The above video was supplied to me by Stand With Us and shows a longer and more detailed video of the disruptions by the UC-Irvine Muslim Student Union last night. At this point, it is reported that either 11 or 12 student protesters were arrested last night. According to one source, 9 are UCI students and 2 are UC Riverside students. The below statement is Stand With Us' take on the event and accompanies the video.
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"This video shows you what an elegant man Michael Oren is,
in the face of hostility.
Muslim students tried to silence Israel's U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren when he spoke at UC Irvine's Pacific Ballroom on Monday afternoon, February 8.
Ambassador Oren had come to share his historical and personal perspective on the U.S.-Israel relationship. An author, professor of history, and diplomat, Ambassador Oren is politically centrist and regarded as an expert on many issues of vital interest today. But the Muslim students were determined to silence him, deny him the right to free speech, and deny the audience the right to have civil, intellectual discourse at UCI.
The Muslim students had carefully planned their tactics. Shortly before the event began, large numbers of them gathered for prayers outside the Ballroom. They then entered and scattered throughout the room in order to disrupt the speech from different locations. They did. After every few of Ambassador Oren's sentences, a student would stand up and scream unintelligibly at him while the other students involved raucously clapped and howled. The student whose turn it was to disturb the event would then walk proudly out of the Ballroom, escorted by police, while glaring at the understandably upset and frustrated audience of over 500 people who had come to hear the Ambassador's remarks.
After at least ten interruptions, the uncivilized demonstrators marched outside to a spot closest to the wall of the Ballroom. From there, they shouted more slogans, hoping they could continue to disrupt the event.
But they could not.
The Muslim students angered the audience and embarrassed the UCI administration. They ignored pleas and reprimands from UCI officials who took the microphone. They ignored Ambassador Oren's request that he be granted the civil hospitality due to a guest of the University. They ignored his urging that they raise their concerns during the Q and A. The good news is that Ambassador Oren refused to be silenced. He had come to UCI to share his thoughts and did not abandon his right to free speech even as dozens of students coordinated this hostile demonstration. With his elegant manner, he remained calm, and stood his ground.
He stood up for free speech.
There are lessons to be learned from this event. The University will need to identify the participating students and decide what consequences they will suffer for their uncivilized behavior. The organizers of the protest were seen coordinating the screams from their seats by text messaging on their cell phones, and the Muslim Student Union president may have been among the eleven arrested for disrupting the event. The UCI administration will need to consider sanctions for the MSU since it was clear to everyone in the audience that the MSU had orchestrated the raucous effort to prevent free speech.
Every speaker can learn from Ambassador Oren's example. Whether the speaker is a U.S. General, an academic, or a representative from another country, his or her right to free speech may very well be challenged. We have seen this pattern spread throughout the U.S., especially this past year. Just a few hours before Professor Oren's event, Israel's Senior Legal Advisor, Daniel Taub, had spoken at the UCLA Law School, and also faced a disruptive demonstration. Like Ambassador Oren, Mr. Taub responded with calm, dignity, and a sincere invitation to the demonstrators that they ask questions during the Q and A. Instead, they, too, refused to cooperate, and marched out, escorted by the police.
The main lesson from Ambassador Oren is that we must stand up with dignity and eloquence for free speech. If we do not, if speakers give up and walk off the stage, we risk sacrificing the civil dialogue essential to education and a bedrock of American values."
StandWithUs
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Below are additional photos of some of the arrestees.
"Heigh ho, heigh ho
it's off to jail they go"
The below linked article by the Orange County Register lists the names of those arrested. According to this article, 8 were from UCI and three from UC-Riverside.
http://collegelife.freedomblogging.com/2010/02/09/police-identify-12-students-arrested-at-uci/16011/
Below is the statement from Chancellor Michael Drake, which appeared on today's UCI website.
Campus Disruption
Feb. 9, 2010
"Dear Colleagues:
Last night, Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to the U.S., shared his perspectives on American-Israeli relations in a free public lecture in the UC Irvine Student Center. During his talk, several members of the audience stood and shouted – one at a time, repeatedly – in an effort to disrupt his message.
This behavior is intolerable. Freedom of speech is among the most fundamental, and among the most cherished of the bedrock values our nation is built upon. A great university depends on the free exchange of ideas. This is non-negotiable. Those who attempt to suppress the rights of others violate core principles that are the foundation of any learning community. We cannot and do not allow such behavior.
Eleven individuals were arrested as a result of their actions last night and are being processed accordingly. Additionally, the Office of Student Conduct has initiated the Student Judiciary Review process to address issues under their jurisdiction.
I am very pleased that the ambassador stayed on and was able to complete his speech. This university is, and always will be, committed to the expression of all ideas and viewpoints."
Chancellor Michael Drake
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Anybody who was witness to this act of thuggery by the MSU will be watching to see what punishment is handed out to those who showed no respect for America's right of free speech.
4 comments:
Why is Chancellor Drake upset? This is the very behavior he has permitted on the UC-Irvine campus for the last couple of years. The MSU was only doing what they have been allowed to do for the last decade. And only now, after the press has finally seen the true actions of this group, that Mr. Drake has brought out the Crocodile tears.
If the Chancellor is really interested in stopping this behavior, then the expulsion of the MSU from the UCI campus would be the right start.
There are starting to be calls for Drake to resign.
It is very shameful, disruptive, uncivilized to disrupt an Ambassador's speech which he is doing just to talk about some issues. He has no power to come to any solution or enforce one, right?
Now..on the other hand, it is considered very encouraging and totally ok to disrupt a whole nation. When protests in Iran started, the whole media supported it. Even when people were dying. When government cracked down on protesters, then it was considered anti-democratic and anti-civilization (and probably anti-western interests...) What is good for goose should be BEST for gander!!! Why difference? eh?
Bigotry? Hypocrisy? Double Standards? Whatever you encourage somewhere else, will one day come to your backyard. Yesterday, you supported country wide rallies in Tehran, now you will get it during your speech. You are the one who taught it, encouraged it, why arresting then? Why is that Jewish guy in the video telling all the students "you are going to fail your exam"...Why? Because they used their right of FREE SPEECH!!?
Oh i forgot the meaning of FREE SPEECH = any word, notion, concept, talk, or any form of communication that would insult Islam ..should be considered FREE SPEECH......otherwise HATE SPEECH!!
Bigotry? Hypocrisy? Double Standards.....haha....nah..just Fair Minded, Democracy & Peace Loving, Smiling & highly educated type Individuals.
Anonymous,
First of all, you and I have different ideas of Israel and how it compares to Iran.
Israel does not hang their protesters.
Israel does not hang homosexuals.
Israel does not persecute members of minority religions because of their religion. (Bah'ais, for example)
Israel does not hold foreign diplomats hostage.
As for your reference to the "Jewish guy" who told students they would fail their exams (or mid-terms). I have said a couple of times that whoever that guy was (I don't know), I would never say that to my students. I do not take my personal views into the classroom (unlike many of the professors in the US who support you).
As to free speech/hate speech. I have never advocated that the speakers who have come to UCI and engaged in hate speech toward Jews should be arrested. Under our Constitution, it is free speech, detestable as it is. But I can also engage in my free speech and call it what it is.
It seems that there is an effort underway (OIC) for example to make any criticism of Islam declared criminal speech. For example, The Netherlands is actually prosecuting Geert Wilders for his statements about Islam. That is wrong, just as it would be wrong to try and put Mohammed al-Asi in jail for what he says about Jews. But criticize and debate-sure!
As for bigotry. I say, look in the mirror. Listen to the words of Al-Asi, Malik Ali, speakers that the MSU has brought to UCI. Re-read the hadith about the tree calling for the Muslim to come and kill the Jew. Read the words coming out of imams in mosques and madrassahs all over the world about Jews. Ask yourself why the Mumbai terrorists singled out a Jewish center, tortured and murdered a Jewish rabbi and his wife. Then you talk to me about bigotry.
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