Oregon Hillel Vandalized

Legitimate criticism of Israel or anti-Semitism?

Oregon Hillel vandalized

From the Eugene Oregon Hillel Foundation:

We apologize for the graphic content, but today we were shocked and saddened to return to our building in Eugene to find one of our welcome signs in our parking lot covered with hate filled graffiti. We greatly appreciate the immediate support of President Schill, the Dean of Students Office and the Office of Equity and Inclusion. All have voiced their concern and support for our community and offered their resources. We have removed the sign and will work to clean it off – there is no other damage or graffiti to any other parts of the building. We have also communicated with Chabad & Akiva on Campus to make sure that they are aware and have offered to help keep an eye on all of our properties throughout the summer.

Below is a statement from Kevin Marbury, University of Oregon Vice President – Division of Student Life – we are very grateful for the quick response and support that the the university has shown to our Hillel and Jewish community on campus. Despite hate we celebrate light by lighting the Shabbat candles with our community around the world -

"Jewish student community members,

We have been made aware of anti-Sematic graffiti that recently appeared outside the The Oregon Hillel Foundation. Anti-Semitism and other forms of hate have no place at the University of Oregon. We condemn this as an unacceptable violation our university values. The UO Police Department has taken the initial report and is working with Eugene PD to further investigate. To the extent we are able, we will share additional information as it becomes available.

If you need support or any assistance stemming from this incident, please contact the Dean of Students office 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday at 541-346-3216, or if you need immediate support, you can contact the UO Counseling Center’s after-hour support and crisis line: 541-346-3227."

R. Kevin Marbury Ph.D., Vice President
Division of Student Life

The Palestine Exception: Free Speech for me, but not for thee

From Ollie Benn, Executive Director of San Francisco State University Hillel:

An unfortunate and embarrassing incident happened today on SF State's campus.

A high profile political figure was shouted down and prevented from speaking. Many students came to hear Jerusalem Mayor Nir Birkat, as they had previously for other Hillel speakers this year representing a wide array of views. But a small group of hecklers came today solely to prevent the campus community from hearing a viewpoint they did not like. Unfortunately they succeeded.

There is a concerning trend that college campuses are not spaces where diverse viewpoints are tolerated. Recently, we have seen acts of outright hostility and physical aggression when one person did not agree with the views of another on campus.

We've tried incredibly hard at SF Hillel to be a responsible partner on campus for civil discourse, and to contribute to a more positive environment for dialogue, tolerance and education. Today's disappointing events demonstrate that one party alone cannot effect change; it requires the commitment of the entire University community to create a diverse place of learning that is tolerant, respectful and dedicated to its academic mission.

We are working with our partners on and off campus, and will provide further updates in the coming days and weeks. We will ensure that campus continues to be a space that promotes the robust exchange of ideas.

We are once again proud of our Hillel students who were not intimidated by today's interruptions. Even though the Mayor could not continue his public remarks, many Hillel students stayed to learn from Mayor Barkat in a smaller group, and to ask him their earnest and challenging questions, over the shouts of those who tried to silence them.

From Hillel International:

Hillel International joins San Francisco Hillel (SF Hillel) in expressing our outrage that Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat was shouted down and prevented from speaking at San Francisco State University this evening. It is incumbent on all university leaders to ensure that diverse voices are treated with respect on campus and that attempts to forcibly prevent free speech not be tolerated.

“Colleges and universities cannot allow a vocal minority to inhibit the free speech of others and prevent the free exchange of ideas to which our higher education system is based,” said Eric D. Fingerhut, president and CEO of Hillel International. “We will work with the administration at San Francisco State University, as well as college administrators across the country, to ensure that distinguished speakers such as Mayor Barkat are welcomed on campus and given the opportunity to freely express their views.”

In response to the incident, Nir Barkat stated.

"Anyone who thinks that calls for violence and incitement will be able to silence us or divert us from our position is mistaken," Barkat said in response to the incident. "We will continue to build, develop and strengthen the State of Israel and within it a united Jerusalem and we will continue to voice our opinions and our legitimacy when we are invited to do so, even in places where they try to stop us."

Northeastern SJP suspended

"Mock eviction" notices are one of the tired tools of harassment the publicity crazed anti-Israel campus activists keep in their tool chest.

Apparently, at Massachusetts Northeastern University, the "Students for just us in Palestine" took it too far, upsetting and intimidating students already stressed by midterms.

From the Northeastern Hillel website:

Students in several residence halls woke up on Monday morning to fake “eviction notices” under their doors.  The notices were designed to appear as if they were legitimate, leading some students to believe that they were actually being evicted– during midterms.  The mock eviction notice is a publicity stunt that has been used at other college campuses in the past.  It includes factually inaccurate content about Israel and is part of a campaign of intimidation and fear used to manipulate public opinion against Israel.

 The incendiary content and irresponsible delivery of the material runs counter to the values of community and civil discourse upon which we pride ourselves at Northeastern.  Rather than seeking to prompt dialogue, the fake eviction notices alarmed and intimidated students in their homes, in clear violation of Northeastern policy.

We are in communication with Student Affairs regarding this incident, who have been quick to respond to student concerns.  The administration is working with the Northeastern University Police Department to conduct a thorough investigation...

The University administration acted quickly. This note was sent to the students affected by the notices, by  Robert Jose, the Associate Dean of Cultural, Residential and Spiritual Life at the University:

 Dear Residents,

Several of you have reported receiving flyers labeled as mock “eviction notices” in recent days. The flyers were distributed by individuals who did not receive permission from the university and did not comply with our policies. The incidents are under investigation and we are addressing the situation with the responsible parties.

 Northeastern University is an environment that fosters open dialogue and encourages discourse. Most importantly, we are committed to providing the safe environment for our entire community where the exchange of diverse ideas can take place. We understand that these incidents were at odds with this mission and made many of you feel uncomfortable.

 We do not condone any behavior that causes members of our community to feel targeted and/or intimidated. If you would like to talk to someone about how this has impacted you, feel free to reach out to me personally, or to any of the following offices: NU Hillel; the Center for Spirituality, Dialogue and Service or the Residential Life staff in your residence hall.

 If you have any information that might aid the NUPD’s investigation into this matter, please feel free to contact them at 617-373-2121.

Sincerely,
Robert O. Jose
Associate Dean, Cultural, Residential and Spiritual Life

The Northeastern University SJP chapter has been suspended for at least a year, and two students face additional disciplinary charges, and may face expulsion.

True to form, the SJP chapter wasted no time in proclaiming themselves the victims

With profound disappointment and righteous indignation Northeastern University Students for Justice in Palestine announces it has been suspended as an organization. SJP is disappointed because Northeastern’s claims of creating a diverse learning environment that encourages the free exchange of ideas and promotes Academic Freedom are impossible to reconcile with the university’s decision to suppress our speech and suspend our political group. As if banning our activities from campus and denying us all use of campus resources wasn’t outrageous enough, the university is pursuing expulsion-level sanctions for two students—all for participation in a mock eviction action. SJP is furious to report the only individuals to face our school’s opaque disciplinary process are two young women of color; none of the white or male participants have faced any charges. This unprecedented ban and appalling prosecutions are the latest attempt by the university to suppress pro-Palestine speech, and continues the university’s disturbing history of enacting injustice. 

As the Twitterati have gleefully pointed out, the Northeastern Chapter of SJP isn't the most together group, apparently once neglecting to show up for a protest that they had organized. Via the Northeastern SJP facebook page

 

 

Nice.

On free speech, Hillel, boycotts, and knife wielding jihadi wannabes

Written by Dr.Mike  and originally published in j weekly,  January 9 2014.  Cross-posted at Bluetruth. He really nails it here:

Let’s be honest: If the type of bloodthirsty hate demonstrated by Hammad had been aimed at African Americans or LGBTQ individuals — or Muslims — the response by the SFSU administration would have been swift and strong.

The Dec. 20 issue of J. featured two views touching on the issues of free speech and civil discourse as it relates to conversations about Israel. Both are thoughtful, well written and make some valid points. And both, in their own ways, are wrong.

 That’s a very presumptuous comment on campus issues from someone who is neither professor nor student. Yet the issues raised by Ryan Ariel Simon (“SFSU student’s call for civility starts with ‘I feel your pain’ ”) and professor Ari Y. Kelman (“Stifling voices hurts students, free exchange of ideas”) are those in which not only the Jewish community, but also the community at large, are stakeholders.
  
Hillel International, whose position on the limits of sponsored events was challenged by Kelman, is a Jewish community institution. San Francisco State, in the news yet again for hate speech directed at Israel, is a publicly funded institution subsidized by California taxpayers.

 The issues at SFSU are clear. Mohammad G. Hammad, the president of the General Union of Palestine Students, crossed a line with his glorification of murder and his knife-wielding threats against Israeli soldiers — and those who support them. Simon suggests the core of this issue is a lack of empathy, a “refusal to recognize or understand the pain of the other.” He appropriately attempts to span that divide by acknowledging that some Jewish soldiers, during and after Israel’s War of Independence, did have some responsibility for Palestinian civilians taking flight.

Indeed — this has been well documented by historians such as Benny Morris and Israeli authors such as Ari Shavit, and has been a subject in Israeli political discourse for years. And the broad center — as well as all of the left — of American pro-Israel groups recognizes the Palestinians’ desire for a state of their own. Thus they support peace between Israel and a future state of the Palestinian people living side by side and with mutual recognition. They host talks by Morris and Shavit, and by others like them.

Yet the response from the “pro-Palestinian” side is a near-complete rejection of peace and a refusal to recognize Jewish history in the land of Israel, with the insistence that “from the river to the sea, Palestine must be free” — free of a Jewish state, that is. Hammad and the GUPS have a track record of extremist, demonizing speech, though brandishing a lethal weapon and threatening to use it to behead an Israeli is a new low, even for them.

 Getting “pushed beyond our comfort zones” doesn’t mean having to accept graphic, specific threats from those who evince a desire to kill. Let’s be honest: If the type of bloodthirsty hate demonstrated by Hammad had been aimed at African Americans or LGBTQ individuals — or Muslims — the response by the SFSU administration would have been swift and strong.

 Simon feels that outside pro-Israel groups should have taken their direction from the Jewish students before acting. Given the fact that SFSU is a public institution, its stakeholders include all of the people of California. Nor are Hammad’s rants protected by “academic freedom” — he’s not a faculty member, and his activism is not part of his coursework. Pro-Israel groups did not come onto campus uninvited, which would have escalated an already difficult situation. Nor did they try to press an agenda except for urging the administration to uphold exactly what Simon calls for: civility of debate.

Kelman, in his piece, states that those who support the decision by Hillel International not to allow Hillel groups to host anti-Zionist speakers are hypocritical if they also condemn the American Studies Association boycott. That’s comparing apples and oranges. Hillel is an organization with a mission that includes support of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. It would be a violation of that mission, and a breach of trust with its funders, to host a speaker who opposes that.

 The ASA, on the other hand, is an ostensibly scholarly organization with a mission to promote the study of American culture. As an organization of academics, it has taken a position against academic freedom in support of a narrow and biased political agenda unrelated to its mission. And it did so by using the only tactics by which the BDS movement can engineer a victory: stealth resolutions without advance notice, and stacked debates at which the opposing side is prevented from presenting its case. One can easily recognize ASA’s breach of the principles of academe while simultaneously supporting Hillel’s objectives.

 There are always limits to speech that institutions will present. The NAACP is not going to host David Duke as a speaker, nor is the Democratic Party going to have Sarah Palin speak at its convention. Nor have we seen Muslim Student Associations host presentations by Zionists, although we have seen them forcibly shut down such presentations. The debate is not really about unlimited free speech — it’s simply about where we, within our community institutions, decide to set those limits.

SFSU Hillel Weighs in

San Francisco State University Hillel has been quiet throughout this controversy.   Nearly a month to the date of the incident at Malcolm X plaza, they have released a public statement, calling for community members to sign a petition in support of Jewish students at the school.

From San Francisco State Hillel:

We are deeply troubled by the recent events that have taken place at San Francisco State University, in which individual students have openly glorified violence, including in this latest incident directed against Israeli soldiers. These expressions of violence are unacceptable and have no place in an academic environment. This has already led to an increased sense of fear and intimidation among some students, even while we continue to engage in dynamic and visible Jewish programming on campus. SF State has, in recent years truly become a welcoming environment for Jewish students and we are committed to maintaining that openness.

We appreciate the work that goes on behind the scenes by President Leslie Wong's office, the Dean of Students, local law enforcement and security personnel, campus group leaders, and students to ensure that SFSU continues to be a safe place for all students, irrespective of religion, nationality, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation or political affiliation, and demand that the work not stop until all students feel safe on campus.

Please sign their petition here 

To San Francisco State Hillel:

The community appreciates that you have been working behind the scenes.  Nonetheless, as the primary representative of the Jewish community at SFSU, you ought to have been the conduit for information, for planning, and for coordinating a community-wide response.   There has been only silence for nearly a month.

Indeed, "individual students have openly glorified violence", but when these "individual students" are the presidents of student organizations at a tax-payer financed institution, it is an indication of a much deeper problem.

Parents with children at SFSU, and the overall Jewish community look to Hillel for proactive leadership in university matters such as these.  Please make an effort to communicate more effectively with your constituency.  Thank you for your continued efforts, and remember than we are all partners in insuring a safe and successful experience for our students.