My Letter to the UC-Irvine Campus Newspaper

Below is the text of a letter to the opinion page of the New University Newspaper (UCI) tonight regarding the past two weeks of Israeli-Palestinian "discourse".

(I don't know if it will be printed next week.)


Now that the Israel 60th Birthday celebration and the “Palestinian Holocaust” week have concluded, I would like to make a few brief comments. I have commented in the past on the words of Amir Abdel Malik Ali and Mohammed Al-Asi, so I won’t repeat them here.

I would hope, however, that casual student observers will compare and contrast the tone of each week. The Israeli celebration was upbeat and happy, while some of the MSU’s speakers (not all) used inflammatory language to describe Israel and America. At least three of the speakers (Malik Ali, Al-Asi and Norman Finklestein are vocal supporters of Hamas and Hizbollah-terrorist organizations.

There were two items on the “Wall” put up by the MSU that drew my attention. First was a quotation from former Black Panther, H. Rap Brown (who now bears a Muslim name that escapes me). H. Rap Brown now sits in prison for the murder of a police officer (that had nothing to do with any “struggle“). Second was a picture of Ariel Sharon, drawn in the old style of Julius Streicher’s Der Stuermer, a virulent, anti-Semitic Nazi newspaper of the Third Reich. The picture featured the big hooked nose, big lips and all that. To anyone who is unfamiliar with Streicher and Der Stuermer, I urge you to do the research. That a university would even allow this type of picture on its campus is a disgrace. It is anti-Semitic and racist.

During Finklestein’s appearance, hundreds came to hear him speak including professors and deans. Yet the same week, about 20 people came to hear Nonie Darwish, a courageous former Muslim who has put her life on the line to defend Israel, America and condemn terror. I was the only faculty member present (and I am only a part-time teacher).

During Al-Asi’s vitriolic speech, several deans scurried about playing hall monitor, moving Jewish protesters here and there and keeping walkways clear for students. That‘s all well and good, yet, during the speech, a busload of about 20 young schoolchildren, visiting the campus for a tour, stood outside their bus just yards from Al-Asi’s vitriolic speech. I wonder if there were any Jewish children in that crowd. Why did any of those kids have to be exposed to this? Where were the hall monitors?

To be sure, a few of the MSU’s speakers were not vitriolic. I am referring to Ms Anna Balzer and Mr and Mrs Corrie, who tragically lost their daughter. They seem like decent people, there was nothing objectionable in what I heard the Corries say, and I sympathize with them. I wish, however, that they had been present on Thursday to hear the words of Malik Ali (I don‘t believe they were present.) It might have given them pause.

Finally, David Horowitz, in his campus appearance, singled out UCI as “the worst campus in this country” for anti-Semitic activity. In the question and answer period, I informed Mr Horowitz that 99% of the students at UCI have nothing to do with this ugliness. I also told him that there are two problems: first, the MSU (that brings in hateful speakers); second a university administration that is hiding under their desks, either out of fear, apathy or that they just don’t care about the concerns of their Jewish students.

The public needs to know what is going on at UCI, and I hope Horowitz and others keep the spotlight shining.

Gary Fouse
Adjunct teacher
UCI-Ext