Friday, April 1, 2011

The Olive Tree Initiative at UC-Irvine-The Zionist Organization of America Letters



In the wake of the previously reported disclosure that UC-Irvine students participating in the Olive Tree Initiative reportedly met with a top Hamas official in the West Bank in 2009, the Zionist Organization of America has written two letters expressing outrage. The first letter is to the Jewish Federation of Orange County. The second is to UCI Chancellor Michael Drake. Both letters were provided to the Orange County Independent Task Force on Anti-Semitism, from where they are cross-posted here. Both letters are blistering. They may be accessed from the below link.

http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/zoa-letters-to-oc-jewish-federation-uci-chancellor-drake-expreses-outrage-over-uci-students-meeting-with-hamas-leader/

What can I say? As one who has taught part-time at UCI for almost 13 years, I can tell you that the ZOA, the Orange County  Independent Task Force on Anti-Semitism, myself and others have been complaining about this crap for years. All we can do is speak out and inform the public as we stand up not only for Israel, but more importantly for America and against anti-Semitism. All we have ever encountered is resistance and denial. 

Now, however, the chickens are coming home to roost, not for anything that our side has done, rather because of what the other side has done. We knew that eventually, the truth would come out.

As the cop in Scarface said, "It's your tree. You're sitting in it."
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3 comments:

  1. MiggieApril 1, 2011 at 8:32 PM

    Wow! The ZOA nailed the issues in both letters. OTI has been a wolf in sheep's clothing from its inception.

    If the Rose Project and the Federation don't respond appropriately at long last and terminate their relationship with OTI, they are going to lose the majority of their constituency ... which I have to remind them is the Orange County Jewish community and not Chancellor Drake or UCI.

    Thanks for putting up the letters.
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  2. SquidApril 2, 2011 at 12:37 AM

    Bravo Gary!

    Putting these two letters on the fousesquawk blog brings to light the true nature of the OTI. Hopefully, many people will read these two very well crafted letters, exposing both UCI and the OC Jewish Federation. They both played with fire (Hamas) and now they may get burned. Nothing more needs to be said, it is writen in the two letters. "So shall it be written, so shall it be done".

    Squid

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  3. Siarlys JenkinsApril 2, 2011 at 4:38 PM

    People who don't like OTI's approach have been complaining for years that they don't like OTI's approach. Now that they have additional proof that OTI does things the complainers do not and never have approved of, they hope that those who have been supporting OTI for doing exactly what the complainers don't approve of will see that it's a bad idea.

    If you are going to hear from all viewpoints that have a significant presence in the middle east, you would HAVE to meet with someone from Hamas. They won an election, remember? (George Bush INSISTED on an ELECTION, when everyone knew there was a hazard Hamas would win it.) They're not my cup of tea, but they're not a handful of students in a basement either. Hopefully they'll lose the next election. Hopefully the outraged people of Gaza will turn on them and rend them limb from limb. Meantime, students are not encouraged to endorse everything they hear, but to learn what makes the conflict tick.

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