university “responded promptly and effectively.”

“When OCR (Office of Civil Rights) investigated the timely allegations that suggested a possible hostile environment based on national origin, OCR found, in all instances, that the University took prompt and effective action to address the incidents,” according to the report.

While acknowledging that speeches, articles, marches, symbols and other events sponsored by the Muslim Student Union were “offensive to Jewish students,” they determined that they were not based on their national origin, but “rather based on opposition to the policies of Israel.”

In the case of inflammatory campus speakers, investigators found that most speakers “distinguished opposition to Zionism from opposition to Jews.”

The report also states there is “no evidence that the University implemented a systematic discriminatory policy.”

UCI Chancellor Michael Drake issued a statement saying that campus officials are “very gratified with the outcome and closure of this matter.”

“We are firmly committed to freedom of speech and open discourse, which are central to our missions of teaching, research and public service, and equally committed to maintaining a safe, non-threatening environment for all members of our campus community,” Drake said in his statement.

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, who has been critical of UCI in the past, said he wasn’t surprised that many of the older complaints were not substantiated.

“This is a classic case of distant bureaucracy in action,” DeVore said.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7994 or mfisher@ocregister.com

Professor Dershowitz's speech from last Thursday

UPDATE 12/5/2007 3:31 PM PST

A friend helped me summarize the text below:

My beef is that Professor Dershowitz did not say, and should have said Thursday night or in reply to my email "yes, I said those words" and then talked about the context of that section the Salon.com article - how he was trying to come up with an acceptable form of torture, and how testicles, while used by most torturers, should be completely off limits.

And now, my original post:

This post is definitely not going to make me any friends in the Jewish community, so I took a lot of time to think this over before publishing this. It's still doesn't give justice to what I'm feeling and thinking inside, but at least it'll get some of my thoughts out of my head.

Audio of the speech and Q&A

(as the content is graphic, you will need to register with LiveLeak to listen to it - sorry folks. If you know of another site online that serves up 100+ MB MP3's for free, post in the comments.)

I had been looking forward to Professor Dershowitz's speech for some time. Ask anybody who talked with me about it - I said that he wasn't Ann Coulter or Daniel Pipes. He knows how to properly phrase the facts and challenge those who need to be challenged without going over the line.

Admittedly, the event itself was a bit theatrical, making it like Professor Dershowitz and Rabbi Spitz were sitting by the fireplace in nice, upholstered chairs. But when the Q&A came on, I was impressed.

Then came the fourth and final question (which starts at time stamp 1:11 / 71 minutes on the above recording):

The questioner is a Muslim student, who begins by asking Professor Dershowitz why he said he supports legalized torture.

Professor Dershowitz denies ever saying such a thing.

The student says effectively "well I have this quote" and precedes to read the following:

"Quote. I want maximal pain, minimum lethality. You don't want it to be permanent, but you want to cause the most excruciating, intense, immediate pain."

Professor Dershowits interrupts the student at this point, stating "No, you got that from a hate web site that made it up. So let me tell you my views. Everywhere I go the same quote is read and it comes from the same place."

At this point, the student breaks in and says "let me finish" and continues: "Now, I didn't want to write about testicles, but that's what a lot of people use. Unquote." The student then says "so my question is, in the past 5 years, since this interview appeared, have you come to a clearer position on the abuse on genitalia in torture and would you be willing to practice what you preach".

Professor Dershowitz's response was first to talk about supposed urban legends about him, then he goes into what he says his beliefs are. He says he has written about torture since 1988 and "I am categorically opposed to the use of torture under all circumstances. That is my normative view," but he wants there to be what I think he would term to be a "torture warrant" should a person in a US enforcement role request the use of torture so there is accountability.

So Professor Dershowitz basically says - without explicitly saying it - that the quotation is false.

Now, you may be asking, where did this student get this quote? Salon.com - a left-of-center online news magazine which I would not consider a "hate web site" to use Professor Dershowitz's term - on September 12, 2002 published an interview by Suzy Hansen of Professor Dershowitz, supposedly interviewing him while he was at his summer home in Martha's Vineyard. The topic was his then recently published book, Why Terrorism Works.

Page 4 includes this Q&A:

Aren't there other forms of torture that would be less painful than that, that you might have considered?

But I want more painful. I want maximal pain, minimum lethality. You don't want it to be permanent, you don't want someone to be walking with a limp, but you want to cause the most excruciating, intense, immediate pain. Now, I didn't want to write about testicles, but that's what a lot of people use. I also wanted to be explicit because I didn't want to be squeamish about it. People have asked me whether I would do the torturing and my answer is, yes, I would if I thought it could save a city from being blown up.

You'll note that the wording of the answer published by Salon.com appears to more or less match the quote from the student's question.

Now several questions need to be answered here:
1) Could this be a made up quote?
Maybe, but it seems doubtful, and here's why:
I found this MP3 excerpt of the same interview on Salon's website. The questions and answers posed in this excerpt start about 4 questions after the quoted Q&A I list above. So if there is an audio recording of part of the interview, chances are the entire interview was recorded. If that is the case, why would Ms. Hansen have to make anything up for her published interview?

2) If this was a made up quote, did Professor Dershowitz, upon finding out, respond in some of his writings?
It appears not. I've checked Professor Dershowitz's website's publications page - nothing, though the Salon interview is also not listed. His blog began 3 years later, so that doesn't count.

3) What does Professor Dershowitz think about this?
I emailed him Friday morning with a brief summary of what you've read so far, asking him three key questions: If I obtained the whole interview, would I hear
something different? Is Salon.com in your view "a hate site" like you
described it last night? Did Salon.com misquote you?

Here was his response:

I stand by everything I said in context. I don't approve these methods. I approve requiring a warrant when they are used, as they will be in a ticking bomb situation. I have writen [sic] extensively and clearly about this problem yet the questioner misquoted me and wrenched my remarks completely out of context to make it sound as if I supportted [sic] these forms of torture which I do not. He got the misuote [sic] not from salon but from a hate website

It pains me that this was his response.

We've all said things in the past that we later regret. I've taken people to task in this blog for things that they've said, especially when they refuse to own up to it (for instance, Chancellor Drake's comments on May 31, 2007, denying that anti-Semitic speakers are invited to campus more than 2 to 3 weeks a year).

In addition, many of us have complained that the administration looks the other way when anti-Semitism happens on campus, ignoring documented violations of university rules. How can I then look the other way when someone from our side refuses to admit that they've said something?

Why didn't Professor Dershowitz just say "yes, I've said that, but five years later, here's what I've come to believe"?

It's estimated that 1,000 people attended that speech. Most of those people paid $18 to reserve a seat (that includes me); a large portion paid $100 for a VIP version of the event; and let's not even talk about the donors who footed the majority of Professor Dershowitz's speaker's fee, which is rumored to be several tens of thousands of dollars.

How can we now accept anything that he said as true? How can we continue to say that we have the truth on our side?

Professor Dershowitz made it clear Thursday night as well as in some of his more recent articles that he does not support legalized torture. He put on a great performance on Thursday night. I just wish he could have at least been a bit more explicit about the Salon.com article.

Just to round things out...

...a list of attempts by the UCI administration to reduce the anti-Semitism on campus:

Both of these, unfortunately, primarily preached to the choir:

• Fall 2004 Quarter: Inter-religious dialogues: event list PDF - Note: During the Common Ground discussion, I thought there was a breakthrough when one of the Muslim members of Common Ground told a Muslim student that the anti-Semitism was unacceptable. I was wrong - Amir Abdel Malik Ali showed up a few months later with the same vitriol.
  
• 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 School Years: Difficult
  Dialogues: event list - these events unfortunately included: former President Carter's speech in May 2007, and a blatant attack on Israel and Zionism by Sheik Sadullah Kahn in November 2006
  

Chancellor Drake's Expressed Chosen Ignorance - May 31 2007

Orange County Register: UCI falls short on a test of leadership

LA Times: Harsh speech called free speech at UC Irvine

Commentary from the Concerned UCI Student on the event - includes links to a full audio recording of the event

Daily Pilot: Voices from UCI

Posts on Middle East History Classes at UCI

Note: there will be some overlap due to entries with both tags as well as dual coverage

My posts tagged with "Lina Kreidie", UCI lecturer

Reut R Cohen's posts tagged with "Lina Kreidie"

My posts tagged with "Mark LeVine", UCI Professor of the Modern Middle East

Reut R Cohen's posts tagged with "Mark LeVine"

Google Search of Red County's posts on Mark LeVine

Google Search of OC Blog's posts on Mark LeVine

Mark LeVine's interview in 2004 on Fox News Note: Then Student President of the Anteaters for Israel Merav Ceren was supposed to be interviewed on the same program.

Mark LeVine's HuffPo articles

Professor Mark LeVine's UCI Faculty Page (warning: it's set to automatically start playing a interview - scroll to the bottom of the page after the audio starts to access the audio controls)

Google Search of UCI's pages for "Mark LeVine"

Google Search of UCI's pages for "Lina Kreidie"

Incidents violating UCI policies in the 2006-2007 school year alone

This is just going to cover material from the 2006-2007 school year.

Complaints filed in 2006-2007 school year:

• MSU violates UCI Code #41.20
  
• MSU Violates Code 42.30
  
• MSU *again* violates #102.02 Note that this is not the first time they've violated #102.02: they posted falsified quotations and quotations taken completely out of context on their "Apartheid Wall" in May 2006 and used a falsified quotation on their May 2004 Anti-Zionism Week flyer.
  
• February 2007 letter written to the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights regarding the January 2007 disruption and anti-Semitic speech at the Daniel Pipes speech
  
• Video of that disruption and text of the anti-Semitic speech at the Daniel Pipes speech in January 2007
  

Material worthy of a complaint in 2006-2007 school year:

Speeches:

• Short snippets from Amir Abdel Malik Ali's speech at the flagpoles from May 17, 2007
  
• Longer video from Amir Abdel Malik Ali's speech at the flagpoles from May 17, 2007
  
• Blog entry from a student who was attests he was shoved and threatened by students after trying to videotape Amir Abdel Malik Ali's May 17, 2007 evening speech - This also includes video of Acting Director of Judicial Affairs Edgar J. Dormitorio throwing this student out for the apparent crime of videotaping the event. This long-held but completely uncodified policy was enforced until October 19, 2007, when UCI announced it would no longer enforce requests for speeches to not be recorded.
  
• A more complete version of Amir Abdel Malik Ali's May 17, 2007 evening speech: "Victory or Martyrdom"
  
• May 9, 2007 speeches and Q&A with Imam Abdel Aleem Musa
  
• May 10, 2007 Q&A with Ward Churchill - note that this includes video of a Muslim-garbed female student shoving a camera into Reut Cohen's face (this starts at about time stamp 00:53). A nearby on-duty UCI police officer refused to do anything when requested. Nothing came about even after Ms. Cohen filed a complaint with the Dean of Students Office.
  
• Video of the MSU's "Apartheid Wall" from May 2007
  
• Video of a MSU student or supporter losing it and beginning to curse out three students on the sidelines of a MSU event
  
• Video of Lenni Brenner's May 15, 2007 speech
  
• Three clips from Amir Abdel Malik Ali's October 2006 speech on the Hezbollah-Israel war
  
• StandWithUs's edit and commentary of Amir Abdel Malik Ali's October 2006 speech
  
• Amir Abdel Malik Ali's Ramadan Lecture
  

There is a lot more material from previous school years - I am putting it whenever I have that rare, valuable thing called a "several hour free moment", which almost never happens.

Please Stay Safe

To those of you threatened by the fires, please stay safe.

If you're interested in monitoring the situation, click this link for the Orange County Fire Authority update page.

2006 to 2007 School Year at UCI: 23 out of 30 weeks had MSU-invited anti-Jewish Speakers

This list, compared with the number of events from the 2005 - 2006 school year, shows an increase of 130%.

--

Amir Abdel Malik Ali, Imam Asi, Imam Mohammad al-Asi, Imam Abdel Aleem Musa, and Ward Churchill are all un-repentant anti-Jewish speakers.

Sheik Sadullah Khan may have learned that his words do cause harm, and thus appears to have improved his language, in public at least.

Kareem Elsayed, Osman Umarji, and Ghaith Aljazzar are all former leaders of the UCI MSU.

Mohammad Merteban is a former leader of the UCLA MSA.

CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Federal HAMAS funding case and is an unapologetic supporter of HAMAS.



THE LIST

Fall 2006
8 out of 10 weeks

Week 1
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1383
THURSDAY:
Ramadan Lecture
Speaker: Amir Abdel Malik
5pm – Maghrib

Week 2
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1388
TUESDAY:
Themes of the Quran –
Speaker: Sheikh Sadullah Khan
5-6pm at the Cross Cultural Center Conference Room

THURSDAY:
Israeli Invasion of Lebanon –
Speaker: Amir Abdel Malik
12-1pm at the Flagpoles (Anteater Plaza)

Ramadan Discussion –
The First 10 Days of Ramadan – Seek MERCY; The next 10 days – Seek FORGIVENESS
Speaker: Amir Abdel Malik
5-6pm in the Cross Cultural Center Conference Room


Week 3
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1393
MONDAY:
Debriefing Meeting –
An evaluation meeting on last Thursday's events with Amir Abdel Malik.
2pm (after Dhuhr) at the CCC
[cUCIs note: Malik Ali did not show, and a non-Muslim student who attempted to attend this meeting was asked to leave because he was not a Muslim]

WEDNESDAY:
THE 3RD ANNUAL FAST-A-THON –

Come support the non-Muslim students on campus that pledged to fast for a noble cause. For every non-Muslim that fasted, various Muslim businesses and sponsors will donate money towards Humanitarian Day, inshAllah. Humanitarian Day is put on by the Coalition to Preserve Human Dignity, which is headed by the ILM Foundation. Br. Naim Shah is one of the main founders and organizers for Humanitarian Day, which serves thousands of homeless every year in Skid Row, one of the poorest areas in the United States . Humanitarian Day is dedicated to providing long-lasting resources like hygiene kits, medical care and clothing; it is headed up by civic Muslim organizations, and coordinated primarily by Islamic Relief.

SPEAKERS – NAIM SHAH and SHEIKH SADULLAH KHAN

6-8:00pm at BC'S CAVERN (Across from the Science Library

**If you would like to donate to Humanitarian Day, please feel free to contact Sr. Hanan Saadi at hsaadi@....


Week 5
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1403
THURSDAY:
North Korea – No Oil; No War
Speaker – Imam Asi
12-1pm at the flagpoles

MSU Discussion –
Speaker – Imam Asi
5-6pm in the Conference Room of the CCC


Week 7
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1416
MONDAY:
Sisters' Quran Class –
5:30pm at ICOI
Instructor: Sheikh Sadullah
*This is a Qur'anic studies class for sisters, which will be covering topics of: rules of Tajweed overview and recitation, Qur'anic Tafseer of key concepts and events, Qur'anic Vocabulary and much more!
**For more information please contact – Sr. Aicha Sebaa at aichasebaa@...

Tajweed Class –
6:00pm in Gateway 1 (behind the area where we pray)
Class Leader: Br. Kareem Elsayed
*Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an "Those to whom We have given the Book read it as it ought to be read... (2:121)." Tajweed is the science of how to read the Qur'an as it aught to be read and we are commanded by Allah (swt) to read His book using Tajweed . Insha'Allah this class will cover the rules of Tajweed as well as how to properly pronounce the letters of the Arabic alphabet. If you are new to reading the Qur'an or if you are a pro, insha'Allah you can learn something in this class.
**For more information please contact – Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...

TUESDAY:
Frosh/Soph Discussion –
6:30pm in HICF 100L
Discussion Leaders: Sr. Huda Shaka' and Br. Kareem
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact – Sr. Huda Shaka' at hshaka@... and Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...



Week 8
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1421
MONDAY:
Tajweed Class –
6:00pm in Gateway 1 (behind the area where we pray)
Class Leader: Br. Kareem Elsayed
*Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an "Those to whom We have given the Book read it as it ought to be read... (2:121)." Tajweed is the science of how to read the Qur'an as it aught to be read and we are commanded by Allah (swt) to read His book using Tajweed. Insha'Allah this class will cover the rules of Tajweed as well as how to properly pronounce the letters of the Arabic alphabet. If you are new to reading the Qur'an or if you are a pro, insha'Allah you can learn something in this class.
**For more information please contact – Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...


Week 9
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1425
TUESDAY:
Themes of the Quran
5-6:15pm in HICF 100Q
Topic: The Quran as our Guide
Speaker: Sheikh Sadullah Khan





Week 10
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1430
TUESDAY:
Frosh/Soph Discussion –
6:30pm in HICF 100L
Discussion Leaders: Sr. Huda Shaka’ and Br. Kareem
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact – Sr. Huda Shaka’ at hshaka@... and Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...

------


Winter 2007
9 out of 10 weeks

Week 2
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1445
TUESDAY:
Tarbiyyah Lecture –
Topic: Themes of the Quran
Speaker: Sheikh Sadullah Khan
5:15pm in SSTR 101 (Social Science Trailors)

Frosh/Soph Discussion –
6:30pm in SSTR 101
Discussion Leaders: Sr. Huda Shaka' and Br. Kareem
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact – Sr. Huda Shaka' at hshaka@... and Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...


Week 3
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1447
TUESDAY:
Da'wah Class - The Importance of Da'wah
5:30-6:30pm in SSTR 102
Discussion Leader: Br. Osman Umarji
*We will be starting an Interactive Da'wah Class this quarter with Mock Dialogues along with lectures on Da'wah related topics. This week, our dear Br. Osman Umarji will be talking about the importance of Da'wah - how it is obligatory, and what we can do as students.

Frosh/Soph Discussion – (Sr. Huda Shaka's Last Discussion Session!!)
6:30pm in SSTR 102
Discussion Leaders: Sr. Huda Shaka' and Br. Kareem
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact – Sr. Huda Shaka' at hshaka@... and Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...



THURSDAY:
OUTDOOR EVENT –
The Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (Co-Sponsored with ASU)
12-1pm Flagpoles (Ring Road)
Speaker: Amir Abdel Malik

INDOOR EVENT –
Moses (pbuh): Truth to Power
5:30-7pm in HH178 (Humanities Hall)
Speaker: Amir Abdel Malik


Week 4
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1449
TUESDAY:
Frosh/Soph Discussion –
6:30pm in SSTR 102
Discussion Leaders: Br. Kareem Elsayed
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact –Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...

THURSDAY:
Aushura Event
Speaker – Sheikh Sadullah Khan
5:30-7pm in HH178


Week 5
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1453
TUESDAY:
Frosh/Soph Discussion –
6:30pm in SSTR 102
Discussion Leaders: Br. Kareem Elsayed
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact –Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...

WEDNESDAY:
Seerah Class – Battles during the time of the Prophet (SAAW) –
6:30-7:30pm in HICF 100N
Class Leader – Br. Ghaith Aljazzar
*For more information please contact Sr. Aicha Sebaa at aichasebaa@...


Week 6
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1457
TUESDAY:
Frosh/Soph Discussion –
7pm in HICF 100Q
Discussion Leaders: Br. Kareem
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact – Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...

WEDNESDAY:
Seerah Class – Battles during the time of the Prophet (sAaws)
6:30-7:30pm in HICF 100N
Class Leader – Br. Ghaith Aljazzar


Week 7
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1462
WEDNESDAY:
Seerah Class – Battles during the time of the Prophet (sAaws)
7-8pm in SSL 140
Class Leader – Br. Ghaith Aljazzar

THURSDAY:
JIHAD –
6-7pm in SSPA 1100
Speaker: Hisham Mahmoud




Week 8
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1466
TUESDAY:
Frosh/Soph Discussion –
7pm in HICF 100Q
Discussion Leader: Br. Kareem
* The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact – Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...

WEDNESDAY:
Why Were They Killed: The Life and Death of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
7-8pm in Crystal Cove Auditorium
Speaker – Amir Abdel Malik


THURSDAY:
Why We Fight –
12-1pm
Speaker: Amir Abdel Malik


FRIDAY:
Jummah Prayer –
1:15-1:50pm at the Interfaith Trailer
Topic: Muslim Contributions
Speaker (Khateeb): Br. Mohammad Merteban




Week 9
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1477
MONDAY
SPECIAL DOCUMENTARY EVENT – "This Body is a Prison"
6-8pm in SSLH 100
*A first hand account of the life and stuggle in the West Bank, where Professor of Psychology Khalil Issa discusses the existential dilemmas faced by Palestinian youth as they attempt to develop a sense of self in a land carved by war.

TUESDAY
Themes of the Quran –
6-7pm in HICF 100Q
Speaker – Sheikh Sadullah Khan

Frosh/Soph Discussion –
7pm in HICF 100Q
Discussion Leader: Br. Kareem Elsayed
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact – Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...



Week 10
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1482
TUESDAY
Frosh/Soph Special Discussion – Open to everyone
6-8pm in HICF 100Q
Discussion Leader: Br. Kareem Elsayed, Sr. Qanita Mohiuddin, Br. Mohammad Mertaban
Title: Organizing Our Lives
Description: A hands-on workshop dedicated to teach us how to balance every aspect of our lives
**For more information please contact – Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@...

WEDNESDAY

Battles during the Seerah Class –
6:30-7:30pm in HICF 100N
Class Leader: Br. Ghaith Aljazzar

FRIDAY
Jummah Prayer –
1:15-1:50pm at the Interfaith Trailer
Topic – Tawakkul
Speaker (Khateeb) – Br. Kareem Elsayed

------

Spring 2007
8 out of 10 weeks if you include Sheik Sadullah Khan
6 out of 10 weeks if you think Sheik Khan has reformed himself

Week 1
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1489
FRIDAY
Jummah Prayer –
1:15-1:50pm at the Interfaith Trailer
Topic – Islamic Activism
Speaker (Khateeb) – Br. Mohammed Mertaban



Week 2
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1495
TUESDAY
Frosh/Soph Discussion –
6:15-7:15pm in CS 174 (Computer Science, across from Engineering Tower)
Discussion Leader: Br. Kareem Elsayed
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact – Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@ gmail.com

FRIDAY
Jummah Prayer –
1:15-1:50pm at the Interfaith Trailer
Topic – Akhlaaq (Noble Character)
Speaker (Khateeb) – Br. Ghaith Aljazzar


Week 3
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1500
TUESDAY
Frosh/Soph Discussion –
6-7pm in SSTR 100
Discussion Leader: Br. Kareem Elsayed
*The discussions are a place for us to bring up any questions about relevant issues we deal with everyday as Muslims. Focus is put on strengthening our foundation of Islam and working towards increasing our imaan by discussing the meaning of salah, the meanings of the names of Allah (SWT), and the need for Islam in the world.
**For more information please contact – Br. Kareem Elsayed at kareemelsayed@ gmail.com

FRIDAY
Jummah Prayer –
1:15-1:50pm at the Interfaith Trailer
Topic – Leadership
Speaker (Khateeb) – Br. Mohamad Mertaban


Week 5
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1507
WEDNESDAY
SPECIAL EVENT
Tarbiyyah Lecture –
7:45-9pm in HH178
Speaker – Amir Abdel Malik Ali
Topic – "The Methodology of the Islamic Movement"

THURSDAY
SPECIAL: Writing Workshop by Sr. Laila Karamally from CAIR
2:30-3:30pm in SSTR 101
*Come to this very rare workshop opportunity that will help you improve your writing skills!

SPECIAL: Palestine Workshop with Discussion by Amir Abdel Malik Ali
7:45-9pm in SSTR 103
*Come to this very rare workshop opportunity that will help you increase your knowledge on the situation of our brothers and sisters in Palestine.



Week 6
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1510
TUESDAY
SPECIAL EVENT
Surviving the Nazis: Remembering is not enough –
6pm at the Cross Cultural Center
Speaker – Hedy Epstein, Holocaust Survivor

WEDNESDAY
SPECIAL EVENT I
Islamic Revival –
12-1pm at the Flagpoles
Speaker – Imam Abdel Aleem Musa

SPECIAL EVENT II
The Atlantic Graveyard: an African Holocaust –
6pm in HH178
Speaker – Imam Abdel Aleem Musa

THURSDAY
SPECIAL EVENT I
Stop the War! Rally –
12-1pm at the Flagpoles
Speaker – Professor Ward Churchill

SPECIAL EVENT II
Manifest Destiny and the American Holocaust –
8pm at Crystal Cove Auditorium
Speaker – Professor Ward Churchill



Week 7
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1517
MONDAY

SPECIAL EVENT I
Why Palestine? –
12-1pm at the Flagpoles
Speaker – Imam Mohammad al-Asi

SPECIAL EVENT II
Hamas –
6pm at Crystal Cove Auditorium
Speaker – Imam Mohammad al-Asi


TUESDAY

SPECIAL EVENT I
Zio-Nazis –
12-1pm at the Flagpoles
Speaker – Lenni Brenner

SPECIAL EVENT II
The Trail of Tears – Roots of Israeli Apartheid –
6pm at Crystal Cove Auditorium
Speaker – Dr. Hatem Bazian

WEDNESDAY
SPECIAL EVENT I
Anti-Semitism: The Zionist Facade –
12-1pm at the Flagpoles
Speaker – Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss

SPECIAL EVENT II
Israel: A Mockery to Democracy –
6pm at Crystal Cove Auditorium
Speaker – Lenni Brenner

THURSDAY

SPECIAL EVENT I
Terrorists, Freedom Fighters, & The Holy Land –
12-1pm at the Flagpoles
Speaker – Amir Abdel Malik Ali

SPECIAL EVENT II
The UC Intifada: How You Can Help Palestine –
6pm at Crystal Cove Auditorium
Speaker – Amir Abdel Malik Ali


Week 8
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1519
THURSDAY
SPECIAL EVENT
Apartheid South Africa: A Personal Account –
6pm in TBA
Speaker – Sheikh Sadullah Khan


Week 10
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/1528
TUESDAY

SPECIAL EVENT
End of the Year Banquet
6pm at Crawford Hall
Speakers - Sheikh Sadullah Khan and Brother Hassan Elwan
Prereg: $10 | On-site: $15
*Come celebrate the end of an amazing year, and say good-bye to the graduates! Bring your family and friends.
**For more information or to register for the Banquet, visit www.alkalima.com/events.

OC Register: UCI deals with claims of anti-Semitism

Posted March 10, 2008

Here's an interesting quote from Mark LeVine, UCI tenured History Department Professor of the Modern Middle East, from the article below:

UCI Professor Mark LeVine...said he tried to mediate between the two student groups, but gave the task up as hopeless.

"The only thing that would satisfy the critics now would be if they expelled every Muslim student and painted stars of David on all the buildings,"

More interesting quotes from this article to come.

Link to Article

June 10, 2007
UCI deals with claims of anti-Semitism

Officials say blogs and outside groups make divide between Jewish and Muslim students seem wider than it is.
By MARLA JO FISHER
The Orange County Register

IRVINE – A young man in a turban, his face covered, marches around UC Irvine with signs saying "Death to Infidels. Death to Israel" during a week of campus demonstrations by Muslim students.

Here's the catch: He's not Muslim. In fact, he's not even a student at UCI.

Instead, he's one of many outsiders who have become embroiled in a campus war of words between a small number of Jewish and Muslim students.

Was he aware that passers-by might actually think he was a terrorist?

"Of course," said Max Gibson, 27, a self-proclaimed Zionist who lives in San Diego and is affiliated with a college Republican group. "It was to make people think."

Gibson's masquerade, authentic enough to spur campus police to disarm him of fake bombs strapped to his body, is an example of how real events at UC Irvine have spun off into their own sometimes fictional existence, spawning street theater and reverberating worldwide on dozens of blogs.

Events at UC Irvine are no different than at many other schools. A recent University of California study found 85 percent of UCI students agreed there was respect for all students, regardless of race or religion – roughly the same percentage as at other UC campuses.

Yet UCI has achieved a blog-inspired reputation for anti-Semitism – a notoriety that many campus observers say is unfair and unwarranted.

"A lot of the blogs distort facts and take things out of context," said Alex Chazen, president of Hillel: The Jewish Student Union at UC Irvine. "Many of the bloggers aren't on our campus and don't even know what's going on."

One of the most ardent bloggers and complainants about campus anti-Semitism, according to Dean of Students Sally Peterson, has not only already graduated from UCI but applied to and attended graduate school here.

UCI officials say they spend hundreds of hours each month trying to answer allegations that the they ignore anti-Semitic activities on campus.

Chancellor Michael Drake has met with religious leaders and spoken at synagogues and mosques trying to convince attendees that that the university should maintain a policy of free speech toward all campus groups.

Student discord over Israeli policies

The main source of discord among students is over the state of Israel's policies toward Palestinians in contested territories.

Like other campus groups around the country, the Muslim Student Union regularly invites inflammatory speakers who decry Israeli policies and go so far as to say that the state of Israel should not exist. The speakers use words deliberately designed to provoke strong reactions, like calling Israelis "the new Nazis."

Jewish students have also invited controversial speakers, one of whom said that "Palestinians must have their will crushed."

While these controversial speakers make the national circuits of college campuses – one recently spoke at Long Beach State with little fanfare – at UCI they seem to attract particular attention, particularly during the annual week when the Muslim students have a demonstration that includes construction of a mock "Palestine wall."

Jewish students also hold their own pro-Israel week on campus each year, as well as passing out flyers from their own booth during the Muslim events.

During Muslim student demonstrations, Chazen said the campus is an uncomfortable place for Jewish students. "The events put on by the MSU are definitely anti-Semitic," Chazen said.

The rest of the year, he said, "It's just like anywhere else."

Drake, who is scheduled to give the keynote speech June 28 at the American Jewish Committee's National Human Relations Award Dinner, has been criticized for resisting calls from Jewish leaders to repudiate specific speeches or speakers.

Drake said that, while he personally abhors "hate speech," he believes in the principles of academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas. He also pointed out that the most controversial speakers are invited by student clubs, not the university, and officials are prevented by law from banning such events.

Faculty members involved in the issue say students should be able to hear all sides of an issue, even if its one they find disturbing.

"We prepare students here to be adults," said Professor Scott Bollens, who is involved in the university's "Difficult Dialogues" project to promote harmony. "If we shut off debate, we treat them like little kids who can't be trusted with disagreements. That would just make them passive and mute pawns."

Chazen said the blogs have stirred up support for Jewish students on campus, but also annoy him when he goes home to visit his family.

"I get asked, 'Is UCI really a terrorist training ground?'" Chazen said, groaning. "That kind of thing doesn't do much good for us. I wish it was interesting to read about all the good Jewish students are doing, unfortunately it's more interesting to read about poor little Jewish students getting beat up by Muslim kids."

Media consultant Rod Mitchell, who lives in Houston, Texas, sent out a press release recently with the headline, "Why is there so much anti-Semitism on the UC Irvine campus?"

Mitchell's press release, promoting a pro-Israel event, claimed that UCI's Muslim Student Union "spews terror and hatred, preaching a Jihad against all Jews."

When contacted, Mitchell said he had no firsthand knowledge about "terror and hatred" at the Irvine campus.

"I'm just reading the information on the student blogs they're sending us," Mitchell said.

To keep tabs on the issue, UCI's Free Speech and Advocacy Team sends between five and 10 administrators to monitor every potentially controversial event. While the university doesn't legally have the right to control speakers, the team can and does intervene to keep the peace or halt disruptions by other groups.

Team members escorted a rabbi from Long Beach away from a Muslim speaking event last month.

When Muslim students disrupted a speech by an inflammatory anti-Muslim speaker earlier this year, shouting "Anti-Israel, anti-Hate," they quickly moved outside to avoid being forced to leave by campus officials.

Pro-Israeli blogs later described the peaceful incident, which lasted about 90 seconds, as being staged by "Islamist thugs" and "budding terrorists."

Members of the Muslim Student Union say they don't preach hatred against Jews, but they do criticize Israeli policies toward Palestine.

Club spokeswoman Marya Bangee acknowledged that her group has invited provocative speakers but that members are not personally anti-Semitic.

"People see Israel as part of their religious identity and say, 'They are attacking our religion instead of having a political debate,' " Bangee said. "But the way the Zionists on campus treat people speaking out against Israel is way worse. A woman once shouted out that Islam is an evil religion. Without a doubt we never said anything like that."

'American Idol: Jihad Edition'

Rabbi Yonah Bookstein, a Long Beach resident who's affiliated with the Hillel at California State University Long Beach, recently reported on his blog that "the frenzy of hate and pro-Jihad sentiment runs so high, it overflows into full-scale intimidation, harassment and even assault" at UCI.

Bookstein didn't appear frightened when he cheerfully invited a reporter to "watch our street theater" a few minutes before he staged the "American Idol: Jihad Edition," a counter-demonstration that disrupted a Muslim speaking event last month. The event later appeared on YouTube.com.

On another day, Bookstein came to a Muslim speaking event and passed out fliers dressed as a clown.

In an interview, Rabbi Yonah, as he's known, said Jewish students on campus "are in great need of help and support."

"I've gotten supportive mails from around the world," Bookstein said. "I am a constant voice to point out injustice and hatemongering."

The issue has become heated enough for the campus New University newspaper to publish an editorial in March entitled "UCI Anti-Semitism Distorted" and for the faculty senate to hold a rally to demonstrate campus tolerance.

"It also becomes apparent from the average age of attendees that the target audience of such speeches is not the average UCI student … but a strange smattering of Orange County residents that have nothing better to do than to see their conflicts played out through students," the editorial in New University read.

'At our paper, we've been called both anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim'

UCI student Ben Ritter, the paper's editor, said he didn't think UCI was any more anti-Semitic than anywhere else.

"People who are very devout Muslim or Jewish both tend to perceive they are being persecuted by the other side, but most people just ignore it," Ritter said. "I just got a letter to the editor that seemed to be saying more needs to be done about the prevalent anti-Muslim feelings on campus. At our paper, we've been called both anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim."

Even legislators have been drawn into the debate.

Assemblyman Chuck Devore, R-Irvine, said in May he was approached by "a few students at UCI who feel the environment of fear and hatred is growing out of control on that campus."

Devore said that leaders with the Jewish Anti-Defamation League told him "UCI has the dubious distinction of being in the top handful of campuses in America for anti-Semitism."

The assemblyman said students asked him to look into "two former students at UCI who are Jewish who claim they left UCI because of the atmosphere that fosters hate."

UCI officials say that no students have left the campus due to anti-Semitism.

"I think I would know about that," said Peterson, whose office reviews and investigates every harassment complaint.

Peterson said the controversy has been kept alive by a handful of students on either side of the issue – and that she gets complaints about unfair treatment from both sides.

"In my opinion, there are maybe five people trying to control and orchestrate this whole thing," Peterson said.

UCI Professor Mark LeVine, a Middle East scholar who once wanted to become a rabbi, said he tried to mediate between the two student groups, but gave the task up as hopeless.

"The only thing that would satisfy the critics now would be if they expelled every Muslim student and painted stars of David on all the buildings," said LeVine, whose criticism of Israeli policies has caused some critics to dub him as a "self-hating Jew."

Outside groups get involved

Jewish students are also supported and encouraged by outside advocacy groups such as the Zionist Organization of America and Stand With Us, "an international education organization that ensures that Israel's side of the story is told," according to its Web site.

On a typical day during the Muslim students' protest week, paid staff members from several advocacy organizations visit the campus to observe the events.

"It's not just student groups initiating things, but students responding to outside groups," Bollens said. "That's why there's energy on this conflict. I think, left to their own accord, left to be students in a university interacting in their own classes or public forums without outside groups, they would over time agree to disagree, or be more moderate and civil about things."

Bollens, whose academic expertise is studying polarized religious groups around the world, said "UCI is not an anti-Semitic place" and added that he thinks community groups should be welcome on campus, along with everyone else.

Sometimes, officials said, the stories of anti-Semitism are simply fiction.

A young man reported to his father in 2004 that he was being harassed and assaulted for being a Jewish UCI student, leading the infuriated dad to e-mail campus authorities and castigate them for doing nothing.

"My son has been assaulted both physically and verbally on campus," the father wrote in an e-mail, adding that "it appears campus security takes no action."

On further investigation, concerned UCI officials had to report to the boy's father that he wasn't a harassed student, in fact, he wasn't a UCI student at all. He was not then, nor had he ever been, enrolled at UCI. Campus officials were surprised, however, to learn that the young man has now applied to enroll at the campus for fall 2007.

Max Gibson, the San Diego resident who marched in a turban around UCI, e-mailed a campus administrator on May 22 that he was "at UC Irvine campus, and as a young Jewish Republican, I am so, so, so enraged."

Gibson went on to say that he had "been spit on, received death threats and been insulted heavily this last week."

In an interview with the Register, Gibson, who is not a UCI student, repeated his allegations that he was spit on and threatened.

Campus police have a different version of the tale, saying that Gibson recanted when asked to discuss the threats.

According to a memo in which Assistant Police Chief Jeff Hutchison recalled the conversation, Gibson said, "I'm really sorry, but I embellished a bit"

"He said that no one had actually threatened his life, but four MSU students told him they would have their friends take care of me," Hutchinson reported that Gibson told him. "I said, "So you do not believe your life is in danger or that anyone is planning to kill you?" Mr. Gibson replied, "No, no. Not at all." I asked Mr. Gibson about the spitting incident and he said that the spit from the MSU student's mouths, who he argued with, would land on him as they argued. I asked him if he wished to file a formal crime report on any of these incidents. He declined to do so."

Swastika incident

According to the campus police, a widely reported incident where swastikas were sprayed on campus was actually a protest against university police who broke up a loud party.

The swastikas were sprayed from a paint can found near the party site, and vulgar expressions that accompanied the swastikas made it clear they were directed toward the "fascist" actions of the university, not a racial slur, police chief Paul Henisey said.

While UCI officials and faculty have been trying to combat the growing perception that the campus is anti-Semitic, the attacks are becoming increasingly vitriolic.

UCI's Dean of Students Sally Peterson kept one of many letters she's received on the topic from other people outside the campus.

"Since you promote Jew-hating Islamic garbage, you are clearly a worthless Nazi …," one letter read.

Jewish student population growing

So is UCI "notoriously anti-Semitic," as one blogger claims?

"Depending on who you talk to, you get a different answer," said Hillel president Chazen, who was formerly president of Anteaters for Israel. "There are two or three student groups who put on events that are anti-Semitic, but I really don't think the administration is to blame. They put just as many checks on the MSU (Muslim Student Union) as anybody else. In fact, the MSU just filed a complaint saying they were treated unfairly. In my years I've been here, I've been treated with nothing but respect." Tareef Nashashibi, a Muslim whose son is a UCI student, said "people should stick their noses out of UCI's business."

"If people are going to start dictating what speakers come in and don't come in, we might as well go live in the Soviet Union," Nashashibi said. "Let them hear all sides of the spectrum and make up their own minds."

UCI administrators said that, although anti-Semitism is not a big problem on campus, they're concerned stories on the blogosphere will discourage Jewish students from applying.

According to Hillel President Chazen, it hasn't happened yet.

In fact, Chazen said, UCI has more Jewish students now than ever before, about 800 to 1,000, and a growing membership in its Jewish fraternities and sororities.

"We've had a steady increase in students accepting their admittance to UCI," Chazen said. "If Jewish students are really concerned, then they should come here and increase our numbers."

Contact the writer: 714-796-7994 or mfisher@ocregister.com

Chancellor Drake didn't tell the full truth at Shir HaMa'alot; some might say he lied

At the Chancellor Drake town hall forum two nights ago, the Chancellor was asked if he said the "one person's hate speech is another person's educational speech" statement. Click here for links to the full audio of the event

The audio of this specific question and the Chancellor's response is here

So how did the Chancellor answer the question?

The Chancellor chose to do a joke about being photo-shopped and simply denied saying the statement.

But where did that statement come from, and was the Chancellor's answer truthful?

Reut Cohen's article "Jewish Students Discuss Vandalism With Chancellor" attributes Vice Chancellor Manuel Gomez with saying that statement:

"Gomez emphasized that though hate speech may be present, he would not seek to curtail it, as 'one person's hate speech is another person's education.'"

But the Chancellor WAS in the room:

"More than a dozen Jewish student leaders met with Chancellor Michael Drake and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Manuel Gomez on Wednesday, October 18 [2006] to discuss the recent anti-Semitic vandalism here amidst a broader discussion about how Jewish students feel they are treated."

The Chancellor had full opportunity last night to say "ok, that was said by a member of my administration. I want to apologize for the hurt it caused. I'm sorry."

Some might call the Chancellor's response - a joke with a simple denial - LYING.

It was also unbecoming of a leader of a top-notch university whose opening remarks included statements about SEEKING THE TRUTH.

Now permit me to note this too:

If Chancellor Drake was a student, not telling the full truth - some would call it lying - would violate UC campus policy (not just UCI, the policy of ALL UCs).

Specifically #102.02, which covers all dishonesty outside the classroom, including furnishing false information:

102.00 Grounds for Discipline

Chancellors may impose discipline for the commission or attempted commission (including aiding or abetting in the commission or attempted commission) of the following types of violations by students, as well as such other violations as may be specified in campus regulations:
...
102.01 All forms of academic misconduct including but not limited to cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic dishonesty.

102.02 Other forms of dishonesty including but not limited to fabricating information, furnishing false information, or reporting a false emergency to the University.

Audio of Last Wednesday's Open Town Hall Forum at Shir HaMa'alot with UCI Chancellor Michael Drake, MD

The audio isn't great, so you'll need to either turn up your speakers or wear a pair of headphones to hear it clearly. Obviously, if you do use speakers, please make sure those around you won't be disturbed by any loud noises.

If anybody knows an audio engineer who would be willing to volunteer his/her to clean up and isolate the audio on this and other recordings, please contact Reut Cohen at rrcohen@uci.edu

Thanks to Rabbi Richard Steinberg and Congregation Shir HaMa'alot for putting on the program!

Note: For now, it appears one must have Windows Media Player to listen to these files. Soon, though, I'm hoping to use Flash-based players, but I need to work with LiveLeak on it. Let me know if you run into any problems.

Introductory speeches by Rabbi Richard Steinberg of Shir HaMa'alot, Jeff Margolis (the "mediator"), and Chancellor Drake himself

Part 1 of the Q&A

Part 2 of the Q&A and Chancellor Drake's final remarks

Keep monitoring Reut Cohen's Blog

Reut Cohen is doing a stellar job of reporting on the anti-Semitism at UC Irvine. Make sure to check her blog daily for the latest videos and articles at http://reutrcohen.blogspot.com

(photo is from StandWithUs)

Al-Awda Conference Relocated After UC Riverside Stated Discriminiation Was Not Permitted

Hat Tip: A friend who will for now remain nameless

I have trouble agreeing with Lee Kaplan of Stop The ISM on a lot of things, but I do have to congratulate him for his efforts in making sure discrimination did not happen on a US college campus - especially a public campus like UC Riverside.

The Al-Awda Conference Website statement:

WHY VENUE CHANGE

The host committee decided to move the convention from the University of California at Riverside to the Embassy Suites Hotel - Anaheim South when new unacceptable conditions were demanded by certain UCR administrators well after they had approved the venue. For example, the administrators levied new administrative, security and other fees in the thousands of dollars which the hosts of the convention at UCR viz. the Students for Justice in Palestine would be expected to pay. Such prohibitive fees are highly unusual and have almost certainly never before been levied at UCR on any other student group. Additionally, the university administrators insisted that Zionists be allowed to attend the convention, and that they film the convention and its participants, a remarkable attempt at intimidation.

All these new conditions and unreasonable demands were considered by the host committee as an attempt to shut down the Fifth Annual International Al-Awda Convention. Hence, the committee decided to move the convention to the Embassy Suites Hotel - Anaheim South, 11767 Harbor Boulevard, Garden Grove, CA 92840 - The committee felt that this private venue would provide a safer and more secure environment for our community and convention attendees.

Lee Kaplan of Stop The ISM wrote:

After considerable prodding by Stop the ISM, Assistant Vice Chancellor Sandoval set up three restrictions on the event that Al Awda obviously could not abide by. First, was an objection to a disclaimer posted on the Al Awda website that “the convention host committee reserves the right to decline any reservation at its sole discretion for any reason.” A similar disclaimer on the Al Awda website last year for the same conference at San Francisco State University was removed after Stop the ISM called attention to it with the SFSU administration. Public taxpayer-supported universities are not places where people can be barred because of their ethnicity or point of view as long as they behave in a lawful manner. At SFSU some Jews who support the existence of a Jewish state found their reservation requests ignored by the organizers. When notified the same thing was happening at UC Riverside, Sandoval intervened and insisted that the conference be open to anyone who could pay the entrance fee and attend in the spirit of an open university. He made Al Awda remove the restriction from their website.

Next came the issue of security. At the previous SFSU Al Awda Conference, the organizers had goons from their organization follow anyone around who they deemed as reporting what was really going on inside the event. The press was intimidated. This reporter was accosted more than once and even followed into the men’s room. Sandoval agreed such conduct should not be allowable at a public university and assured Stop the ISM that only UC police officers, some brought in from other campuses, would have sole authority for security. At the previous SFSU event some people were harassed even for taking notes or asking questions.

Of most importance was a decision made by Sandoval that cameras and recorders would not be banned at the UC Riverside event. In all other Al Awda and ISM events [cUCIs note: and at UCI indoor events], cameras and recorders are banned to prevent outsiders from seeing the anti-Semitism and outright support for terrorist groups overseas that goes on. Sandoval advised the organizers that UC Riverside was not to be used for secret meetings that the public could not scrutinize for legitimacy.

I highly recommend you follow this suggestion by Lee Kaplan:
Write Vice Chancellor James Sandoval ( james.sandoval@ucr.edu ) and Chancellor France Cordova ( france.cordova@ucr.edu ) and praise UC Riverside for doing the right thing once the truth emerged. Perhaps other universities will now finally catch on to the ISM and its affiliates like Al Awda [cUCIs note: and the UC Irvine MSU and SAS].

UCI MSU again violates UCI code #102.02 by furnishing false information

The UCI Campus Policies include the following:

102.00 GROUNDS FOR DISCIPLINE

Chancellors may impose discipline for the commission or attempted commission (including aiding or abetting in the commission or attempted commission) of the following types of violations by students, as well as such other violations as may be specified in campus regulations:

102.01 All forms of academic misconduct including but not limited to cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic dishonesty.

102.02 Other forms of dishonesty including but not limited to fabricating information, furnishing false information, or reporting a false emergency to the University.

To summarize, if you spread false information, whether as part of your classwork, or even outside the classroom in the public sphere, UCI will punish you, and could expel you.

Keep that in the back of your head as you continue reading this post:

The MSU today posted to their website the following two flyers for their upcoming annual anti-Israel week - click either to open it to full size in another browser window:

Front:

(original is available here: http://www.msu-uci.com/static/azfront.jpg)

Back:

(original is available here: http://www.msu-uci.com/static/azback.jpg)

The back flyer has the following quotation, attribution, and citation:

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not just an issue of military occupation and Israel is not a country that was established 'normally' and happened to occupy another country in 1967. Palestinians are not struggling for a 'state' but for freedom, liberation and equality, just like we were struggling for freedom in South Africa.

Nelson Mandela - Former President of South Africa in a letter to a New York Times columnist March 30, 2001

Now I've covered the MSU's use of falsified quotations and citations as part of their literature and events in a previous post. So when I saw this, I wondered if they were once again using false scholarship, which as I've shown is grounds for discipline.

I dug around a bit and found the referenced letter. It includes the text of the quotation, and is a memo from Mandela to Thomas Friedman, a New York Times Columnist. Click here to see it on Media Monitors Network as well as on the memo author's own blog.

Yes, MEMO'S AUTHOR - namely, Arjan El Fassed of Electronic Intifada and other groups.

It's a hoax - and in the Fassed's own words, it was "a clearly labelled [sic] spoof". He elaborates in depth at this link on his blog as to the scandal surrounding this hoax memo.

Apparently, the moment Fassed published his hoax memo, it was picked up - minus the byline - by a bunch of people around the world just looking for anything that will make Israel look bad, and didn't care if it was inaccurate. To those people - and I lump the MSU leaders and membership within this group - Israel is to be loudly and publicly demonized by any means necessary. The truth be damned!

Fassed published his hoax memo in March 2001. A month later, Fassed felt the need to publish a clarification aptly titled "Spreading Like Wildfire" explaining to the world that the memo was made up.

That information is readily available on the internet via a quick search - I found all of the above links within five minutes of Googling the quotation's text and "mandela thomas friedman".

Yet the MSU felt the need to publish this quotation as true fact. If they had spent 5 minutes checking sources, we wouldn't be in this mess.

But instead of doing their required duty under UCI code #102.02 by making sure they do not furnish false information, at minimum the MSU's leadership and possibly their membership chose to clearly ignore the prohibition once again.

And remember, they've done this before - the MSU has a history of false scholarship.

In addition, I should bring up the MSU's motive:

The MSU's goal year after year has been and continues to be to incite hatred and violence against Jews on campus. The MSU and their membership say they are "anti-Zionist", but many leading figures from the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the Vatican itself have stated that anti-Zionism is just another form of anti-Jewish hatred.

The MSU membership's hatred of Jews has appeared in their New University articles, letters, and opinion pieces.

You can read the support for violent Jew-haters and their organizations in their own magazine, Alkalima.

You can hear the calls to indiscriminate violence against Jews in their guest speakers' speeches.

And the MSU has planned more of this anti-Jewish hatred and calls to indiscriminate violence in this coming week's anti-Israel week.

This is not civil speech. This is hate speech, anti-Jewish hatred a.k.a. anti-Semitism, and moreover, this is outright intimidation.

No, it's worse than that - the MSU is attempting to dehumanize and debase Jews. Any real Holocaust scholar will tell you that dehumanization and debasement of a group is the first step towards genocide because it makes it easier to harm and kill the target group. After all, then the target group isn't human.

This is why a hostile environment against Jews has pervaded the campus for years, and why UCI has been under investigation by the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights for now two-and-a-half years.

These actions of intimidation by the MSU clearly violate the UCI Principles of Community, a document that not only every UCI student - MSU members included - agrees to follow when they enroll, but that every student organization's leadership - including the MSU - must acknowledge in an annually signed statement that "on behalf of my organization, I have received and read the Principles of Community."

In addition, given the definitions under UCI's Appendix M, I would find it hard to believe that these actions would not be classified as hate crimes and/or bias-related incidents.

I think the US Commission on Civil Rights would agree with these statements given its report a year ago on campus anti-Semitism as well as the information currently provided on their educational campaign website.

Hillel has even finally recognized that there is significant anti-Semitism on campus and has formed an task force to investigate the campus environment.

Students pay about $10,000 per year for the privilege to go to one of the top public universities in the US.

When students are thrust into a school environment where their kind is threatened with violence month after month with speeches that echo from the public campus squares through to the classrooms themselves, where people leave no doubt about their wish for someone to put a bullet not only in their head but those of their kind, it can and will do nothing but hurt those students' ability to study, which in turn hurts their GPA, which in turn reduces the ability to find the best job and salary levels, which in turn affects all kinds of things in those students' future lives.

The time has come for the UCI administration to revoke the MSU's registration with the Dean of Students once and for all and to not let them re-register for several years under any name.

The time has come for the UCI administration and the local authorities to investigate, prosecute, and throw out of school - and possibly in jail - the MSU's leadership, their active membership, and their guest speakers.

I await to see the UCI administration's response. This time, it had better be good and swift - and trust me, my standards, high as they may seem, are appropriate.

----

A copy of this is being sent to the US Commission on Civil Rights. If you or anyone you know experiences anti-Semitism at UCI or any US college campus, at minimum contact the USCCR immediately via one of the following methods:

Toll free phone: 1-800-552-6843
TDD/TTY: 1-800-877-8339
Email: referrals@usccr.gov


I would also recommend contacting Susan Tuchman, Director of the Center for Law and Justice at the Zionist Organization of America.

The US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights initiated its civil rights now two-and-a-half year long investigation of anti-Semitism at UCI only after Ms. Tuchman filed a complaint on the behalf of the Jewish students of UCI.

Ms. Tuchman wants to hear from you if you have experienced or someone you know has experienced anti-Semitism at UCI or any other US college campus. She continually updates the Office for Civil Rights as she hears about new incidents.

You may reach Ms. Tuchman by phone at: 1-212-481-1500
(Note this is in New York, so their hours are three hours ahead of ours)

US Commission on Civil Rights wants to hear more about the anti-Semitism on college campuses

The anti-Semites who visit UCI and other college campuses say they're against "Zionists", "Zionism", "Israel", "the Apartheid State", but they're not against Judaism. Trust me, they're just using code words. The Jews (if you can call them that) of Neturei Karta who come at the MSU's invitation are just as guilty - they've embraced people who call for genocide and who deny the Holocaust. The goal of their speeches, articles, letters to the editor, and newspaper columns is to incite hatred and violence against Jews and real Judaism.

Those same speakers call for violence targeting Jews simply because they are Jews. They say they support groups like HAMAS and Hezbollah. There's a word for that: INTIMIDATION

From what I've heard, some professors on campus are no better - they're teaching blatantly biased courses, and if you speak up, you risk getting a bad grade. There's a word for that: COERCION

The situation for you, your fellow students, and those students who will come after you will not get better - and probably will get worse - unless people continue to take a stand against these attacks against our kind.

The US Commission on Civil Rights, who issued findings and recommendations a year ago, now has a new educational initiative regarding anti-Semitism on college campuses: http://www.eusccr.com/

Click the link to find out:

• HOW to recognize anti-Semitism,
  
• THE PROTECTIONS and LEGAL OPTIONS you have available to you should you experience it,
  
• HOW to file a complaint with the USCCR,
  
• WHY you should file a complaint,
  
• WHY students need to speak up.
  

Ken Marcus, the Chief of Staff at the USCCR, stated during his visit to UCI last week that if you see anti-Semitism at UCI or any other college campus, HE WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE:

Toll free phone: 1-800-552-6843
TDD/TTY: 1-800-877-8339
Email: referrals@usccr.gov

If you have a camera on your cell phone or have a digital camera at the time, try to take a picture or film it. If you receive emails or messages on your Facebook / Myspace, etc., forward those messages.

Don't say "it's not worth reporting" or "it's nothing". It is worth reporting - anti-Semitism is not something to be ignored! It was ignored for far too long at UCI, and that only encouraged the anti-Semites to turn up the heat.

Don't let your friends or classmates downplay anti-Semitic incidents that happen to them. Tell them to speak up for their right to go to school without fear for themselves, and without attacks on their ethnic and religious background!

It is imperative that you report each and every incident that you experience.

The USCCR poster is right: Silence Is An Ally of Hate!

All It Takes For Evil To Succeed Is For Good People To Do Nothing - don't be one of those "good people".

All it takes is one call. One email.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE SITUATION ON CAMPUS. FIGHT FOR YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS.

Jimmy Carter's speech and Q&A at UCI

Part 1 of 2 (Introductions and Carter's speech):


RIGHT CLICK HERE to download the mp3 (part 1 of 2)

Part 2 of 2 (Q&A):


RIGHT CLICK HERE to download the mp3 (part 2 of 2)

Former President Jimmy Carter coming to UCI May 3rd

A friend of mine tipped me off to this and gave me the following questions that he/she already submitted for filtering by the administration. Feel free to post these same questions, just please do not cite the Concerned UCI Student.

UCI's announcement of Carter's visit on May 3rd

Go here to post a question

[INSERTING UPDATE]
If you do pose questions through the UCI website, please also email them to Reut Cohen; she is gathering the questions together for flyers as well as to generally get a sense of how many relevant questions are passed over by the UCI censors: rrcohen@uci.edu
[/INSERTING UPDATE]

Dershowitz's latest article on Mr. Carter (referenced in question 1 below)

Questions:

1) Mr. Carter, could you please explain reports that
you chose to keep a monetary reward in the name of
Shiekh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, even after Harvard
returned money from the same source because of its
anti-Semitic history?


2) Mr. Carter, the Muslim Student Union continues to
issue statements and bring in speakers which use
language that it characterizes as anti-Zionist and are
just critiques of Israeli policy.

This same language has been characterized by Jewish
students, faculty, and staff, as well as the US
Commission on Civil Rights, as anti-Semitic.

Could you please give some examples of language that
would go beyond being merely a civil criticism of
Israeli policy and Zionism, and would cross over the
line into anti-Semitism?


3) Mr. Carter, the Muslim Student Union on this campus
has invited speakers again and again who in their
speeches on this campus unequivocally support, cheer
on, and even call for violent indiscriminate attacks
against Jewish civilians - men, women, children, and
the elderly - who are targeted simply because they are
Jewish.

Events have been held by the Muslim Student Union to
memorialize the founders of a group which includes in
its covenant references from the anti-Semitic forgery
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as well as
selected quotes from Islamic scripture against Jews,
including one which talks about trees and rocks
calling out to Muslims to kill Jews - a quotation most
recently repeated by that same group's spokesperson
not three weeks ago on PA TV.

Mr. Carter, the same UC Irvine Muslim Student Union
has used quotations that have proven to be completely
falsified year after year after year as rallying
points for events - including their annual week-long
anti-Israel Week - most recently titled "Holocaust in
the Holy Land" - all in an attempt to incite hatred
not only against Jews in Israel, but also the Jewish
students, faculty, and staff at this university.
Please note that the knowing use of falsified
information both inside the classroom as well as
outside the classroom is grounds for discipline and
even dismissal from UC Irvine under campus rules and
regulations.

In 2004, an anti-hate rally was held on campus where
all student organizations were invited to participate,
except Jewish organizations, which were explicitly
dis-invited. The dis-inivited organizations included
the non-political / non-religious Jewish fraternity
and Jewish sorority. The Vice Chancellor for Student
Affairs - with full knowledge of the explicit
dis-invite - still chose to speak at the anti-hate
rally and has yet to apologize publicly for it.

This past January, a video was published of UC Irvine
Muslim Student Union members calling for Israel to be
wiped off the map, and the leader of the group stating
his wish that he could use more than words, that he
wanted to use violence against Jewish students,
faculty, and staff. These calls were answered with
shouts of "Allu Akbar" which in English is "God is
Great".

Even after repeated requests year after year after
year to the university administration to have the
perpetrators of these acts of intimidation, bigotry,
and calls to violence to be prosecuted, to our
knowledge not one prosecution has happened. So far,
the university administration's only public moves have
been to hold inter-religious events, which on another
campus would have probably solved the problem, but the
case of our university, it has only encouraged the
Muslim Student Union and its partners to intensify its
attacks on Jewish students, faculty, and staff.

Mr. Carter, because of these Muslim Student Union
events and actions, as well as other incidents on
campus, this university has been under investigation
by the US Department of Education's Office for Civil
Rights for not appropriately protecting Jewish
students, faculty, and staff against this anti-Jewish
hatred.

Mr. Carter, what should Jewish students, faculty, and
staff be doing in response to these acts of
anti-Jewish hatred and the university administration's
unwillingness to take effective action against it?

Harvard publishes paper criticizing media bias during the Summer Lebanon War

LGF's summary:

During Israel’s war against Hizballah, at LGF we were continually outraged by the media’s uncritical promulgation of terrorist propaganda, and their overwhelming bias against Israel. The barrage of staged and manipulated disinformation culminated in the infamous Adnan Hajj fauxtography incident; and it can be argued that the culture of tacit cooperation with terrorists was at least partly responsible for that stunning case of phony news.

How could Reuters’ experienced editors miss a fake picture that was so bleeding obvious, at every step of the way toward publication? Answer: because they just didn’t care.

It’s interesting that in an age of obsessive media focus on scandals, no wire service or newspaper has ever followed up on that story in any real way. Adnan Hajj seemed to simply vanish off the face of the earth; no interviews, no photos of him, no investigations, nothing; just that one statement where he claimed his fakery was to “remove dust.”

For blowing the whistle on Hizballah’s manipulation of Reuters, LGF was smeared by numerous leftists; the diversionary tactics ranged from personal attacks to attempts to minimize the importance of the faked photos.

Now the Harvard Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, hardly a bastion of neocon wingnut thinking, has issued a paper that absolutely skewers the media for their outrageously biased and terrorist-enabling behavior. Maybe this will be a little harder for them to ignore.

The full report (PDF)

"Richard Cohen gets something right"

Yet another way to spot anti-Semitism worded as anti-Zionism. See here for Natan Sharansky's 3-D's method.

Copied from Israel Matzav

My old friend Richard Cohen at the Washington Post is trying to figure out today why British journalists chose to boycott Israel of all countries. While he says a lot of things I don't like along the way, his bottom line as to why the journalists chose to boycott only Israel is spot-on:

The British journalists, like the academics before them, dare to tread where an army of goons has gone before. If they do not recognize the ember of anti-Semitism still glowing within them, they ought to park themselves before a mirror and ask why, of all the nations, they single out Israel for reprimand and obloquy. This business of assigning to Jews a special burden, for seeing in them more of mankind's bad qualities and less of its good, has a dark and ugly pedigree: the Chosen People, again -- and again in the wrong way.

Sympathies for those grieving after the Virginia Tech massacre

I'm still trying to figure out how to react to the VT massacre. My heart goes out to those who have family or friends who died, and those those who are still healing from wounds, may you heal quickly and painlessly and be back to your normal self as quickly as possible.

This event happened on a public university campus. UCI is also a public university campus - you'll note there are no gates and the public is welcome to visit. As I've told a few people, my greatest fear is that one day the MSU's, SAS's, and their partners-in-crime's hateful rhetoric will send somebody over the edge, whether it be a case of the so-called "Sudden Jihad Syndrome", or someone on the other side (Jewish, Christian, moderate Muslim, etc.) getting over-worked by the bullying tactics.

When violence breaks out again at UCI (from what I've been told, rocks and fists have been thrown in the past and unless the situation improves on campus, violence will eventually happen again), I hope the victims sue the UCI administration for every penny they've got for letting this go on for so long (7+ years?) and not doing everything in their power to stop it.

Credit is due: The image in the upper right hand corner is originally from here

"God Almighty When Will It End?" Subliminal & Miri Ben-Ari

Hat tip: Pajamas Media



If the above video doesn't work: Link

While the images in the above music video are definitely geared toward another generation, the rapper Subliminal's words and Grammy Award winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari's haunting version of my favorite melody of Adon Olam really struck me.

They are releasing this as part of the Gedenk (Remember) Movement, which according to the website:

Gedenk will use commercial outlets, i.e. music, dance, billboards and celebrities, to communicate its message and make the Jewish Holocaust relevant to today’s youth. Those that do not speak up are as guilty as the criminals themselves!

Great Support The Troops Video

Hat tip: FoxNews (click on the link to the video for supporting the troops)

Created by none other than a 15-year-old.

Already has more than 2 million hits on YouTube.

It's called "Remember Me".

Link if the video doesn't work

Saturday night is Yom Ha'Shoah

Saturday night is Yom Ha'Shoah, the annual day of remembrance of the Holocaust. Rabbi Stuart Altshuler of Congregation Eilat of Mission Viejo, CA wrote the following in his weekly message to the congregation:

This year saw the Denial of the Holocaust convocation in Tehran, Iran, an attempt on the part of the Iranian government, joined by some pretty vicious supporters all over the world which espouse the basest forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism and sponsor worldwide terror against Jews.

In England, education leaders all over the country have declared that they will remove the Holocaust from their public school curriculums in order to mollify Muslim and other "critics" who do not want to learn about the Shoah.

If we remain silent and stand by, if we ignore these horrific attempts to obliterate the memory of 6 million of our Jewish brothers and sisters who were murdered because they were Jews, then there will, for sure, be no one left to remember.

Zichronam Livracha---let’s make their memory our memory, a blessing for the survival of Judaism and the Jewish people forever.