The Israeli flag is now in front of the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles, along with the California flag and the United States flag. Tons of people showed up to this historical event and it was a wonderful ceremony.
Charlotte Kates is the pro-terrorist law student at Rutgers University who organized the pro-Palestinian conference and defends suicide bombers. The following letter was written to the President of Rutgers State University by an Israeli citizen after reading Kates' published comments on the Israel-Arab situation.
Dear Ms. Kates,
I think you are a remarkable woman. You are neither an Arab nor a Jew, you do not study the Middle East, or any associated subject and, correct me if I am wrong, you have never visited this region. Therefore I am somewhat astounded at your expertise and your comments on Israel being an "Apartheid" state.
I have lived in Israel for many years and I would be delighted to take you on a little virtual tour of our country. Let me first give you a couple of minor points. Israel occupies 0.1% of the landmass of the Middle East and it is the only Jewish state, not only in this region, surrounded as we are by 22 Arab states, but in the world. Let us begin your virtual tour!!
You have already been through immigration at Tel Aviv Airport with your boyfriend, whom we shall call Ken. You will have filled out a visitors form. This form will not ask you, as it will in many of the countries that surround us, what is your religion, and it will certainly not ask you, as they do in Saudi Arabia, for a "certificate of religion". The day is Sunday! You will want to attend a church service. No problem in the Apartheid State of Israel. We tolerate and freely allow worship for all religions. This is more than can be said for nearly all of the surrounding 22 Arab nations. In fact many of them would not even have a single church, let alone a synagogue.
After a lovely service you and Ken would head for a leisurely lunch, maybe at one of the lovely beach front restaurants in Tel Aviv. You would most likely have returned to your hotel and put on a very casual outfit, as fitting the very hot Israeli summers. This could be a pair of shorts and a tight-fitting skimpy t-shirt. No problem in the Apartheid State of Israel. In Israel we allow freedom of dress, especially for women, who are not made to wear bulky long robes, a veil to cover their face, and, wouldn't it be a pity if you had to cover that lovely coiffed hairdo, as you would probably have to in most of the surrounding 22 Arab states. During lunch Ken could gaze lovingly into your heavily painted eyes, complete with a good application of black mascara. He would be free to lean across and kiss your lips, finely painted with lip liner, 2 shades of burgundy lipstick and gloss. People would probably think you were in love, especially as Ken has proudly displayed a good wine on the table.
Public displays of affection and consuming alcohol in the Apartheid State of Israel is nothing unusual and its not even scorned upon. That's more than can be said for most of the surrounding 22 Arab states, where your glossy lips would be considered whorish and alcohol is forbidden. But Ken, being a little flirtatious, pinched one of the young waitresses while you went to reapply your lipstick. It was harmless and, luckily for the young girl in the Apartheid State of Israel, her father and 6 brothers will not take her to the family pool in the evening and drown her, as they would in some of the surrounding 22 Arab states. After lunch you and Ken drive around. You are even allowed to drive. It is not forbidden in Israel.
You stumble across a kindergarten. The children are running around and enjoying themselves. They are not made to sit for hours reciting by rote pages from religious books. Their games are in the sand pit or on the swings. They are not infested with hate or told the only honor to their lives will be in death. In the Apartheid State of Israel we rejoice in life and living. We do not promote murder and violence by brainwashing our children with hatred, as they do in many of the surrounding 22 Arab states. By the end of the day you and Ken come across a political rally. Many thousands have turned up. In the Apartheid State of Israel all the citizens, men, women, Jew, Arab and Christian are free to vote. We are allowed to openly criticize the government and our media, including the TV and newspapers offer, without prejudice, a choice of opinions. Every person has the right to openly agree with or condemn the government. This can certainly not be said for most of the surrounding 22 Arab states, ruled as they are by oppressive dictators, where any dissent is met with dire consequences.
Of course, most of the 22 surrounding Arab countries can't offer you a good old-fashioned homicide bombing as a tourist attraction. This can only happen in the Apartheid State of Israel, surrounded as we are, by so many hostile countries determined, as you are, to wipe us off the face of the earth. Where else can you get on a crowded bus, often packed with children and come face to face with some poor, plighted Palestinian ghoul who thinks life isn't very jolly, having been fed and brainwashed by evil organizations like Hamas, to believe that the only way forward is to murder innocent people? This dehumanized creature will have been fed on a 24/7 diet of lies and hate incitement, he will have been coaxed with the reward of 72 vestal virgins waiting for him in Paradise. His demonic mother will be dancing in the street waving her $10,000 check.
While Israelis are scraping their dead children off the sidewalks, the Palestinians will be lighting fireworks and dancing in the street, to honor this mass murderer as a hero, often to their children who are being systematically nurtured to be the next generation of mass murderers. The Apartheid state of Israel? Forgive me Ms. Kates but you seem somewhat confused as to the meaning of the word. It usually refers to segregation. It's funny isn't it that a large section of the Jews who live in this apartheid state had to flee for their lives from nearly all of the surrounding 22 Arab states.
These countries not only have no tolerance for Jews, they refer to anyone who is not a Moslem as an Infidel and an enemy. I find it somewhat curious that you find nothing "apartheid" about these countries. Maybe you should do a project on how many churches there are in Saudi Arabia. Let me help you - there are none. It would not be tolerated.
I am proud to live in this Apartheid State. In 60 years we have become one of the most technologically advanced nations on this planet, with many innovations that have made Israel a true leader in many fields. It is tragic that we have to live in a region that feels threatened by our achievements. Israel is not an apartheid state and it is appalling that a so-called intelligent and thinking person like you can go around finding feeble excuses for mass murder. Ms. Kates there is no justification, in any society, for getting on a crowded bus, often packed with children, detonating an explosive belt, often packed with nails and shrapnel, and destroying innocent lives. This is not a freedom fighter, or a person seeking justice, but a chronically and irreversibly evil human being. I can only assume that one day in the near future Ms. Kates, you will chip off that heavy layer of make up and discover your conscience.
An interesting kerfuffle has arisen in my hometown of Irvine over Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and city council candidate, Todd Gallinger, who provides legal immigration counsel to the California Chapter of CAIR. In a September 23 blog entitled “Choi’s Shameful Smear” on the LiberalOC.com liberal Democrat blogger Dan Chmielewski takes Republican Irvine City Councilman Dr. Steven Choi to task for calling CAIR an “Islamic terrorist group.”
Mr. Chmielewski then cuts and pastes a large portion of CAIR’s Orange County website to bolster his claim that CAIR is not a terrorist organization, including, “CAIR condemns all acts of violence against civilians by any individual, group or state.” Chmielewski then writes of Choi, “This is the sort of divide the community approach the people on this side of the ticket have tried to do the past few elections in Irvine. It’s hate speech coming from elected officials and candidates for office against Muslims…”
I have a different view – perhaps one a little more nuanced than Dr. Choi’s – but then, Councilmember Choi is running for reelection against CAIR-affiliated Mr. Gallinger and election season does tend to produce bold, black and white statements for public consumption.
I spent 24 years in the U.S. Army as an intelligence officer with a top secret clearance. I also studied Arabic and spent half a year at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. I’ve been to Israel four times, been shot at in Lebanon, and have traveled the West Bank. As such, I know a few things about Islam, CAIR, HAMAS, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc. I have no doubt that the local chapter of CAIR is filled with many caring people and diligent citizens – that said, I also have no doubt that CAIR has had its share of members who have supported terrorism and have raised money for terror (not too dissimilar to Irish-American groups in Boston who raised money for the IRA to attack the British in Northern Ireland).
In this light, it is very interesting to examine the recent interview on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood website “Amlolammah” as reported by the BBC of Nihad Awad, CAIR’s Executive Director. Of 9/11, Awad said, “…we should not blame the United States alone for the 11 September 2001 attacks, but we should also blame the perpetrators." That Awad levels any blame on America for the terror attacks of 9/11 is revealing as such is the beginning of a moral equivalency argument, “Al-Qaeda and America are both at fault…” And moral equivalency can lead to all kinds of rationalizations.
With this in mind, it is not surprising that just after 9/11 CAIR’s website was asking for money for Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF). HLS is a HAMAS-front group. HAMAS is the Palestinian terror group that now runs the Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Habib, the Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy chief, acknowledged recently that there is a link between the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR. Federal prosecutors have been saying this for sometime in the HAMAS financial support case against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) when they named CAIR as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's "Palestine Committee." The "Palestine Committee” is another name for HAMAS. Federal prosecutors clearly see CAIR as part of the HAMAS financial support umbrella.
As with HAMAS, CAIR’s Awad denies the right of the state of Israel to exist. Now, one can argue that this is a legitimate political view to hold in the context of American political discourse – not, however, when acting upon that view leads one to donate money to armed groups seeking to make the view a bloody and genocidal reality.
About the Presidential election, Awad revealingly told his Egyptian interviewers that he favors Sen. Obama over Sen. McCain – of course, Awad wants more than Obama appears willing to give, saying, “Public opinion polls among American Muslims point out that they support Obama more than they support McCain although Obama's recent statements were unsatisfying. The Democrats should be more careful and should not sacrifice the votes of the Muslims.”
Awad’s equivocation on Sen. Obama was based on Obama’s early June speech to the members of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in which he supported Israel and voiced approval of a unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Obama later flip-flopped after his speech was panned by Muslim critics.
Lastly, whatever one thinks of Mr. Chmielewski’s assertion that Dr. Choi was improperly injecting religion into politics in his critique of Mr. Gallinger and CAIR, it is relevant to note in this discussion that none other than CAIR’s own Chairman Emeritus, Omar Ahmed, said the Muslim holy book, the Koran, should be the “highest authority in America, and the Islam the only accepted religion on earth.”
One can only imagine Mr. Chmielewski’s outrage at council candidate Choi if Choi uttered such about the Christian faith.
If you are still not convinced about the connections between CAIR and HAMAS, then don’t take my word for it, believe liberal California Senator Barbara Boxer who, in late 2006, took back an award she gave to CAIR official Basim Elkarra after she learned about Mr. Elkarra’s CAIR involvement. Sen. Boxer herself “expressed concern” about CAIR’s actions and past statements while her press secretary said that CAIR “gives aid to international terrorist groups.”
So, could Councilman Choi and Sen. Boxer be right and Mr. Chmielewski be wrong about CAIR and whether Mr. Gallinger’s close connection with them should be a matter of public discourse? It looks like it will be up to the voters of Irvine to decide on November 4.
Students on over 60 campuses signed up to host events during our third Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week. Universities from all around the world, including schools in Canada, Glasgow University in the UK and Leiden University in Holland, will be participating in our campaign which will be entitled "Stop the Jihad on Campus."
Nearly 30 speeches and panels have been scheduled, featuring prominent anti-Jihad speakers such as David Horowitz, Robert Spencer, Nonie Darwish, Andrew Bostom, Jared Cohen, Daniel Pipes, Wafa Sultan and Yaron Brook. October is fast approaching, and that means "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week III: Stop the Jihad on Campus" is nearly here. Visit terrorismawareness.org.
Orange County Independent Task Force Task Force on Anti-Semitism on Campus ____________________________________ PO Box 7859 Huntington Beach, CA 92615
Huntington Beach, CA – September 19, 2008 – The Orange County Independent Task Force on anti-Semitism will continue to monitor fresh allegations of ongoing anti-Semitic activity at The University of California, Irvine (UCI). The Task Force consists of Jewish and non-Jewish members of the community, and includes current and former faculty members, religious and lay community leaders.
On February 12, 2008, the Independent Task Force completed its year long investigation at UCI. Over 80 hours of interviews, as well as, documents, written complaints and numerous visits to the campus were used in the compilation of the subsequent Report and Recommendations.
Over the past several months, the Task Force has continued to receive disturbing reports including the following:
•Anti-Semitic programs sponsored by MSU have continued, with guest speakers ratcheting up anti-Semitic hate speech.
• On March 30, 2008, twenty current and former Jewish and non-Jewish UCI students issued a press release expressing (in part) deep concern “...about the anti-Semitism at UCI that has been frequently couched as false and hateful attacks on Israel. We do not believe that UCI Chancellor Michael Drake has exercised his responsibility as an educator and university leader in response to the anti-Semitism...”
• According to The Orange County Anti-Defamation Leagues (ADL) press release on March 5, 2008:
"......The Jewish communities in Orange County and Long Beach remain the religious group most targeted for attack. Unfortunately, many of these incidents continue to occur on school campuses. We are particularly disturbed by those incidents that occur in the lower grades," said Kevin O'Grady, ADL Orange County Regional Director. Incidents across the region included vandalism, hate mail sent to community leaders and organizations, and white supremacist newspapers distributed throughout Orange County.
• In May 2008, concern was raised that MSU has been allowed to utilize its own members as “security” at its' controversial and inflammatory events.
• When asked about the relatively small number of campus police in attendance at large, often inflammatory MSU events, a senior campus police officer explained that “lack of funds” from the University was the reason. The officer complained that “several years ago an officer was injured at one of these events”.
• Recently, the UC Irvine Anthill Pub prominently displayed a photograph of Amir Malik Ali. Some of Malik Ali's most notable statements made during his hateful speeches at UCI:
"The truth of the matter is your days are numbered. We will fight you. We will fight you until we are either martyred or until we are victorious." "They [Jews] think they are superman, but we, the Muslims, are kryptonite. They [Jews] know that their days are numbered.”
• A Jewish student was quoted as saying the campus situation is sometimes “intense and hostile.” This student claims said that he wont “go around wearing a Jewish star because you never know what is going to happen.”
• According to recently obtained documentation, MSU received $6,500 from Associated Students of UCI for “Palestine Awareness Week”. The MSU sponsored hate speakers Amir Abdel Malik Ali, Imam Muhammad al Asi and noted Holocaust denier Norman Finkelstein. Many campus student groups regularly receive funding for their particular programs; however there is no evidence to demonstrate that any groups other than MSU use such funds to promote programs featuring incendiary and hateful speakers.
• According to the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is currently investigating alleged incidents of anti-Semitic harassment, intimidation and discrimination that occurred in May 2007 at UCI. This is the second Title VI investigation initiated by ZOA on behalf of Jewish students at UCI. The first complaint was initiated in 2004.
Anyone in the community with knowledge of, or who has witnessed acts of anti-Semitism at UCI, is encouraged to contact the Task Force:
Jan Mark Dudman Esq., President Robert L. Winer M.D., Executive vice-President Ted Bleiweis, Executive Director http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/
The Muslim Students Association maintains hundreds of chapters across the country. Claiming to be just another religious or cultural organization protected by the university’s commitment to multiculturalism and “diversity,” the MSA is in reality part of a network established decades ago by the Muslim Brotherhood (godfather organization to Hamas and al Qaeda) to undermine America from within. The Terrorism Awareness Project has released a video regarding the activities and behaviors of the Muslim Students Association, including information about the inflammatory anti American and anti Semitic speakers, often subsidized by student government funds, who are hosted by the Muslim Students Association chapters.
Sharia law is an all-encompassing and in-transmutable system of Islamic jurisprudence, found in the Qu'ran and the Sunnah, that covers all aspect of life, including daily routines, hygiene, familial roles and responsibilities, social order and conduct, directives on relationships with Muslims and non-Muslims, religious obligations, financial dealings and many other facets of living. Sharia law, however, can also be extremely restrictive to women, minorities and homosexuals. Under sharia law a woman can find herself divorced and ostracized from society. Honor killings to cleanse the reputation of a family are acceptable under sharia law. A Muslim, according to sharia law, would not be sentenced to death or harsh prison time for killing a non-Muslim.
The UK, unfortunately, has decided to allow sharia courts to rule on domestic issues. While it is true that the "Jewish Tribunal" court system in the UK exists, Jewish law is very similar to democratic law. British law is based on Judeo-Christian values. This is one of the reasons Israel is capable of being a Jewish nation and democratic at the same time.
ISLAMIC law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.
The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.
Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High Court.
Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be enforced, and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims.
It has now emerged that sharia courts with these powers have been set up in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester with the network’s headquarters in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Two more courts are being planned for Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Sheikh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi, whose Muslim Arbitration Tribunal runs the courts, said he had taken advantage of a clause in the Arbitration Act 1996.
Under the act, the sharia courts are classified as arbitration tribunals. The rulings of arbitration tribunals are binding in law, provided that both parties in the dispute agree to give it the power to rule on their case.
Siddiqi said: “We realised that under the Arbitration Act we can make rulings which can be enforced by county and high courts. The act allows disputes to be resolved using alternatives like tribunals. This method is called alternative dispute resolution, which for Muslims is what the sharia courts are.”
The disclosure that Muslim courts have legal powers in Britain comes seven months after Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was pilloried for suggesting that the establishment of sharia in the future “seems unavoidable” in Britain.
In July, the head of the judiciary, the lord chief justice, Lord Phillips, further stoked controversy when he said that sharia could be used to settle marital and financial disputes.
In fact, Muslim tribunal courts started passing sharia judgments in August 2007. They have dealt with more than 100 cases that range from Muslim divorce and inheritance to nuisance neighbours.
It has also emerged that tribunal courts have settled six cases of domestic violence between married couples, working in tandem with the police investigations.
Siddiqi said he expected the courts to handle a greater number of “smaller” criminal cases in coming years as more Muslim clients approach them. “All we are doing is regulating community affairs in these cases,” said Siddiqi, chairman of the governing council of the tribunal.
Jewish Beth Din courts operate under the same provision in the Arbitration Act and resolve civil cases, ranging from divorce to business disputes. They have existed in Britain for more than 100 years, and previously operated under a precursor to the act.
Politicians and church leaders expressed concerns that this could mark the beginnings of a “parallel legal system” based on sharia for some British Muslims.
Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said: “If it is true that these tribunals are passing binding decisions in the areas of family and criminal law, I would like to know which courts are enforcing them because I would consider such action unlawful. British law is absolute and must remain so.”
Douglas Murray, the director of the Centre for Social Cohesion, said: “I think it’s appalling. I don’t think arbitration that is done by sharia should ever be endorsed or enforced by the British state.”
There are concerns that women who agree to go to tribunal courts are getting worse deals because Islamic law favours men.
Siddiqi said that in a recent inheritance dispute handled by the court in Nuneaton, the estate of a Midlands man was divided between three daughters and two sons.
The judges on the panel gave the sons twice as much as the daughters, in accordance with sharia. Had the family gone to a normal British court, the daughters would have got equal amounts.
In the six cases of domestic violence, Siddiqi said the judges ordered the husbands to take anger management classes and mentoring from community elders. There was no further punishment.
In each case, the women subsequently withdrew the complaints they had lodged with the police and the police stopped their investigations.
Siddiqi said that in the domestic violence cases, the advantage was that marriages were saved and couples given a second chance.
Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “The MCB supports these tribunals. If the Jewish courts are allowed to flourish, so must the sharia ones.”
Additional reporting: Helen Brooks
If removing a restrictive court system operating according to sharia law means disallowing Jewish courts in the UK, I would not mind it. Jews in the UK would just have to operate through the British courts, which I do not think would be a hardship in any way. I fear that sharia law, as we have seen in the Islamic world, is not compatible with democracy. This recent decision was a terrible one and hints at the deterioration of democratic, secular ideals.
Sunday, September 14, 2008 - By: Gerstenfeld, Dr. Manfred
... The academic year 2007-2008 saw ongoing anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic incidents in various countries. Among them is Israel Apartheid Week, which has become an annual ritual in a number of cities on several continents. So have the calls of the University and College Union (UCU) in the United Kingdom for discriminatory measures against Israeli universities and academics. In several universities, such as on some campuses of the University of California, anti-Israelism is endemic....
... The onslaught against Israel and Jews is not an isolated phenomenon. What happens to Jews has usually been a pointer to their societal environment and a sensor of events to come. This is also the case regarding academic anti-Israelism. Academic freedom has been abused so much that in its present form it has outlived part of its academic and societal usefulness for fostering knowledge ....
... It is mistaken to assume that hate campaigns can be largely counteracted or balanced by positive programs on Israel. Because of their extremism, the hate campaigners' damage to Israeli and Jewish causes runs deeper than the superficial impression left by the positive activists. This also reflects the intense motivation of Muslim and far-Left racists and anti-Semites. Their activities are often supported de facto by the passivity of university authorities. Although they may explicitly oppose anti-black or anti-Muslim racism, these authorities are often far more reluctant to take similar actions against anti-Semitism and its new mutation anti-Israelism. It is usually easy to prove that these double standards operate ....
Investigations at the University of California-Irvine
In 2006 the Hillel Foundation of Orange County set up a task force to investigate anti-Semitism on the UC-Irvine campus. They interviewed people about incidents that had occurred there. Officials from the school, however, including the chancellor, refused to be interviewed claiming it was against school policy. The interviews began in February 2007, but by August of that year Hillel decided the task was too extensive and discontinued its association with the project. [32]
The investigation was later continued by members of the Jewish community of Orange County. They published their report in February 2008. This document is of major importance as it examines the structural problems of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli hate at one American university in their totality rather than dealing only with a number of incidents. It can serve as a model for similar investigations at other universities, Columbia and UC-Santa Cruz being among the prime candidates.
The new group's report states that "acts of anti-Semitism are real and well documented. Jewish students have been harassed. Hate speech is unrelenting." Furthermore, "Some faculty members have used their classroom as a forum for their anti-Israel agenda." [33]
The authors also assert that: "The Muslim Student Union...allies itself and identifies itself with terrorist groups that are enemies of the Unites States." About the administration they note:
The Chancellor has failed to exercise his moral authority as an educator and leader by abrogating his leadership responsibilities. The boundaries of rational and reasonable discourse by constituencies that have differing positions on emotional issues have not been established. There is no indication that the University is at all concerned about the disconnect between campus values and the values of the greater society. [34]
The report also mentions that the Jewish community as a whole has not been proactive. It even includes a suggestion that Jewish students should not attend school at UC-Irvine.
At the request of the Zionist Organization of America, the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) also launched an investigation into anti-Semitic incidents at UC-Irvine. After some initial inquiries, the office claimed it had not been informed in time and, based on this technicality, ceased the investigation. The task force of the Jewish community, however, concluded that there was evidence that all twenty-six incidents the OCR was supposed to investigate had indeed taken place, and that there had been additional ones as well.
An Abundance of Anti-Israeli Events
The 2007-2008 academic year was marked by numerous anti-Israeli events at UC-Irvine. In February 2008 an Israel Apartheid Week was held. This included a lecture by Imam Mohammad Al-Asi titled "From Auschwitz to Gaza: The Politics of Genocide." [35] He said Israel was an apartheid state and that "Israel is on the way down...your days are numbered. We will fight you until we are martyred or until we are victorious." [36]
Al-Asi returned to UC-Irvine in May 2008 to take part in a weeklong event to commemorate the Nakba, that is, the Arabs' catastrophic defeat in the 1948 war against Israel. Other speakers were Norman Finkelstein and the imam Amir Abdel Malik Ali, who praised Palestinian mothers who sent out their children as suicide bombers. [37]
When Daniel Pipes spoke in January 2008 at UC-Irvine on the threat to Israel's existence, he was interrupted by pro-Palestinian students who were then removed from the audience. They continued their protest outside, saying things such as "it's just a matter of time before the state of Israel will be wiped off the face of the earth...just keep on doing what we are doing, our weapon, our jihad, our way of struggling. May Allah give them strength." [38] Pipes, later interviewed by Hannity and Colmes on Fox News, said the school did not care about this type of disturbance.
Twenty students and alumni at UC-Irvine who were dissatisfied with the handling and representation of the events on campus wrote a letter to UC chancellor Michael V. Drake. It began: "We are deeply concerned about the anti-Semitism at UCI that has been frequently couched as false and hateful attacks on Israel. We do not believe that Chancellor Drake has exercised his responsibility as an educator and university leader in response to the anti-Semitism." [39] Drake, while condemning hate speech, never specifically condemned anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism even though they were rife on campus.
Hillel Invites Drake Several of these students also wrote a letter to Hillel International president Wayne Firestone, saying they were upset that Chancellor Drake had been invited as a guest speaker at the National Summit of Hillel to lead a session on "Fostering a More Civil Society." Firestone answered that it is better to work with such people than to dismiss them.
Regarding the invitation to Drake, Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America said: "By giving him a podium to give a speech, that only sends a message to him and to others that we are reasonably comfortable with the actions he's taken to fight anti-Semitism and Israel bashing on campus when in fact he has said virtually nothing to give comfort to Jewish students on campus." [40]
Isi Leibler, former senior vice-president of the World Jewish Congress criticized Firestone's statement that there was no relationship between anti-Israeli activity and anti-Semitism: "It is surely disconcerting for a Hillel president to express views by now repudiated even by such bodies as the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, not to mention the US government."
Established in 1963 by the Muslim Brotherhood — the inspiration for al-Qaeda and Hamas — the Muslim Students Association was listed in documents written by a Muslim Brotherhood operative and seized by the FBI in 2007 as an organization to help “destroy Western civilization from within.” According to a February 2008 New York Times article, the MSA was financed by Saudi Arabia when it first began appearing throughout North America in the late 1950s and “pushed the kingdom’s puritan, Wahhabi strain of Islam.”
Extremism is a systemic problem with the Muslim Students Association network. For example, Sheikh Khalid Yasin, who has spoken at a multitude of campuses throughout the country and at events at the MSA National level, has denied al-Qaeda was involved in 9/11 and believes that homosexuals should be killed in accordance with the Koran. Norman Finkelstein, who has also spoken for various Muslim Students Association groups, has been featured at the University of Maryland, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, and many others. Imam Abdul Alim Musa, a radical imam and founder of the As Sabiqun (Arabic for “The Vanguard”) movement, has been featured at UC Irvine, MIT, Mount Holyoke College, and other campuses.
Therefore it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Muslim Student Union chapter at the University of Southern California (USC) acts in accordance with its sister chapters, and until recently hosted a violent quote in the “compendium” of hadiths on the USC Muslim Students Association page. The quote advocates massacring Jews as a pathway of redemption for Muslims, and reads as follows:
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him....
My grandparents often speak of their experiences growing up in what became Islamic countries. Jews consistently found themselves and their religion under attack. This recent story is very applicable. It's quite despicable that Muslims would engage in this sort of behavior during one of their holiest holidays of the Islamic calendar.
Jewish worshippers returning to Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs after Muslims were given exclusive access to the holy site at the weekend reported that the cabinet containing their Torah scrolls had been urinated on.
One Jewish resident of Hebron told Israel National News that he and several other men had to move the cabinet to another part of the room because of the strong smell of urine in the area where it is usually positioned.
Additionally, green Hamas flags were found placed in the windows that mark the burial sites of Abraham, Isaac, Sara, Rebecca and Leah.
The Cave of the Patriarchs is split into Jewish and Muslim sections, as both groups revere Abraham.
Several times a year, the holy site is given over to one or the other group exclusively to mark special holy days. Muslims were given exclusive access to the Cave of the Patriarchs on Friday to mark their holy month of Ramadan.
Another Jewish resident of Hebron said that some damage to Jewish religious articles or the Jewish side of the site is found every time the Muslims take over.
There is no doubt that antisemitism has been consistent in much of Europe, including in France, the Netherlands and the UK.
In 2006, Ilan Halimi was captured by a gang of Muslim immigrants called the "Barbarians" and subsequently tortured, over a period of three weeks, ending with a torture that caused his death (although the death occurred after he was found and while he was being taken to a hospital).
Hate-crimes target Jews more than any other group of people, and I felt compelled to share this article as the French-Jewish community, largely made up of Jews from Algeria and Morocco, has been relentlessly under attack.
Three Jewish teens were attacked by a group of Muslim African immigrants in Paris on Saturday evening, a French police spokeswoman said yesterday. The Jewish teens, ages 17 and 18, who have been identified as Dan Nebet, Kevin Bitan and David Boaziz, are leaders of the Bnei Akiva youth group in Paris' 19th District.
Thiery Nebet, Dan's father, told Haaretz over the phone that according to what his son had said, as they were walking down the street, "Four or five Arabs of African origin started to throw walnuts at Kevin. When he went up to them to ask them why they did it, they surrounded him and knocked him down. Dan and David moved in and very quickly more Arabs joined in and started to beat the three with their fists and with chains."
The Jewish teens were hospitalized, one with a broken nose and jaw and all three with bruises, and filed a police report after their release. Police opened an investigation and are looking for the Muslim teenagers allegedly responsible for the attacks.
According to the chairman of the Jewish Students Union in France, Raphael Haddad, barrages of stones were thrown at the three teens during the attack. Haddad also said the incident occured on Petit Street in the 19th District, not far from where a 17-year-old Jewish youth was attacked and seriously injured by immigrants on June 21.
The attack is one of a long series of racial attacks in Europe in general and in France in particular. France has Western Europe's largest population of both Jews and Muslims.
The assault was condemned by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and was described by Jewish organizations as an act of anti-Semitism.
The Jewish Agency's envoy in Paris, Rafi Zaush, told Army Radio that attacks in the 19th District are common but most incidents are less violent and therefore not reported by the media. The French ministerial committee to fight racism and anti-Semitism showed concern over the incidents in the 19th District and turned to the mayor, requesting he beef up police presence ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
The French Ministry of the Interior confirmed that the attack was motivated by anti-Semitism, saying the incident ended with relatively little damage.
According to Thiery Nebet a large number of Jews live in the 19th District and, "The atmosphere here is difficult. Now I need to protect our sons so they will not talk a great deal, because that is what we were told by the community's security people. This time it was my son; it can be anyone. The Jews want to live in peace but it's impossible with the Arabs here. We go around with a skullcap and that bothers them, but we don't care. If we have to take off our skullcaps to live better, it's better to leave now."
Benjamin Touati, head of the French desk of World Bnei Akiva, said yesterday: "The situation is very worrisome. One hundred meters from the place of the attack is a Habad school with 1800 female students."
The violent quotes from a 'compendium' of hadiths on the University of Southern California (USC) Muslim Student Association page are no longer present on the server. These quotes advocate massacring Jews as a pathway of redemption for Muslims.
I commend the provost for exercising his moral authority, realizing that the hateful passages are not in accordance with USC's principles of community. USC is a private university with a strict set of rules that the university has decided to abide by.
Muslim students at the University of Southern California are enraged by the school's recent decision to remove from a student group's website an Islamic text that encourages the murder of Jews.
Until recently, the website of the now-defunct Muslim Student Association, which is hosted on the university's servers, had featured the full text of the hadiths, the words of Mohammed that are not found in the Koran.
One of those hadiths calls on Muslims to "fight against the Jews and...kill them," and promises that even the stones and the trees will assist Muslims in that gruesome task.
A statement issued by the Muslim Student Union at USC suggested that the hadith was being taken out of context, and called the school's decision to remove it from the website "unprecedented and unconscionable."
The Muslim Student Union accused the USC administration of practicing unfair censorship.
Actually, the Muslim students at USC are being disingenuous. The complete "compendium" was never complete. I read the Qu'ran and the other texts on their website. Several shady verses are missing from the website. I also find their defense of leaving this quote up quite sad as it advocates bloody murder.
If you scroll down in their hadith collection on this page, you'll find that the numbers of the hadiths go straight from 6980 to 6986. What were 6981 through 6985? Here they are:
Book 041, Number 6981:
Ibn 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: You will fight against the Jews and you will kill them until even a stone would say: Come here, Muslim, there is a Jew (hiding himself behind me) ; kill him.
Book 041, Number 6982:
Ubaidullah has reported this hadith with this chain of transmitters (and the Words are):" There is a Jew behind me."
Book 041, Number 6983:
Abdullah b. 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: You and the Jews would fight against one another until a stone would say: Muslim, here is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.
Book 041, Number 6984:
Abdullah b. 'Umar reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: The Jews will fight against you and you will gain victory over them until the stone would say: Muslim, here is a Jew behind me; kill him.
Book 041, Number 6985:
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.
Many ahadith appear more than once in the canonical hadith collections -- and this is in traditional Islamic theology an indication of their authenticity. This is one of them.
Here are some variants of the same hadith, in Bukhari, from the USC MSA website:
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 176:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:
Allah's Apostle said, "You (i.e. Muslims) will fight wi the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.' "
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."
Just in case these also vanish without a trace, here are some screen shots: Also this one:
Volume 4, Book 56, Number 791: Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:
I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The Jews will fight with you, and you will be given victory over them so that a stone will say, 'O Muslim! There is a Jew behind me; kill him!'"
Moreover, the Muslim Students Association was called upon to do the following (which they didn't):
-- Condemn and repudiate the hadith which reads: “The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time [of judgment] will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews and kill them; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!” (Sahih Muslim book 41, no. 6985);
Will we see the MSA of USC and other MSAs not just cover up the existence of this hadith, but also repudiate the genocidal imperative contained within it? I doubt it.
I have been trying to locate a July 2002 article in the Muslim Student Union (MSU) periodical, Alkalima (Arabic for "The Word"), about how two different genetic studies in the American mass media demonstrate Jewish elitism and bigotry. The article is typically read to suggest that Jews are either elitists or genetically different than the bulk of humanity. Both points of views are extremely hateful.
The article can be read here. I was unable to find a copy of the magazine with this article at UC Irvine's library. It was one of the only Alkalima magazines missing and there is a note at the library archive that says it was never returned from an exhibit. This article was also not available online at the Alkalima archive. I was finally able to get a copy from a friend. I've hosted the PDF online so that the MSU cannot attempt to hide their bigotry again.
One of the genetic studies discussed in the article is about a study which concluded there are no "biological differences" between different racial groups (Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, etc). The other study that the article points out is about how Jews "have maintained their unique genetic identity for centuries." The author concludes that this points to Jewish elitism and racism on the part of Jews/Zionists.
Although he doesn't discuss this genetic study by name, the study regarding Jews that was conducted revolves around the Cohen Modal Holotype. It was conducted around 1997. The author of the Alkalima article fails to note that the presence of this gene does not determine whether a person is Jewish. For starters, Judaism is a religion and a culture, but not a race.
For quick reference about the study, go here. To briefly summarize the study regarding the Cohen Modal Holotype, it confirmed that Jewish Cohanim were statistically inclined to share a common genetic marker, whether they were of Middle Eastern Jewish (Mizrahi) background or European Jewish (Ashkenezi) background. This suggests to some that a biblical tradition from the time of Aron, the brother of Moses, was strictly adhered to and demonstrates shared ancestry among some Jews. However, the vast majority of Jews are not "Cohens" at all. Very few Jewish men carry the Cohen Modal Halotype. It is also crucial to note that the gene is not exclusive to Jewish "Cohanim" and can be found among some non-Jewish Mediterranean and Middle Eastern men. This may indicate shared ancestors between modern Jewish and non-Jewish people. Realistically, this should surprise no one as humanity is much more alike and related than different. Ultimately, this DNA marker is not something that makes one "Jewish" and this study applies to very few Jews.
I conducted a quick search on the featured author. Paul Grubach is a Holocaust revisionist. He works with the Institute for Historical Review which features people like David Irving. You will note that they are distinctly anti-Israel and some writers are even Holocaust deniers (or "revisionists").
This is yet another example of anti-Semitism, bigotry and the misuse of facts on the part of the Muslim Student Union at UCI. Since the vast majority of Jews are not even "Cohanim," the entire article makes zero sense and should make people question exactly what motivations the MSU had to host such a disturbing article in their magazine.
Of course the MSU has every right to feature despicable articles such as these, however we should definitely question the motivations of the MSU in their antisemitic activities and their behaviors.
The following article deals with the issue of up to 1,000,000 Middle Eastern Jews who were driven from their native lands in the Middle East. The article, written by Daniel Brainich, was initially published over at FrontPage Magazine.
FrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, September 04, 2008
The expulsion of Middle Eastern Jews from their traditional homelands in the Arab world has long been one of history’s less recognized tragedies. But thanks to several prominent pieces of legislation, that historical wrong may soon be righted.
The Senate is currently considering a landmark bill that would call attention to the plight of nearly one million Jews who were forced to flee the Arab world in the twentieth century. The bill seeks to bring global visibility to these forgotten refugees, and to lay the foundation for a Mid-East peace based on mutual recognition and a full acknowledgment of history.
In the twentieth century, the ancient and sizable Jewish communities of nearly every Arab country were all but completely destroyed. Repressive and racist Arab regimes, together with large-scale anti-Jewish mob violence, were responsible for terrorizing and uprooting nearly a million indigenous Jews across the region. While this tragic chapter in history has remained relatively obscure—buried by its perpetrators and ignored by the international community— the new legislation seeks to bring this forgotten exodus to the center of the world stage.
In 2007, a number of Senators and Congressmen introduced resolutions into both the House and the Senate that they hoped would balance the unjust and counterproductive tendency to focus on Palestinian refugees while ignoring their Jewish counterparts. House Resolution 185 passed unanimously in April 2008, while Senate Resolution 85 is currently being considered by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Senate Resolution 85 has been spearheaded in a bi-partisan effort by Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Trent Lott (R-MS) [now retired], Joe Lieberman (D-CT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). The bill calls attention to the wholesale human rights violations faced by the Jewish minority of the Arab world during the twentieth century, and affirms that the integrity of any comprehensive Mid-East peace agreement is contingent upon "recognition of, and redress for, the uprooting of centuries-old Jewish communities in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf." To that end, the bill instructs representatives of the US in all international forums to ensure that "any explicit reference to the required resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue" is matched by "a similar explicit reference to the resolution of the issue of Jewish, Christian, and other refugees." Those backing the bill are hopeful that a full acknowledgment of history will pave the way towards a just and lasting peace.
Gina Waldman, Chair of JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and No. Africa), said: "Typically, when the issue of Middle Eastern refugees is raised most people think of Palestinians."
Although the Jewish refugees were larger in numbers than the Palestinians, they are never mentioned. The recognition of the Jewish refugees is a very important component of the Middle East Peace process and shows an even-handed approach on behalf of the United States.
"Any denial of our rights would deny the history of the Jews from Arab Countries," said Waldman. "House Resolution 185 passed unanimously because of the overwhelming support we received from Jewish organizations nationwide. We are looking forward to getting the same support for this Senate resolution."
The Saudi-funded, Hamas-linked Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is seething over the references to “Islamic terrorism” in last night’s speeches: U.S. Muslims Urge McCain, Palin to Offer ‘Inclusive’ Speeches.
In a statement, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We urge Senator McCain and Governor Palin to offer inclusive speeches at this week’s Republican convention and ask that they both avoid divisive Islamophobic rhetoric. It is all too easy to use hot-button terms to garner votes, but true leaders do not exploit fear or stereotypes for political gain. We hope to hear Senator McCain and Governor Palin say they will defend the civil and religious rights of all Americans, work with the American Muslim community in making our nation both free and secure and help build better relations with the Islamic world.”
He suggested that McCain and Palin reflect the Republican Party Platform, which states: “The struggle in which we are engaged is ideological, not ethnic or religious. The extremists we face are abusers of faith, not its champions. We appreciate the loyalty of all Americans whose family roots lie in the Middle East, and we gratefully acknowledge the contributions of American Arabs and Muslims, especially those in the Armed Forces and the intelligence community.”
Awad added that Muslims have called on candidates of all political parties to reject Islamophobia and believe using phrases such as “Islamic terrorism” may unintentionally provide religious legitimacy to terrorists.
Coming from the leader of a group that is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding trial, a group that intentionally and relentlessly makes excuses for Islamic terrorists, this is shameless. But it’s what CAIR does.
Interestingly, this paid press release doesn’t come through CAIR’s usual outlet, PRNewsWire, but through Market Wire. That’s why it shows up in Yahoo’s “Finance” section. Did PRNewsWire finally pull the plug on CAIR’s deceptive propaganda?
Peace In Our Time -- plus Hamas and Hizballah. Such a deal!
"Syria makes peace proposal to Israel," by Zeina Karam for Associated Press, September 4 (thanks to JCB):
DAMASCUS, Syria – Syria's leader said Thursday he offered a proposal for peace with Israel but also refused to break off ties with Hezbollah and militant Palestinians — a key Israeli demand.
President Bashar Assad also said indirect negotiations with Israel were on hold until that country chooses a new prime minister and that direct talks would have to wait until a new U.S. president takes office.
[...]
Assad said at the summit that in the peace proposal given to Turkish mediators, Syria outlined six points on the issue of the "withdrawal line" — a reference to the extent of an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
This has been a major sticking point in the previous talks, causing the collapse of U.S.-brokered direct negotiations in 2000. Syria has long demanded the complete return of the heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. In the previous negotiations, Israel sought to keep a strip of land around the Sea of Galilee.
Assad did not say whether the six points changed the demand for a full withdrawal.
Assad said a fifth planned round of indirect talks with Israel had been postponed until after Israeli leadership elections and that the future of negotiations rested on whether a new prime minister in Israel will be committed to pursuing peace with Syria.
Any direct talks would also have to wait until a new American administration is in place, Assad added, acknowledging the importance of strong U.S. backing for such an effort.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the target of several corruption investigations, has announced he will step down after his party chooses a new leader this month. That has left peace prospects with both Syria and the Palestinians uncertain.
"We want the support of all states, basically France, Qatar and Turkey in order to be assured that the next (Israeli) prime minister will follow the same direction Olmert had followed through his readiness for complete withdrawal from the occupied territories in order for peace to be achieved," he said.
In Israel, an official said contacts were already being made to set up more talks. He said Israel has a "genuine intention to reach an agreement." The official declined to be identified because the diplomatic efforts are ongoing.
Israeli officials have insisted that Syria also must end its support for militant groups opposed to Israel, namely Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
But Assad on Thursday sought to reassure the groups that he would continue to back what he described as the "resistance" against Israeli occupation.
"We don't see any interest in abandoning the resistance," he told Hezbollah's Al-Manar television. "Our position has always been clear. Our position toward the resistance against any occupation in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine is firm and has not changed."...
Here are some facts about the plight of Yemenite Jews:
In 1922, the government of Yemen reintroduced an ancient Islamic law requiring that Jewish orphans under age 12 be forcibly converted to Islam.
In 1947, after the partition vote, Muslim rioters, joined by the local police force, engaged in a bloody pogrom in Aden that killed 82 Jews and destroyed hundreds of Jewish homes. Aden's Jewish community was economically paralyzed, as most of the Jewish stores and businesses were destroyed. Early in 1948, the false accusation of the ritual murder of two girls led to looting.
1948 Jewish population in Yemen: 55,000 (in Aden: another 8,000)
2003 Jewish population in Yemen: Approximately 300 who cannot run businesses, own properties, etc....
The lack of recognition regarding the Jews from Middle Eastern lands is absolutely appalling.
Here is a handy tongue-in-cheek and sarcastically amusing guide on divestment from the Jewish State, with some key tips and points you won't find anywhere else!
I am a journalist and researcher, and have written numerous research and investigative pieces. My work has been published with several notable organizations, including CAMERA on Campus, the Jewish Policy Center, Pajamas Media, and the Investigative Project on Terror.
My interests include ethics and epistemology, history, economics, and international relations.
I graduated from the University of California, Irvine with distinguished honors, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English. Presently I am pursuing a Master's degree at USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism in the field of Broadcast Journalism. I can be reached at Reut AT reutrcohen DOT com.
