E-mail regarding Israel

[iamowen]

E-mail regarding Israel
I receive this e-mail today
I think it shows an alarming escaltion in ani-semitism, but also an alarming increase in Muslems succeeding in gagging Israel. If the same tactics are used in other area's they will have effectively cancelled out free speech.

Advocating Free Speech for Everyone - Except Israel
Help Jewish Students on Campuses

March 9, 2010 Dear Owen,
University campuses traditionally have been bastions of free speech and the exchange of ideas. But now, there is a troubling double-standard in place. These basic rights are not being extended to pro-Jewish and pro-Israel viewpoints. Sadly, intimidation of Jewish students and Israel-bashing are part of a global agenda orchestrated to shut down Jewish free speech on campuses everywhere.

In the last few weeks in the U.K., Oxford University students called for Israel’s destruction, where, during a speech by Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, “slaughter the Jews” was shouted. In Cambridge, a top Israeli historian, Professor Benny Morris’ speech was cancelled after complaints he was an “Islamophobic hate speaker” while at Manchester University, Israel’s Deputy Ambassador’s speech was abruptly canceled due to security threats from protesters.

While in the U.S., Israel’s U.S. Ambassador, Michael Oren, an invited guest speaker of the University of California at Irvine, was interrupted 10 times during his hour-long speech and had to repeatedly walk off the stage (photo left). Following the arrest of eleven students, organizers of the event received hate mail. This was followed by another ugly incident at a UC campus - the carving of a swastika into a Jewish student’s dorm room at the University of California, Davis.

Ironically, these incidents precede the now infamous 'Israel Apartheid Week', which takes full advantage of free speech throughout the month of March on over 40 university campuses worldwide by distorting the truth. A well-orchestrated campaign by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement to, “end Israeli Apartheid” through protests, lectures, films, and actions sponsored by aggressive, well-funded extremist organizations is currently underway.
To help protect the rights of our Jewish students on campuses, the Wiesenthal Center has acted immediately through our iACT Campus Outreach division by:

• Meeting with UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake and urging him to undertake a full investigation of the incident on his campus - he assured us that one was underway. Photo: Chancellor Drake (L) and iACT’s Rabbi Aron Hier (R)

• Meeting with the Orange County District Attorney’s office on the UC Irvine case to seek ways to prevent such incidents from reoccurring in the future.
Photo L-R: Orange County Public Affairs Counsel, Susan Kang Schroeder; UC Riverside Hillel Director, Adina Hemley and Rabbi Hier
• Strategizing with FBI and Law Enforcement officials on how best to protect Jewish and pro-Israeli free speech on campuses. Photo (L to R): FBI Special Agent Matthew Catalano, Detective Corinne Beck, Rabbi Hier & Professor Michael Leitner

Dublin, Ireland: International Jewish students participating in a recent iACT Conference.

But this represents just one aspect of iACT’s larger work to offer support, empowerment and protection to Jewish students exercising their right to free speech.

We need your partnership and support to help us to confront theses unprecedented challenges.
Your special contribution today will ensure our crucial work can continue through the end of this school year, and into the next. Jewish students on campuses need your help – we can’t do it without you.


Rabbi Aron Hier
iACT/Campus Outreach

© Copyright 2010 Simon Wiesenthal Center 1399 South Roxbury, Los Angeles, CA 90035. (310) 553-9036
Your priva

[DeaconDan]

College campuses are not bastions of free speech. Liberal activists routinely work to silence right-wing views, often with the complicity of the university administration. Unfortunately for the pseudo-racist state of Israel, racism against weaker groups is one of the least tolerated things by liberals. The resistance pro-Isreali speakers face has nothing to do with the imagined status of so-called Jews being God's people, but with the Jewish state harshly oppressing Palestinians and reducing all non-Jewish Israelis to second-class citizens. Ironically, Jews themselves are often major opponents of free speech, so when activists silence one of them on a campus, it is blowback.

[iamowen]

Please DeaconDan can you say if you are anti Israel or not, if you do not reply I will take that as a yes

[smellycat]

I HEAR LOTS OF ANTI-CHRISTIAN PROPAGANDA.MOSTLY FROM THE MEDIA.
if so called jewish use media for propaganda aggainst Christ maybe they should sort there own out,or distance from them.i have nothing aggainst jewish people only there propaganda aggainst christ is wrong.thats if they are really jewish and not fake in hollywood.

[DeaconDan]

Please DeaconDan can you say if you are anti Israel or not, if you do not reply I will take that as a yes

What is the point of your question? To label and dismiss prejudicially what I am saying? You would think I am anti-Israel.

I watched the Michael Oren video. It looks like the Arab student union had organized a protest. Every couple of minutes a member would interrupt the speech with a heckle, and then peacefully walk to police and be arrested. I do not support any effort to disrupt someone's speech.

There is no increase in anti-semitism and people have very good reason not to like Israel. What other state does the things that Israel does and gets your support? What other state practically bans Christians from sharing the Gospel, with you support? What other state only allows one "race" to govern the country, with your support? What other state occupies a people and denies them any statehood, with your support? What other state spies on the US, with your support? What other state refuses to abide by the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, with your support?