Demand California Officials Remove Antisemitic Content from the State Voter Guide

California voters were shocked to see this conspiracy ridden hate screed in their 2026 voters guide, mailed to 23 million registered voters in California.  It's time to take action to keep this from escalating and to have it removed.  

Call  California Secretary of State Shirley Weber 916 653-6814  and ask that this hateful messaging be removed, and that steps are taken to prevent this from happening again

From Stand With Us

California's candidate statement guidelines are clear: statements must be "limited to a recitation of a candidate's personal background and qualifications."

The statement published by Don J. Grundmann does not meet that standard. Instead, it promotes hateful rhetoric and conspiracy theories unrelated to his background or qualifications.

Candidate statements are part of a state-controlled, taxpayer-funded publication sent to millions of voters. The State has both the authority and the responsibility to enforce its own standards.

California officials must act by:

• Issuing a public apology for allowing antisemitic content that violates SOS guidelines to be published

• Removing the statement from the voter guide website

The California Jewish Caucus Chair, Jesse Gabriel issued the following statement on behalf of the Caucus: 

We were outraged to learn that the Official Voter Information Guide for the California Primary — prepared by the Secretary of State and mailed to more than 23 million California voters — includes antisemitic conspiracy theories and links to websites with horrific racism, homophobia, and misogyny. This is dangerous, deeply offensive, and antithetical to California’s proud tradition of standing up to hate. We profoundly disagree with the decision to include this hate speech in the Voter Guide and are already working on legislation to address this issue. We have been in contact with the Governor’s Office and we will continue to work with our colleagues to ensure that Californians of all faiths and backgrounds are not subject to hate and bigotry, particularly in official state publications.

Incitement at San Francisco State: The Saga continues

What do you do when you are caught being a jerk?

After photos surfaced of San Francisco State University students carrying placards "My heroes have always killed colonizers" , a reasonable person might have expected an embarrassed "My bad", and an apology.

That didn't happen.

Instead, the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) at San Francisco State University  dug in their heels, refused to budge an inch and  instead have endlessly repeated a mantra extolling their eternal victim hood.

Instead of an apology we have a petition. The hubris and moral bankruptcy of GUPS is staggeringly arrogant and frighteningly perverse. Yes, they are calling incitement to violence and murder  a "principled position".   They defacto threaten the entire student body in the name of justice(aren't we all "colonizers" on native lands?), and yet they fear for their own safety. And they claim that "academic freedom" protects their right to glorify murder.

 Their petition follows:

Dear President Wong,

We are writing in response to the email sent to you and others by Tammi Benjamin, AMCHA initiative. We are appalled at this blatant attack against the integrity and principled position that GUPS AMED has maintained throughout their history. We are horrified by the baseless attack and allegations of anti-Semitism that have been leveled against GUPS, AMED, and the Cesar Chavez Student Center, the organizers of the 6th annual anniversary of the Palestinian Cultural Mural honoring the late Professor Edward Said.

We are proud to continue the rich legacy of justice-centered student activism at SFSU. GUPS has historically stood for justice in/for Palestine and has linked our struggle with that of all people’s struggles for self-determination, justice and peace.

We are concerned over our own safety and the safety of our friends, allies, and all those standing in solidarity with our movement, especially when their photos and names have been posted online as if to make them a moving target for violence.

This belligerent smear campaign meant to slander the Palestinian movement on campus has directly created a hostile environment that makes it impossible for us to express our views and exercise our academic freedom.

We call upon you, President Wong, to:

    Condemn this smear campaign
    Uphold our academic freedom as a core value of SFSU
    Ensure our safety and the safety of all

List of Endorsers and Signatories:

Student Kouncil of InterTribal Nations (SKINS)

Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlan (MEChA de San Pancho)



As of today, only 2 SFSU organizations have endorsed this petition, and only a handful of people have signed on. 

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

Hate Speech On Facebook: Report Hitler Memes

The title is "[Controversial Humor] Hitler Memes". It appears to be run by high schoolers, and no, its not funny in the slighest. As of today there are 653 "likes".

You can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Controversial-Humor-Hitler-Memes/375000169220913








Perhaps if enough people report this page it will be shut down It is not just hate speech- it is a direct incitement to violence .

Here's how. Go to the facebook page. Next to the Like button on the page there is a drop down menu that is part of the Message button. Click on the arrow pointing down and that will reveal a menu with options. Click on "report page". Click on "Hate Speech", (targets a religious group, or targets a race or ethnicity, depending on your preference) Then click on "Report to facebook" and hope that they do the right thing.

If that happens, expect Jewish Voice for Peace to claim that the voices of the people have been muzzled by the Zionist lobby.

UPDATE:

Thanks to Nycerbarb:

Here's one more thing you can do. Sign the petition at change.org and ask Facebook to take our complaints about Hate speech seriously.

Buddhists and Muslims in conflict in Burma? Burn an American flag in Gaza

From Ma'an

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Dozens of Palestinians protested in Gaza City on Wednesday slamming world inaction over violence against Muslims in Burma.

The demonstrators burnt American and Burmese flags and photos of Burma’s president Thein Sein.

"We stand here in front of the UN headquarters which did nothing to what the Muslims are being exposed to," a spokesman of the protesters said.

"We stand in Palestine in support of the Muslims of whom more than 2,000 were killed and more than 90,000 were displaced while the media is busy with other issues."

He called on the international community to stop what he called the “genocide” against Muslims, urging Arab and Muslim leaders to condemn the crimes.

Thousands of Rohingya Muslims were displaced after sectarian violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state last month.

Tension between the mostly stateless Rohingya Muslims and majority Buddhists flared into violence that killed at least 80 people last month.

Many Rohingya Muslims have lived in the state for generations but are not recognized as citizens of Myanmar

There has been an upsurge in hate speech on the web directed against Buddhists, including this baffling piece from Pakistan.