Below is the reaction of the politically-correct Orange County Register to the verdict in the so-called Irvine 11 case.
The Orange County Register, Opinion on Irvine 11, 09-25-2011
It has been more than 18 months since 11 students interrupted a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at UC Irvine, and in the process, sparked an intense public debate about the true meaning of free speech. Friday, an Orange County jury found 10 members of the group, known as the “Irvine 11,” guilty on all misdemeanor counts of disturbing a public meeting and conspiracy. The verdict, however, doesn't settle the debate about free speech and probably won't be the last word in this case.
In our view, it was wrong for the students to be so disruptive as to stop the meeting, and they should have been, and were, disciplined by UCI. Their actions, though, did not rise to the level of a criminal offense.
The sentences meted out Friday, rightly, did not include imprisonment. Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson said jail time was not warranted because evidence showed the students were “motivated by their beliefs and not did not disrupt for the sake of disrupting.”
The defendants were given three years of informal probation, plus 56 hours of community service. He also ordered them to pay $270 in fines.
The First Amendment's protections are broad and protect the most extreme and offensive speech. However, those protections don't go so far as to include a heckler's right to veto, or stop, someone else's speech. “If heckler's veto was allowed,” Assistant District Attorney Dan Wagner told the jury, “then no one would have the right to free speech.”
He is right on that point. If you disagree with a speaker, the answer is always more speech, not less.
But, prosecutors are wrong in arguing that the free-speech implications of this case end there. Selective prosecutions have a chilling effect on political speech. The First Amendment is of little value if criminal statutes can be used arbitrarily to quash offensive speakers.
We wonder if the same group of UC Irvine students had interrupted a campus lecture on chemistry or biophysics, would the District Attorney's Office have filed criminal charges? The case would have been an administrative matter to be resolved by campus officials. Dr. Craig Smith, director of the Center for First Amendment Studies, said, “If the defense can show that the UC Irvine rules can be applied in arbitrary and capricious ways, they might win the case on appeal,” he said.
Kifah Shah, a spokesperson for the Stand with the Eleven Campaign, promised that's an option defendants are “absolutely” considering.
Fousesquawk comment: The Register apparently missed the fact that this represented a diplomatic incident. Ambassadors of foreign countries, especially our allies are not supposed to be treated in this matter. As for classroom disruptions, if that occurred in my class, I would simply call the campus police.
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Next is an editorial from the liberal LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-irvine-20110924,0,3702342.story
Below is the statement from the OC Jewish Federation CEO, Shalom Elcott.
An Important Community Update
From JFFS President and Chief Executive Officer Shalom C. Elcott
9/23/11
Dear Friends,
Many in our community have been diligently following the case of the ‘Irvine 11,’ in which members of the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine (UCI) were charged by the Orange County District Attorney for their involvement in the organized attempt to prevent Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren from speaking during his February 2010 visit to UCI. As the community sponsor of the Ambassador Oren event, and as one of the primary partners of Jewish life on our local university campuses, the Rose Project of Jewish Federation & Family Services, Orange County (JFFS) has been following the case very closely.
Today, the courts have made their final deliberation and the jury has found the defendants guilty. The Muslim Student Union members have been charged with two misdemeanors for conspiring to disrupt and for disrupting Michael Oren’s speech. The sentence they have received is three years probation and a requirement to complete 57 hours of community service.
This verdict serves as a landmark in the history of anti-Israel activity on university campuses throughout the United States. For years the Muslim Student Union (MSU) has been perpetrating hate speech on campus, and pushing the limit on what is considered acceptable and civil discourse in the university setting. UCI was the first to implement punitive measures on the MSU by issuing a one-year suspension of the organization in 2010, and now the Orange County courts have quickly followed by holding accountable the individuals involved.
Today’s outcome reaffirms that the MSU’s planned and systematic use of disruptions to trample on the free speech of others crossed the moral, social and intellectual line of civility and tolerance. While we accept the right and requirement of a public institution to provide an unfettered forum for diverse points of view, we do not, nor will we ever, support hate speech.
The systematic disruptions of Ambassador Oren’s visit exhibit an increasingly-used strategy by Israel’s delegitimizers to prevent university students from hearing Israel’s side of the story. For example, in 2009, past Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was prevented from speaking at the University of Chicago, and in 2010 Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon was prevented from speaking at Oxford University, in both cases due to the use of similar tactics. Fortunately, because of what was accomplished in our community here in Orange County, anti-Israel activists across the country will be forced to rethink their use of these uncivil tactics. This precedent-setting ruling has global implications.
The Rose Project and JFFS will continue to advocate for constructive dialogue in place of the hateful rhetoric that has been used under the guise of free speech. It is counter-productive to any and all efforts to ensure the free exchange of ideas. We hope that this incident provides a valuable lesson, reminding all those in doubt that free speech does not permit the act of shutting down the free exchange of ideas. We encourage all parties to join us in fostering a better campus climate and civil discourse for our students at UCI.
Through the Rose Project, a Connect 2 Leadership Initiative of JFFS, we will persevere in working with and supporting Jewish student leaders and the Jewish community to ensure that UCI becomes a more welcoming place for Jewish students. Over the past three years, the Rose Project has provided over 170 program grants and student scholarships, funded over 350 student opportunities in Israel education, leadership, and advocacy, and helped send over 150 Orange County students to Israel on the Taglit-Birthright Israel program. Most important, Rose Project students told us, in research we recently conducted, that their Jewish student life is richer and more vibrant than what they experienced prior to arriving at UCI.
Our most sincere thanks to the members of the Rose Council for their wisdom, guidance and skilled leadership throughout this process, and in all that the Rose Project has undertaken since its establishment. The Rose Project and JFFS will carry forward in our mission to work with all within our reach to make our community a more welcoming and thriving Jewish experience.
Shabbat Shalom,
Shalom Elcott
President and CEO
Jewish Federation & Family Services, Orange County
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Fousesquawk comment:
The Rose Project and the OC Jewish Federation have done jack-diddley-squat when it comes to the problems at UCI exemplified by the Oren disruption. Poseur Elcott has used this incident to run from microphone to microphone making pronouncements about all the "great work" they are doing. Their "greatest accomplishment" is funding the Olive Tree Initiative, which is basically run by a bunch of peacenik-Palestinian advocates posing as bridge builders.
Secondly, the one-year suspension that Elcott is talking about was reduced to one quarter by Vice Chancellor Manuel Gomez on his last day as he walked into retirement.
Fousesquawk comment: The Register apparently missed the fact that this represented a diplomatic incident. Ambassadors of foreign countries, especially our allies are not supposed to be treated in this matter. As for classroom disruptions, if that occurred in my class, I would simply call the campus police.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next is an editorial from the liberal LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-irvine-20110924,0,3702342.story
Below is the statement from the OC Jewish Federation CEO, Shalom Elcott.
An Important Community Update
From JFFS President and Chief Executive Officer Shalom C. Elcott
9/23/11
Dear Friends,
Many in our community have been diligently following the case of the ‘Irvine 11,’ in which members of the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine (UCI) were charged by the Orange County District Attorney for their involvement in the organized attempt to prevent Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren from speaking during his February 2010 visit to UCI. As the community sponsor of the Ambassador Oren event, and as one of the primary partners of Jewish life on our local university campuses, the Rose Project of Jewish Federation & Family Services, Orange County (JFFS) has been following the case very closely.
Today, the courts have made their final deliberation and the jury has found the defendants guilty. The Muslim Student Union members have been charged with two misdemeanors for conspiring to disrupt and for disrupting Michael Oren’s speech. The sentence they have received is three years probation and a requirement to complete 57 hours of community service.
This verdict serves as a landmark in the history of anti-Israel activity on university campuses throughout the United States. For years the Muslim Student Union (MSU) has been perpetrating hate speech on campus, and pushing the limit on what is considered acceptable and civil discourse in the university setting. UCI was the first to implement punitive measures on the MSU by issuing a one-year suspension of the organization in 2010, and now the Orange County courts have quickly followed by holding accountable the individuals involved.
Today’s outcome reaffirms that the MSU’s planned and systematic use of disruptions to trample on the free speech of others crossed the moral, social and intellectual line of civility and tolerance. While we accept the right and requirement of a public institution to provide an unfettered forum for diverse points of view, we do not, nor will we ever, support hate speech.
The systematic disruptions of Ambassador Oren’s visit exhibit an increasingly-used strategy by Israel’s delegitimizers to prevent university students from hearing Israel’s side of the story. For example, in 2009, past Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was prevented from speaking at the University of Chicago, and in 2010 Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon was prevented from speaking at Oxford University, in both cases due to the use of similar tactics. Fortunately, because of what was accomplished in our community here in Orange County, anti-Israel activists across the country will be forced to rethink their use of these uncivil tactics. This precedent-setting ruling has global implications.
The Rose Project and JFFS will continue to advocate for constructive dialogue in place of the hateful rhetoric that has been used under the guise of free speech. It is counter-productive to any and all efforts to ensure the free exchange of ideas. We hope that this incident provides a valuable lesson, reminding all those in doubt that free speech does not permit the act of shutting down the free exchange of ideas. We encourage all parties to join us in fostering a better campus climate and civil discourse for our students at UCI.
Through the Rose Project, a Connect 2 Leadership Initiative of JFFS, we will persevere in working with and supporting Jewish student leaders and the Jewish community to ensure that UCI becomes a more welcoming place for Jewish students. Over the past three years, the Rose Project has provided over 170 program grants and student scholarships, funded over 350 student opportunities in Israel education, leadership, and advocacy, and helped send over 150 Orange County students to Israel on the Taglit-Birthright Israel program. Most important, Rose Project students told us, in research we recently conducted, that their Jewish student life is richer and more vibrant than what they experienced prior to arriving at UCI.
Our most sincere thanks to the members of the Rose Council for their wisdom, guidance and skilled leadership throughout this process, and in all that the Rose Project has undertaken since its establishment. The Rose Project and JFFS will carry forward in our mission to work with all within our reach to make our community a more welcoming and thriving Jewish experience.
Shabbat Shalom,
Shalom Elcott
President and CEO
Jewish Federation & Family Services, Orange County
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fousesquawk comment:
The Rose Project and the OC Jewish Federation have done jack-diddley-squat when it comes to the problems at UCI exemplified by the Oren disruption. Poseur Elcott has used this incident to run from microphone to microphone making pronouncements about all the "great work" they are doing. Their "greatest accomplishment" is funding the Olive Tree Initiative, which is basically run by a bunch of peacenik-Palestinian advocates posing as bridge builders.
Secondly, the one-year suspension that Elcott is talking about was reduced to one quarter by Vice Chancellor Manuel Gomez on his last day as he walked into retirement.
11 comments:
The Orange County Register, Opinion on Irvine 11
The Orange County jury found the 10 members of the, “Irvine 11,” guilty on all misdemeanor counts of disturbing a public meeting and conspiracy.
The Orange County Register’s view is: “it was wrong for the students to be so disruptive as to stop the meeting, and they should have been, and were, disciplined by UCI. Their actions, though, did not rise to the level of a criminal offense.”
The Register further claims: “The First Amendment's protections are broad and protect the most extreme and offensive speech. However, those protections don't go so far as to include a heckler's right to veto, or stop, someone else's speech.”
As a friend of mine stated: “The 1st Amendment allows for political speech but there are limits. These defendants didn’t do this in a capricious and arbitrary way, and they did it in a planned and deliberate way to block Mr. Oren from exercising his free speech rights…” The heckler’s right to a veto to stop someone’s speech is a violation of the 1st Amendment and should not be considered in this argument. To stop free speech is against our rights, guaranteed under the Constitution.
This is not a selective case and the jurors made the correct decision, with the evidence presented to them. For the OC Register to claim “The First Amendment is of little value if criminal statutes can be used arbitrarily to quash offensive speakers” is patently wrong. This case is clear in pointing out conspiracy to plan to disrupt and stop the speech of the Israeli Ambassador. California Penal Code is involved here and was addressed. And, Dr. Craig, of the Center for First Amendment Studies only points to UC Irvine rules. Dr. Craig has failed to understand that there is a Penal Code violation to be cnsidered. The Defense, in an appeal, will have to argue against the decision made on law, not UC Irvine rules.
But, I am sure that the Muslim Brotherhood’s organizations such as CAIR, the Muslim American Society, the Islamic Shura Council, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council, will support the Irvine 11 and file for another trial as they care for their ideology more thn the rule of law in th United States.
Squid
The Register is mostly right, but it was entirely appropriate to prosecute, because this was more than disrupting a class. It was disruption of political speech based on the viewpoint expressed, and it was part of an ongoing pattern of conduct. Also, it WAS a diplomatic incident, albeit a relatively minor one compared to, e.g., a mob invading an embassy.
If they had disrupted a chemistry class, once, that would not have risen to the level of prosecution, but, if university discipline failed to prevent repeated recurrence, you can bet police would have been called.
I found the Rose statement a bit pathetic. Whose speech was pro or anti Israel has nothing do to with whether laws or constitutional principles were violated. But, its a Jewish advocacy group, so of course they play up the implications for their own issues. That's not a crime, just not particularly on point.
I wonder if Elcott actually believes the Federation "works with" the Jewish community in any meaningful way. First of all, they have been AWOL on this case as well as all the past MSU outrages at UCI. They conducted an ugly personal attack on a member of the community who tried to get them to do something. They continue to finance the Olive Tree Initiative, which is hated by the vast majority of the Jewish community as a stupid futile waste of money, if not destructive in itself. They have kept the extent of this hidden from the community.
Inexplicably for a Jewish organization, they have refused to
sign a pledge not to knowingly finance any entity that is anti-Israel or pro-boycott/divest/sanction of Israel. Not the CEO, or any member of the Federation or Rose Project board signed the Amcha petition to UCI to do something
about the antisemitism in the UC system. It was signed by over 5,000 others and submitted to UC President Yudof.
They are simply oblivious or stubbornly unconcerned about the views of their constituency. They will be electing new officers soon but instead of their typical self congratulating programs they should know that they have been the worst leadership term ever and no matter what other good deeds they may point to, this list above is the way they will always be remembered.
I think it would have been more appropriate for Elcot to say nothing.
Squid,
I could care less what Dr Craig Smith or any other pinhead Dr says. What nobody else has said is that if this case is appealed to the Calif Supreme Court or on to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, of course it will be overturned. That's what liberal judges do.
Miggie,
"Inexplicably for a Jewish organization, they refused to
sign a pledge not to knowingly finance any entity that is anti-Israel or pro-boycott/divest/sanction of Israel. Not the CEO, or any member of the Federation or Rose Project board signed the Amcha petition to UCI to do something
about the antisemitism in the UC system. It was signed by over 5,000 others and submitted to UC President Yudof."
Yes. To be duly noted in an upcoming post of Amcha. Stay tuned.
If the verdict and sentence are defended on a straight First Amendment basis, no appellate court is going to overturn them. It appears, from the news coverage, that the prosecution did not indulge in bashing Islam. That is a good foundation for the lower court to be affirmed.
Why are you so paranoid about "liberal" judges? Sometimes I think you WANT the verdict overturned, just so you can feel smug and say "I told you so."
P.S. I found Rose pathetic for the same style that sounds so pathetic when Tammi R-Benjamin spouts similar stuff. Are you going to affirm that she is a pathetic professor too?
No. I support Tammi Benjamin and have collaborated with her on occasion. See my new post.
http://alturl.com/ib2ox
Stuart Jasper Irvine 11' can only blame themselves
Conspiracy and cover-up hurt Muslim students more than the heckling.
Read the link.
This guy doesn't mess around.
Yes, I know you do Gary. That was a bit of sardonic humor to make clear what my critique of Rose was and wasn't. I support the Olive Tree Initiative, and say so whenever you critique it.
Stay tuned.
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