The newest tactic that the Muslim Student Union has taken at UC Irvine is to play the “we’re victims” card that served them so well in the past. The MSU—organizers and ring leaders of the most viciously antisemitic campus rhetoric in the nation—are now claiming to be victims of harassment and worse by the FBI. The media, notably the LA Times and the OC Register, are easily fooled by these students, and presented over the last week the most benign articles.
The incident which is the catalyst for their complaints is an alleged “nudge” by an unmarked FBI car of the MSU student leader who was driving a large moving truck onto the campus to pack their “apartheid wall” propaganda piece into. The student who lodged the complaint is well known. He has been behind the entire UC Intifada since arriving on campus. He is part of a group of MSU thugs that intimidate Jewish students and pro-Israel activists. In addition, one of his group members alleged that he heaved a cinder block at the car in retaliation.
During last week’s hatefest he distinguished himself by charging in front of me at times to block by path. Together with other MSU thugs, they blocked me from continuing a conversation with two Muslim women saying “They don’t want to speak with you.” It was like the mafia in the movies— they literally created a wall of thugs and told me “go away,” while I was in the middle of a calm conversation with Muslim women. The Universities main Student Judicial Officer was nearby me the whole time (they see me as the problem) and said nothing. Mostly, he and the rest of the Administrators there were just trying to prevent full scale violence.
These MSU thugs continuously blocked attempts at free speech (holding signs denouncing the proceedings) by Israel activists, and to the Administrations credit (yes!) they were often told to move away from the pro-Israel crowd.
This student who lodged the complaint also told me that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were Muslims, that Israel is on stolen land, and other amazing revisionist Muslim thinking.
After several years of run-ins with this student, it seems fairly obvious to me that he hand a hand in instigating whatever went down. He admits that he left his vehicle and trying to interrogate the driver of the other car. Hopefully the truth will prevail—but at UC Irvine, that is highly unlikely.
Oh, and by the way, the MSU calls the FBI monitoring their activities harassment, and I call it common sense. These guys are a few notches away from turning their words into actions.
However today’s paper reports that the FBI was NOT investigating the students, only following a suspicious truck!
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agent followed a “suspicious” truck onto campus. She said the truck “had the signage painted over and no visible license plates.”
Eimiller said that after people surrounded the car, the agent “blew his siren and used the car’s public address system to warn the group. At that point it was clear that this was a law enforcement vehicle. At least one person threw or placed a cinder block under the law enforcement vehicle.”
Should be an interesting case to follow — attempt or actually damaging Federal Property can land you in jail.
I’m a chrisitian who stands with Israel and the jewish community. Remember, there are 50 million evangelical christians that support Israel. I’m a member of AIPAC and been on many pro-Israel rallies on Wilshire blvd in LA. I have no other agenda but to stand with and support the descedants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are not alone and the actions of the MSU and other anti-jewish groups does not go unnoticed.
GT, I’m sure you mean well and we proabably agree on many issues so what I write below is meant in a positive spirit even if it sounds harsh.
My point is that whether you agree or not, these rallies are often tainted by a hodge podge of ideas and biases that bear no relationship to what interests me – and I suspect, many other Jews – who oppose having gone into Iraq, and often delve into ideas that are anathema to me.
Really now, if one follows the “anti-war” movement, one cannot escape the “truther” movement, or at least the “It’s America’s foreign policy” line of argument for the reasons behind 9/11. And of course, one cannot avoid at all the anti-Israel movement.
Essentially, the view represented in many of these rallies is that the US is the big bad ogre of the world and that peace will be achieved when the US stops being the big bad ogre. Of course, Israel is depicted as the little bad ogre which is either the manipulator of the big bad ogre or being manipulated and supported by the big bad ogre.
If only the ogres would stop being ogrish, we hear from these rallies and movements, then all will be well.
With all due respect, one can oppose this war without joining the bullshit parade.
As for being “isolated,” I’d really rather avoid the Indymedia scene because I’ve read and heard enough of their lies to last me several lifetimes – and often these lies are at my expense as a Jew or as a supporter of Israel. If you don’t mind breaking bread with those who will only accept you if you bow your head and act as a “good” Jew, go ahead. Unfortunately, the movement you’re joining is so tainted that I’d rather oppose the war without joining any such group or demonstration. This is my personal feeling about this but I understand if you want to try a different way. Just be sure, please, not to let the majority around you speak untruthfully about other issues because if you do, you’re no less culpable for the lies spoken than they are.
Longish answer: ANSWER is a collection of tiny Trotskyite sects. How anti-Semites and Islamists gained conrol is unknown to me. But the people who demonstrate are not even mostly Islamists and the last thing Jewry needs is more isolation.
Short answer: Suit yourself, I’ll carry the flag.
You mean, anti-war rallies run by ANSWER? No thanks. Remember when they prevented Lerner from speaking at an anti-war rally because he was a “Zionist?”
Hoping to see the Israeli flag wave at an anti-war demonstration. Not just when Islamist Arabs have a demo. At the St. Patrick’s day demo in L.A., visible Islamists were probably less than 1% of the throng. Yarmulkes and Israeli flags, however, numbered zero as far as I could see. When a Gallup poll shows 77% of Jews oppose the war and there is a group of progressive rabbis against the war, not to mention the Jewish vote in the 2006 election–is laying low really a worthwhile strategy? A little more of a visible presence might undercut the racists and anti-semites that prattle about Jewish influence on U.S. foreign policy.