The CSU Saga Continues

-                                                                                 E Pluribus Boycottem Below is an updated letter from the AMCHA Initiative to California State University Chancellor Charles Reed. It concerns the propaganda put out by CSU Northridge math professor David Klein about his area of academic expertise-the evils of Israel- which still appears on a CSUN website. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://amchainitiative.org/letter_to_chancellor_reed/ Dear Chancellor Reed: We are the co-founders of the AMCHA Initiative, a grassroots organization committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of Jewish students on California college and university campuses.  Together with more than 1,800 members and supporters of the California Jewish community, we are writing to you to express our outrage that CSU Northridge continues to host the anti-Semitic web pages of one of its professors on the official University website, and we urge you to exercise your authority to have these web pages removed.  (Please see Attachment 1 for our letter). http://amchainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Letter-Attachment-1.pdf  Many members of the California State University community were signatories to the letter: 282 CSU alumni and current students, including 139 from CSUN 200 parents of CSU alumni and current students, including 64 from CSUN 60 former or current faculty or staff from CSU, including 12 from CSUN 74 donors to CSU, including 22 who donated specifically to CSUN, with several of those indicating they would no longer donate to the University (Please see Attachment 2 for a full list of signatories). http://amchainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Signatories-Attachment-2.pdf  Here are a few of the many comments from signatories:   " As a CSUN alumna, I am ashamed and disgraced by such nonsense and bigotry on a university campus." "Outrageous. My alma mater has been hijacked by bigots. Shame on you.  I would advocate budget-cutting to cut out this cancer. My legislators will hear from me."  " Take me off your list of alumni.  I want nothing to do with your Jew-hating college." " As an alumna of Northridge, I am disgusted by the school's lack of action against such blatant anti-Semitism." "I find this appalling.  I have 2 children who graduated from this campus.  How can you allow such political libel to filter through your website?" "I have 3 children all who might have considered CSU as an option.  There is absolutely no way I would consider giving tuition funds, not to mention the considerable donation potential to any of these campuses under these conditions."  "As CSU faculty, I am embarrassed to have any association with the anti-Semitic activities at CSUN." "As a CSUN graduate student and a professor for 37 years, I never felt the shame I feel now regarding Klein and some very respectable CSUN administrators who publicly support these anti-semitic opinions and suggestions."  "I am a tenured faculty member and while "academic freedom" means that a professor has the option to teach her/his studied discipline correctly and accurately in whatever manner that will enable the students to understand and learn, spewing hate rhetoric in the public forum of a web site is outside the umbrella intended for freedom of speech in the academy." As you may be aware, in response to our letter, the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) has initiated its own petition urging you to allow Professor David Klein, a member of the USACBI Organizing Committee, to continue to post web pages advocating the boycott of Israel. USACBI calls for supporters to expand the exploitation of university resources for the purpose of furthering their campaign. It is important to point out that the founders of the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel campaign have openly stated that their ultimate goal is the elimination of the Jewish state, and Hannah Rosenthal, U.S. State Department's Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, has called their campaign anti-Semitic. Far from being an expression of academic freedom, the USACBI campaign to deny contact with Israeli scholars and to misuse university resources to promulgate anti-Jewish hatred is itself an egregious violation of academic freedom and a perversion of the very mission of the University.  We believe that the USACBI's promotion of Professor's Klein's web pages for anti-Semitic purposes is further evidence that these web pages should be removed from CSUN's tax-payer funded website. We look forward to receiving your response to the enclosed letter. Sincerely, Leila Beckwith Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative Leila@AMCHAinitiative.org Tammi Rossman-Benjamin Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative Tammi@AMCHAinitiative.org Cc:  CSUN Interim President Harold Hellenbrand        Board of Trustees        California Governor Jerry Brown        California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom        California Speaker of the Assembly John A. Perez        California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson        Congressman Brad Sherman        California State Senator Alex Padilla        California State Senator Darrell Steinberg        California State Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes        Los Angeles Mayor  - Antonio Villaraigosa        Los Angeles City Council President Bcc: Members and supporters of the Jewish community Open Attachment Letter - Attachment 1.doc  Open Attachment Signatories - Attachment 2.pdf  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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