My Letter to UCI Chancellor Re: SJP

In the wake of the latest disruption of a pro-Israel event by Students for Justice in Palestine, 

I have added my own letter to UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman as his staff investigates the 

incident. In this letter, I call for Chancellor Gillman to effectively implement the UC Regents' 

Statement of Principles on Intolerance and kick SJP off of campus. 

Dear Chancellor Gillman, 



My name is Gary Fouse. I have written to you previously as a part-time teacher 

in the UCI Extension. Today I write to you strictly as a member of the 

community. I taught part-time at UCI from 1998-2016. Since 2007, I have been 

active observing and reporting on the activities of the Muslim Student Union and 

Students for Justice in Palestine. I have long complained about anti-semitism on 

the UCI campus, a problem that has been brought to the UCI campus,in my view, 

by these two organizations. 

I recall in 2010 when Students for Justice in Palestine's UCI chapter was formed 

when the MSU was suspended following the Oren disruption. (I was present at that 

event.) Since then I have twice observed SJP disrupt the annual I-Fest. I have 

written to the university and complained not only about the disruptions, but the 

fact that the students marched out of the Cross Cultural Center and back into 

the CCC after their demonstration. 

I also complained last year when SJP and others disrupted a pro-Israel event on 

May 18, yet another black eye for the university, which has suffered too many 

black eyes courtesy of the pro-Palestinian movement on campus. Once again, SJP 

used the CCC as a staging area. On that occasion, it was revealed that "legal 

observers" from the National Lawyers Guild attached to the UCI law school 

participated in that disruption. 

On May 10, I was present when SJP and others disrupted yet another pro-Israel 

event. I videotaped it and provided that videotape to Asst Vice Chancellor  

Edgar Dormitorio, who was also present. Clips of it have been used by 

organizations who have recently written to you to express their outrage at 

this latest incident. 

In addition, I spoke at two UC Regents working groups-at UCI and UCLA- in 2015 

and 2016 when they were revising the UC Regents’ Statement of Principles Against 

Intolerance, one that specifically addressed campus anti-semitism. In March 2016 

that statement was passed. You subsequently pledged to take steps to implement 

that policy. It is time to enforce that policy. 

Students for Justice in Palestine is not just a UCI problem or a UC problem. It 

is a national problem. In 2014 a document surfaced out of their SUNY Binghamton 

chapter that explicitly listed disruption as one of their tactics. On campus 

after campus including UCI, SJP has put that tactic into practice. 

After last year's warning letter following the May 18 incident, SJP was put on 

notice. They have now once again shown that they are unwilling to engage in 

civil discourse. They have shown once again that they will not respect the free 

speech rights of others. If the Statement of Principles is to have any meaning, 

it is time to remove this organization from the UCI campus once and for all. 

Otherwise, the Statement of Principles is nothing more than a scrap of paper. 



Sincerely, 



Gary  Fouse