From the comments:
I am a UC Davis student and have been doing some research into the strong anti-semitic problem at this campus.
In 2001 the UC Davis Hillel was SET ON FIRE. There is a history of strong anti-semitic and/or anti-zionist speakers coming to the UC Davis campus.
However the upcoming speaker being brought by “Students for Justice and Peace†takes the cake: Ward Churchill.
There’s no fighting this. The UC system statewide has this problem. Look up Irvine where a muslim student union member encourages the slaughter of Israelis. See other schools where swastikas are painted on the doors of Jewish students.
The only group I have seen on the UC Davis campaigning against these religious attacks, aside from Jewish Student Groups, are the College Republicans. You can imagine how well their support is received in the People’s Republic of California.
Olivia, you are wrong. There is a way to fight this. I know that anti-Semitism is rampant on more than a few University of California campuses, but you can’t just lie down and accept it. Publicize the hate attacks. Mount a campaign of writing letters to the various media in your area. Get fellow students, teachers, deans to write about the anti-Jewish hate attacks. Point out that anti-Zionism on your campus has become synonymous with anti-Semitism. Get an op-ed in your college paper. Explain what a sukka is, and point out that your religious symbol was desecrated by people who have an anti-Israel agenda—which makes it anti-Semitism. They’re not defacing something Israeli. They’re defacing something Jewish.
Get together with other students on your campus, not just the College Republicans. Don’t think that you and they are the only ones who care.
I live in Richmond, VA. The VCU campus Israel publicity was effectively run by one of the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel Muslim student organizations. There were anti-Israel posters, events, graffiti—the typical current anti-Israel line. So some of the students split off from Hillel and formed their own group supporting Israel. At every anti-Israel event, they held a counter-event and distributed literature that had information like the aftermath of terror attacks, the number of terror attacks in Israel since the Intifada started, the number of Israeli victims of terror, and used the truth to counter the spread of propaganda and lies.
The pro-Palestinian group is now gone.
Ward Churchill was on campus last month. But nobody really noticed. Use his appearance as your chance to organize a counter-protest. Stand outside the lecture with posters and literature. Don’t think you have to take their crap. Don’t think they’ve won. They have not. And definitely, definitely—don’t think you’re alone.
At the very least, you’ve got the blogosphere for contacts. Let’s go see if we can’t help you out a little.
Meryl has good advice. There’s another approach and I don’t know why it isn’t employed more often–turning the pc regulations on themselves.
I’m sure UC Irvine has the usual stuff about respect, anti-hate speech, etc. It shouldn’t be too hard to find examples of vicious, bigoted, hateful speech from the Muslim students and other anti-Israel sources. Complaints about that should be made to the school administration, accompanied bys ufficient publicity to make sure they can’t simply sweep it under the rug.
If nothing else, watching the administration squirm and try to differentiate anti-Israel hate from the speech the school likes to suppress should offer entertainment value.
Taking the schools at their word would be interesting.
Wow. Anti-semetism on the left leaning, liberally tolerant, politically correct campuses of America? Tell me again why so many people of Jewish descent vote for Democrats again? You don’t seriously think Jimmy Carter is an anamoly, do you? He’s just the only one who knows he doesn’t need the Jewish vote to get elected…
Robert,
Anti-semitism is found among both Democrats and Republicans. I spent my childhood in the rural south. “Good Christian Republicans” also deface synagogues, terrorize Jews, etc. I haven’t had a Democrat threaten to kill me for being Jewish, so I go democratic. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the Republicans.
Trackbacked by The Thunder Run – Web Reconnaissance for 10/10/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
Thanks so much for the advice! There will definitely be some form of counter-protest and we are going to try and get as much attention as possible. I have been getting frustrated in seeing this happen year after year because our protests never seem effective enough.
Last year we lucked out and FDD brought Walid Shoebat to campus. That was definitely a big move forward in getting attention for us but I want to keep the ball rolling. I really appreciate your posting my response, the most important thing right now is alerting people to the problem.
Right now I’m waiting to find out if this is going to be student funded. Last year the Norman Finkelstein event put on by Students for Justice in Palestine was paid for through Student Fees collected with tuition.
When Walid Shoebat came through FDD it was all paid for in ticket sales and FDD/Shoebat’s foundation. If FDD/Davis College Republicans/Aggies for Israel were not allowed to use student funds.
*The last sentence should read:
It had to be as FDD/Davis College Republicans/Aggies for Israel are repeatedly denied student funds.
Olivia,
There is a lot of support for you out there. Stay strong.
Al Sharpton, antisemitic race hustler, is a kingmaker in the New York Democratic Party. Joe Lieberman had to go to him and lick his boots as VP nominee in 2000.
His equivalent in the Republican Party, David Duke, was repudiated by both the state party in Louisiana and the National Party when he ran for governor there. “Vote for the crook, not the fascist” was the advice they gave Republican voters, and they helped elect Duke’s Democratic opponent. He’s now in prison, by the way, for typical Louisiana Dem corruption.
Ahuva, a Pack threatened to kill you for being a Jew? Where and when was that, when the “Solid South” was solidly white-racist Democrats? There were not many Packs in the South before the 1970s. That’s why the Solid South was solidly Democrat for so many decades.
No doubt there are antisemitic Republicans. Pat Buchanan was one before going off to the Reform Party to run for Prez with a Marxist running mate. Antisemites are a lot more open, and seem much more numerous, on the left than on the right in America.