San Francisco State University bullies identified as Linda Ereikat and Lubna Morrar

San Francisco State University students  Linda Ereikat & Lubna Morrar have been identified by the website Canary Mission as the leaders of the protest that shut down a Hillel sponsored talk with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

From Canary Mission:
On April 6, 2016, Morrar and fellow GUPS SFSU member Linda Ereikat led a large group of anti-Israel protesters that shouted down Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, while he was speaking at SFSU.

Upon entering the room, Morrar led the group in yelling, “Get the f**k of our campus!” Following which Ereikat led the group in other aggressive and violent chants including “Intifada, Intifada!” as well as, “If we don’t get no justice, then you don’t get no peace” and “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!” — a call for Israel’s destruction.

Barkat’s personal security guards sprang to ensure his safety and a campus police officer arrived while student leaders from the event attempted to dialogue with the protesters. The protesters persisted in their disruption, forcing Barkat to move from the podium to sit with the audience, in an attempt to continue his talk.

TITLE V. Article 2. Standards for Student Conduct of San Francisco State University clearly states

Student Behavior that is not consistent with the Student Conduct Code is addressed through an educational process that is designed to promote safety and good citizenship and, when necessary, impose appropriate consequences.

This includes

Willful, material and substantial disruption or obstruction of a University-related activity, or any on-campus activity.

and

Participating in an activity that substantially and materially disrupts the normal operations of the University, or infringes on the rights of members of the University community.

Will there be "appropriate consequences"? Will SFSU President Les Wong do the right thing?  The odds are not good

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Is SFSU President Les Wong Part of the problem?

Our community is dismayed and disappointed by the lack of civility and disrespect that we saw this week at San Francisco State University.  Eyewitnesses reported that police and administrators stood by and did nothing while bullies from the General Union of Palestinian students (GUPS) and other groups screamed obscenities in an attempt to disrupt an appearance of Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat on campus  Afterward, the response of university to the disruption was predictably lukewarm.

Imagine if any other student group had been targeted. Would the response have been the same? Where are the safe spaces at SFSU for Jewish students?

San Francisco State University's General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) has been in the news before.  The president of the organization, Mohammad Hammad posted a photo on his tumblr account , declaring "I seriously can not get over how much I love this blade. It is the sharpest thing I own and cuts through everything like butter and just holding it makes me want to stab an Israeli soldier."

The San Francisco State University General Union of Palestinian students neither condemned Hammad's words, nor distanced themselves from them.

Why does SFSU continue to tolerate the intolerable?

It may be a top-down approach.

In a reception last year to celebrate the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diaspora Minor at San Francisco State University, University President Les Wong makes his feelings about the General Union of Palestinian students very clear. Pres. Wong appears between 15:23 and 30:10 in the clip.

In the clip, Les Wong, the president of a tax-payer funded university in a major US city  expresses his admiration for a group that glorifies violence on campus, declaring:



"I want to offer my personal congratulations to the student leadership of GUPS. They have been an inspiration for me. And they have helped me when I have to tell other community groups to mind their own business. GUPS is the very purpose of this great university."

General Union of Palestinian Students Event , SFSU

Les Wong actually visited the university called the "greenhouse for martyrs"  before he signed the MOU between SFSU and An-Najah University.  He spoke about his trip to Palestine, asking "Why aren't we signing more relationships with Arab Universities?", and declared  "as we repair the budget here, as we implement the strategic plan I have not lost sight of the commitment we've made to add faculty to support  students who want to learn more about the Arab world, and for me, Palestine in particular."

Wong adds: "We've tried to do some important things and that is to make sure our soul is still connected to the communities that are important to us, and thats this community. And when we do not participate, serve or respect that community we have in many ways lost our soul."

The students of the Jewish group Hillel would likely agree that SFSU  neither serves nor protects  their community, and that this university had indeed lost its soul. Increasingly it appears that a culture of intolerance is enabled from the top down at SFSU.

Meanwhile, back at San Francisco State University...

One can only imagine SFSU president Les Wong sitting in his office proudly reflecting on the worldwide attention his university is finally attracting.

In the meanwhile, the students are beginning to mobilize and fight back.

This remix of the notorious protest is making the rounds



A petition has been launched, demanding that Les Wong resign as president of San Francisco State University.

Pres. Wong has begun an "investigation", code for "stall until the next thing comes along to divert attention away from this".

Its not over by a long shot.

SFSU President Les Wong's bland response to campus bullying

The Bay Area Jewish community is still shocked by the nastiness and bullying of anti-Israel activists who disrupted a Hillel event at San Francisco State University.

The story has garnered world wide notoriety.

San Francisco State: Yet another shout down of Israeli speaker 

Pro-Palestinian Activists In San Francisco Interrupt Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat Speech, Chanting, ‘Intifada!’

Anti-Israel protesters crash Jerusalem mayor Barkat's speech in San Francisco

Concerned about the unsafe atmosphere at SFSU for students, people have been writing to Leslie Wong, president@sfsu.edu President, San Timothy White, tmolle@calstate.edu (Public Relations), Chancellor California State University and to Reginald Parson, Interim Chief, upd@sfsu.edu SFSUPD

The bland response of  Les Wong follows:  h/t Fousesquawk  

Thursday, April 07, 2016

Dear SF State community,

I am concerned for the state of civil discourse on our campus. There have been a number of events this academic year which have caused me to think extensively about our values and our mission.

Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem was invited to speak yesterday on campus by SF Hillel, a student organization. The Mayor’s talk, held at Seven Hills, was disrupted by a small but loud group of protesters. Members of our community who attended the event were deprived of an opportunity to hear from the Mayor.

As an inclusive academic institution, we strive to make San Francisco State University a welcoming environment for all. Students are encouraged to engage in thoughtful and respectful dialogue about difficult or controversial issues and, at the same time, to respect the rights of others to do the same. While there is a right to dissent, we must also uphold the right to speak and to learn.

The Dean of Students and University Police will perform a full investigation of this incident to determine if any violations of campus policy occurred. In addition, I am committed to examining the university’s planning and response mechanisms to better ensure that student events of this nature can occur unimpeded in the future.

We must come together as a campus to foster a supportive and collegial environment in which disagreements can occur thoughtfully and respectfully. We must strive to live our values — and to be a safe place where all the members of our community are free to listen and to learn.

I would appreciate your support in promoting this core value so the entire SF State community can feel welcome and safe to engage in the free exchange of ideas and views that is essential to our campus.

Les Wong
President
San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University President Wong responds to hate speech on campus

 From the Office of the President, San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University is recognized worldwide for making social justice a strategic priority; it is an integral part of our DNA. As president, I was deeply disturbed by incendiary language that marred an annual commemoration of a cultural mural on campus.

On November 7, 2013 members of the campus community gathered to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the installation of a mural honoring Edward Said. Nearby, several student organizations were staffing tables to raise awareness of their groups' activities. One table was set up to allow passers-by to create their own placards with a pre-made stencil, which read, “My heroes have always killed colonizers.”

I am dismayed by the glorification of violence that this message conveys. There is no place at SF State for celebrating violence or promoting intolerance, bigotry, anti-Semitism or any other form of hate-mongering. We are a university community committed to furthering civil dialogue. Each of us must remain vigilant in working to achieve this goal.

The university is a place where dialogue, debate and the marketplace of ideas are cherished. We must also maintain a safe environment. Engaging in expressions that threaten and intimidate are counter to these goals. In addition to conveying my firm commitment to a safe and civil campus environment directly to any students involved, I will be meeting with members of the campus community to express my concerns, and to learn more about their perceptions of our current campus climate. University leadership will continue to gather information about this occurrence and address it appropriately. We prize our role as a forum for open discourse and we will continue to work toward a campus culture that cherishes civility.

Les Wong
President


This appears to be California-speak for "No further action will be taken"

UPDATE:

The Amcha initiative has  responded to Pres. Wong's letter, urging him to take concrete steps to discipline the appropriate parties.  Their email follows:

In direct response to a letter from AMCHA co-founders as well as letters from many AMCHA supporters, yesterday SFSU President posted a statement on his official University website, in which he condemned an on-campus event glorifying murder and acknowledged that there is “no place at SF State for celebrating violence or promoting intolerance, bigotry, anti-Semitism or any other form of hate-mongering.” President Wong also stated that the University will continue its investigation of this reprehensible event.  (You can see President Wong's Statement HERE).

In response to his statement, AMCHA co-founders have sent the following letter to President Wong commending him for taking these important first steps and urging him to appropriately discipline the responsible parties:

Dear President Wong,
We commend you for your statement condemning an on-campus event which glorified murder, and for your acknowledgement that there is “no place at SF State for celebrating violence or promoting intolerance, bigotry, anti-Semitism or any other form of hate-mongering.” We also commend you for initiating an investigation of what we believe is clearly an antisemitic event.

We hope that at the end of your investigation, all those responsible for this incident — whether students, faculty, or staff — will be disciplined for their behavior, which violates the tenets of civil discourse and may be unlawful.

We and other concerned members and supporters of the Jewish community are eager to know what steps you will take to ensure that such behavior is appropriately addressed and does not re-occur at San Francisco State University.

Sincerely,

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin
Co-founder, AMCHA Initiative

Leila Beckwith
Co-founder, AMCHA Initiative