The United States Department of Education has investigated more than a dozen incidents of harassment at UC-Irvine in the last decade:• Rocks thrown at Jewish students;
• The destruction of Holocaust memorial displays;
• Threats and harassment of Jewish students;
• Recurring swastikas painted on campus;
• Official events including "Zionist Awareness Week", which promoted antisemitism;
• Exclusion of Jews during "anti-hate" rallies;
• Graduation apparel that offered support for Hamas and other terrorist groups;
• And five other "isolated acts" that could not be addressed because they were reported more than 180 days after they occurred.
But at long last, school officials appear to be fighting back against the extremists: the administration officially proposed suspending the MSU for its litany of intolerant behavior.
UC-Irvine is infamous as one of the most antisemitic campuses in the country. A series of incidents involving harassment and abuse of Jews -- over many years -- has cemented its notoriety. The unrest culminated in the arrest of 11 MSU members in February, who had verbally abused and continually interrupted a speech by Israel's Ambassador to the U.S.Tensions are high at the University of California-Irvine after the school recommended suspending a Muslim student group for its role in the disruption of an Israeli ambassador's speech earlier this year.
Doesn't it go without saying? Tensions are always high when Jihadists don't get to express their "feelings" towards Jews, Christians, Buddhists and other infidels.
...the proposed suspension of the Muslim Student Union for at least a year has made an already hostile situation worse... The school revealed this week that it had recommended suspending the Muslim group after 11 students were arrested in February for repeatedly disrupting a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, who was repeatedly interrupted and called "murderer" and "war criminal" by pro-Palestinian students as he gave a talk on the Middle East peace process...
Oh, plus they roughed up a few cops for good measure, but we can leave that out of the story.
The Muslim group is appealing the recommendation -- a process that is expected to be completed before the next school year begins.
Let me predict the closing argument of the appeal:
Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with the Israeli Ambassador - we did. [winks at Dean Wormer] But you can't hold the whole Muslim Student Union responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole collegiate system? And if the whole collegiate system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but I for one am not going to stand here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!
And what triggered this outrageous breach of the MSU's rights after lo these many years?
The appeal comes after more than 60 faculty members at UC Irvine signed an open letter last month condemning what they said was an anti-Semitic atmosphere at the school.
"We…are deeply disturbed about activities on campus that foment hatred against Jews and Israelis," the letter read, citing incidents over the past few years that included "the painting of swastikas in university buildings and the Star of David depicted as akin to a swastika."
"Some community members, students, and faculty indeed feel intimidated, and at times even unsafe," the letter read.
Doesn't that apply to just about anywhere that religious extremists get critical mass? Even Paris, for instance?
But a lawyer for the Muslim Student Union said any tensions on campus derive from a Jewish organization that is not connected to the college: the Jewish Federation Orange County."A lot of the tension and friction is not on the campus," attorney and activist Reem Salahi said. "It's not divided between Jewish and Muslim organizations. There's more tension between Muslim students and these Jewish organizations pressuring the university."
She said Muslim students have been intimidated and harassed and have even received death threats in which they've been called "every type of superlative imagined."
Yes, because radical Jewish extremists have routinely advocated for killing all Muslims, they've car-bombed buildings, have slaughtered innocent children, have strapped suicide belts on teenagers to detonate themselves inside pizzerias, have flown airliners into buildings and otherwise waged a total war on civilization.
In recent years, UC Irvine has been accused of fostering anti-Semitic activity as the MSU hosted pro-Palestinian speakers critical of Israel.In 2005, the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights found that Muslim students had engaged in offensive behavior, but that their actions stemmed from opposition to the politics of Israel rather than to Jewish students themselves.
Riiiiight. And David Copperfield has supernatural powers.
Three years later, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote to the Education Department expressing concerns that the office decided not to further investigate charges that UC Irvine had failed to respond quickly and effectively to complaints by Jewish students of being repeatedly intimidated and harassed.
Note the political party.
The committee recommended suspending the group for one year, placing it on disciplinary probation for an additional year and requiring the student organization to collectively complete 50 hours of community service, a move that would prevent the group from conducting organized campus events until at least the fall of 2011.
Harsh.
Elcott told FoxNews.com that the MSU has been largely responsible for creating an anti-Semitic atmosphere on the campus by inviting speakers who equate Jews to Nazis and rally support for jihad, or holy war."The MSU has been looking for a battle for a long time," he said, adding that his group is only trying to help bridge the differences between the two sides.
[The MSU] declined to say whether legal action is being planned in the event of an unsuccessful appeal. But she said students were "outraged" and "disappointed" with the university's decision."It's unprecedented a university would ever do this," she said, adding that the suspension would "create a really dangerous precedent for shutting down dissent."
How do you like the use of language? By "Shutting down dissent", this Jihadist means "allowing freedom of speech".
Earlier this year, Aaron Elias urged Jews to stop attending UC-Irvine because of the abuse. I disagree. Bullies need to be confronted. And that goes double for Jihadists masquerading as students.
Related:
• Irvine, CA - 11 Arrested for Disrupting Israeli Ambassador's Talk at UC Irvine
• UC Irvine Jewish Students Break the Silence
• Jewish students and activists call UC Irvine a hotbed of anti-Semitic harassment
Hat tip: Dan from New York.
