The below account was sent to me concerning a recent appearance at San Jose State University last Thursday by Israeli Consul General Akiva Tor. As you will see, his appearance, sponsored by Spartans for Israel, was disrupted by students. There is a link in the below message where you may view a video of what happened.
"This following letter is from an eyewitness. His name is redacted over concern for his safety.
Dear Colleagues,
It is with much consternation and alarm that I am writing to inform you about the unfortunate event that happened on our campus on Thursday evening in the Student Union. Akiva Tor, Consul General of Israel and honored guest of the student group Spartans for Israel, was verbally abused and forcibly driven from the stage by anti-Zionist hecklers. As the moderator quickly lost control of the screaming crowd, Tor had to be escorted out of the room by a phalanx of security officers and campus policemen. It is outrageous that a foreign diplomat of a free and democratic nation was denied his free speech rights on our campus and mistreated in such an abhorrent manner. I and four other faculty watched the entire spectacle, helpless to put a stop to it, while dozens of pro-Israel and "non-aligned" students looked on in horror. One of the protesters approached me and threatened me personally (even though I was not a participant), stating that he knows where I work and how to find me and that I'd better be "looking over my shoulder" in the future. Prominent among the demonstrators were members of the MSA and the off-campus group South Bay Mobilization (some of whose leaders met with Hamas on Aug. 24 and were present at the event!). As you may know, the latter group has now co-sponsored three events on our campus with academic departments since August. (The administration feels that such co-sponsorship is protected under academic freedom, even though no university has an obligation to lend its good name to such groups and to partner with them in an official capacity. One wonders what is coming next? The KKK and the Aryan Brotherhood?)
As anticipated, the Spartan Daily has published extensive reports on Thursday's event (attached as pdf's), although the writers give little evidence of how brutal and aggressive the protesters actually were. They also understate the size of the audience (about 200):
http://media.www.thespartandaily.com/media/storage/paper852/news/2009/02/09/News/Q.A-Session.Cut.Short.By.Protests.Rowdy.Crowd-3619323.shtml
News/Q.A-Session.Cut.Short.By.Protests.Rowdy.Crowd-3619323.shtml
At the bottom of the report, you will find five links:
1) Student Reaction to the event
2) An edited video of the event, which shows a student being removed from the stage. A must-see.
3) A photo blog.
4) A blog transcript (see attachment with yellow highlighting)
5) A link to reportage of last week's anti-Israel events. Please read in full the commentary that follows this piece.
Finally, be sure to read this piece and especially the anti-Semitic rants that follow it:
http://media.www.thespartandaily.com/media/storage/paper852/news/2009/02/05/Multimedia/The-Israeli.Consul.General.Comes.To.Sjsu-3615920.shtml
Please feel free to let San Jose State University governance know of your concerns.
With best regards to all,"'
Name deleted by request.
Orange County Independent Task Force Anti-Semitism
http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/
Fousesquawk comment: Once again, an American university has allowed the inmates to run the institution; this time allowing students to disrupt a talk by a diplomat from an American ally. Never mind that the student group, Spartans for Israel, brought this distinguished gentleman to speak at San Jose State in the hope that they might hear his words. A group of students from the Muslim Students Association and their anarchist pals decided that Mr Tor's words should not be heard by those in attendance.
I would hope that the spineless administrators at San Jose State University, who allowed this outrage to occur, would send a formal apology to the Israeli Consulate and Mr Tor.
I won't hold my breath, however.
3 comments:
As always, it is those who say that we MUST promote tolerance of all views who are most intolerant of all...
...Were I that student group, I would sue the school for damages. And bring the hate-slinging group into the mix as well.
Well stated, Eagle Eye.
Of course the university will wring their hands and talk about the free speech of the disrupters, but what about the right of the audience to hear what the man had to say?
Maximim publicity for these outrages is what is needed.
Free speech allows both sides of an issue to be heard, not just one.
Expect even more of this behavior in the future. After all these students were raised by the worst people in the world. They have no manners.
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