Wednesday, April 8, 2015

San Francisco State Partners with Violently Anti-Jewish Arab University

Michael L.

{Originally published at the Elder of Ziyon}

edward said muralSan Francisco State University is among the most racist universities in the United States.

It is therefore fitting that it would partner with what is probably the most racist university in the world - An-Najah National University in the Palestinian Authority controlled town of Nablus.

The link above is to a Fall 2014 facebook posting by Professor Rabab Abdulhadi of the SFSU College of Ethnic Studies that I was alerted to by "Dusty" at Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers:
Today San Francisco State University's All University Committee on International Programs unanimously voted to recommend that SF State formally collaborate with An-Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine. This is the first time that SFSU will collaborate with any university in a Palestinian, Arab or Muslim community.

I am proud, excited and grateful to my colleagues @ An-Najah. It is my honor to be working with you. Thank you Mira Nabulsi for your amazing help in writing and producing the proposal. Thank you Dean Kenneth Monteiro and the College of Ethnic Studies for your consistent and unwavering support.
saidrockYou may recall that it was professor Abdulhadi who was the university adviser to the General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS) when they held up signs threatening murder during a celebration of a mural devoted to Edward Said who we actually have a photo of (above) throwing rocks at Jewish soldiers.

The ADL has this to say about An-Najah National University:
An-Najah University, in the West Bank city of Nablus, has been a flashpoint in the conflict between Israel and Palestinians since at least 1980, when violent anti-Israel protests led the Israeli military to close the school intermittently. Today the student council of An-Najah is known for its advocacy of anti-Israel violence and its recruitment of Palestinian college students into terrorist groups. The council, almost completely controlled by factions loyal to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah, glorifies suicide bombings and propagandizes for jihad against Israel. Hamas has described An-Najah as a "greenhouse for martyrs." 
Matthew Levitt, the director of the Washington Institute's Stein Program on Terrorism, Intelligence, and Policy, has this to say:
Al-Najah is the largest university in the territories and "the terrorist recruitment, indoctrination and radicalization of students for which al-Najah is known typically take place via various student groups," among them the Hamas-affiliated Islamic Bloc. "Of the thirteen members of Al-Najah's 2004 student council, eight," he says - "including the chairperson - belong to Hamas's Islamic Bloc." 
After the kidnapping of three Jewish teenagers last year the graduating students of An-Najah University held up the three fingered salute in solidarity with the kidnappers:


three fingers

Jew hiding behind tree cartoonThe Facebook page of the National University’s Islamic student group of An-Najah University in ‎Nablus, a school funded by USAID, called for murder of Jews posting this picture ‎of a religious Jews hiding in fear and the Islamic source from the Hadith that the PA interprets as ‎anticipating the genocide of Jews.

Tree: “O Muslim, O servant of Allah, there is a ‎Jew behind me – come kill him.”‎


Note: The Islamic belief that Jews will be killed ‎by Muslims as a precursor to the Resurrection ‎appears in the Hadith (sayings and practices ‎attributed to Islam's Prophet Muhammad).This ‎Islamic tradition asserts that as the killing of ‎Jews progresses, Jews will hide behind ‎stones and trees, but they will expose the ‎Jews and call out: "Oh Muslim, servant of ‎Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill ‎him." Only one tree, called the Gharqad, will ‎hide the Jews from the Muslims. ‎
And it was at An-Najah University that they created a "grotesque shrine" to the Sbarro pizza parlor massacre.

Writing in the Jerusalem Post, Mel Alexenberg tells us:
A group of An-Najah art students constructed a replica of the Sbarro pizzeria, site of the massacre.

Visitors pushed to see realistically sculpted body parts and pizza slices strewn throughout an environment set for a performance artwork.

Wearing a terrorist’s military uniform and black mask, the performance artist entered the mock pizzeria under a sign reading “Kosher Sbarro” and set off a simulated explosion to the cheers of the crowd. Upon entering and leaving, the visitors enthusiastically wiped their feet on Israeli and American flags used as doormats.
Here is a video of the event.



And this is the only university throughout the entire Muslim Middle East that San Francisco State University chooses to partner with?

In truth, however, you cannot blame the entire university for the stupidity of the All University Committee on International Programs, headed up by professor Trevor R. Getz of the history department.

I was a little surprised to find that Getz is the chair of the committee, merely because there is an element of coincidence to the fact.  It was Getz who emailed me after the Edward Said mural celebration in which the General Union of Palestine Students publicly called for the murder of "colonizers"... by whom, of course, they meant Jews.

Getz took particular exception to a piece that I wrote for my blog at the Times of Israel calling out my old professor, Fred Astren, for not standing up publicly against this kind of thing.

On the contrary, Astren makes a point of defending the university, but this is neither surprising, nor really reprehensible, given Astren's position of leadership at the university as the head of the Middle Eastern Studies Program.

On the question of SFSU bigotry and disdain for, if not the Jewish people, certainly the Jewish state, Astren says in the university newspaper:
“We’ve heard this kind of message before – it doesn’t correspond to the reality that characterizes our campus and our campus community,” Astren said. “If you ask Jewish students or Jewish faculty, you are going to have a hard time finding people to corroborate that this is an anti-Semitic place.”
Astren is correct.

The truth is that Jewish parents should feel confident sending their kids to SFSU, because the chances of actual anti-Semitic violence are low.  As long as the kid keeps his head down, does not in any way stand up for the Jewish people or the Jewish state of Israel, he or she should be just fine.

When I was there in the late 90s and early 00s we had all sorts of student organizations rallying against the Jews in Israel.  I will never forget the surreal moment of walking past the Malcolm X Student Center and seeing an African-American student organization holding aloft an American flag with fifty little Stars of David in it.

That was fun.

There is nothing quite like watching a bunch of young students shaking their fists in a violent manner toward yourself and your own people.  I have to say, that kind of thing makes an impression.  It is certainly an impression that has stuck with me for a long time.  My inclination when it happened was to write a letter to the editor of the school newspaper.

My inclination today might be a little different.

I might be inclined to go up and say "hello."

21 comments:

  1. The situation at SFSU is awful.
    The partnering with An-Najah university is awful. The universities in Europe and America will continue down this road. They are committed to these ideas.
    There is nothing that will stop it.

    I think the article linked below is, in some ways, a really simple summing-up of what the Obama administration is doing to the Jewish community of America.


    http://tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/190143/honey-i-shrunk-the-jews

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    1. They honestly think that partnering with organizations like An-Najah is a matter of social justice and therefore entirely in-line with the mission of the university.

      And, from what I can tell, when you point out the Sbarro exhibit they have nothing to say.

      One thing is certain, SFSU is not a friend to the Jewish people.

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    2. Yes.
      All of the above is true.
      It is also true that ( almost) all the universities are moving in the same direction. In America, and in Europe.
      That is an inevitable result of the weight of the social/ political theories and progressive politics that have dominated the Academy for several decades.
      The same theories and ' progressive ' ideologies that have produced the political and cultural landscape you now find yourselves in. That we all find ourselves in.

      Of course when you point out the Sbarro exhibit they have nothing to say;
      they see Sbarro as a symbol of
      ' resistance '. They applaud ' resistance '. They want to see more of it.
      They want more Sbarros. They want more dead Jews in pizza parlours in Israel.

      Think of how uncomfortable many Jewish students will (do) feel as they attend university if they don't conform to this groupthink. Think how uncomfortable they will feel, in some cases, even if they do conform to it.

      Progressive political ideology hates Israel. And hates America. It also hates western Europe. ( And the rest of the Anglo sphere, to a much lesser extent.)

      It blames Jews for Israel, obviously.
      It also blames Jews for a lot of what it hates about America.

      American Jews,understandably, have been distanced from the full realisation ( and impact of) how much hatred and contempt for Jews is out there. And, from the ' normalisation ' of conspiracy theories concerning Jews,in progressive thinking.
      American Jews have been lucky. America has been the country - in the modern era- in which Jews, and other minorities, have been best able to make their lives and thrive. Progressive ideologies are undermining that.
      Obama is the quintessential progressive.
      And the most powerful, and driven, progressive the world has seen.
      Some, but only some, American Jews are beginning to see things a little more clearly. Most, however, won't. Can't. It would be impossible for them.

      They will vote Democrat and believe themselves to be exempt from harm.
      They might not risk getting punched in the face, but there are other kinds of harm. And the other kinds of harm matter.

      It will be entirely likely that the Spielbergs and Streisands of American culture will continue to fawn over Obama, and fundraise like mad for the next Democrat candidate, even as Israel gets thrown under the bus, Iran gets the bomb, armed guards stand outside European Jewish schools and synagogues, and the universities and large parts of the liberal media continue to profess sympathy with people who blow-up ( or wish to blow-up) Jewish people in Israel. And sympathy for those who wish to delegitimise Israel, and see its demise.

      The social and political culture in which American Jews live their lives is shifting under them. People need to be more aware, and to be concerned.

      The impact on Jews of progressive ideology that is already felt in Europe, is going to be increasingly felt in America.






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    3. Here's some good news, from my part of the world.

      Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA; Pennsylvania's third-most populous city) Hillel chapter president does the typical attempted end-run around everyone, tries to put on 'official' BDS event. Gets put in place. Resigns.

      "Student leaders and Rabbi Melissa Simon, the director of the Muhlenberg Hillel, both say that the March 26 event was not brought before the student board for consideration and that Dorn worked on her own to bring the speakers.

      [Former chapter president Caroline] Dorn acknowledged in an interview that the majority of Jewish students did not want to host the BDS supporters.
      "

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    4. Working link here.

      Sorry, a stray quotation mark seems to have ruined the link in my above comment...

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    5. Caroline Dorn, like so many others with her leanings towards so-called
      ' inclusivity', would clearly be much better off were she to be a member of an Open Hillel branch.

      Sorry to say; but Open Hillel makes me not know whether to laugh or cry.
      Well, cry mostly.

      I see where they're coming from; but how naïve can you get?

      Turkeys/ Christmas comes to mind.
      Sadly.

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    6. People like Dorn need to understand that being the first to commit suicide is not honorable. Especially when nobody else has any intention to follow.

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    7. Jay,

      Unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of
      'Dorns'. They don't seem to mind that the ' inclusivity' they are so eager to show they believe in, is not reciprocated.
      It's an entirely one-way street.
      I don't think the pro- Palestinian groups on campuses are very accommodating of pro- Israel students.


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  2. I see no reason to shy away from 'direct action' against these people. If you know what I mean.

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    1. I see a reason. It's because we're not violent savages.

      We'll defend ourselves, but we won't seek to do harm. Woe be upon those who think we'll stand still and sit quietly if they do choose to get violent, though. I'm not the only otherwise peaceful American Jew who knows how to take care of myself in a physical fight, and also believes in, and partakes of, his Second Amendment rights.

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    2. We were taught from an early age to strip assemble load and use every gun in the house because you can't afford to wait for three guys in a truck to get to your front door before you shoot them. I tend to look at the devotees of violence a la SFSU and needing a strong dose of their own ideology on the very same terms they espouse for use against me. I believe that there's one and only one way to deal with brownshirts and that's to kill them in the street where they stand before they become a bigger problem. If SFSU embraces a place even the PLO calls "a suicide bomber factor" I can live with that. Allow me show them the way.

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    3. I advocate violence against no one.

      Neither does SFSU when it comes right down to it.

      They do not advocate violence.

      What SFSU does is empower those who spread hatred toward Jews.

      By partnering with An-Najah they are essentially spreading the word that, as far as they are concerned, it is open season.

      This is a university that actually put up a display celebrating the Sbarro massacre and of all the schools throughout the Middle East, this is the one that SFSU chooses to partner with.

      And Getz is a Jew. A South African Jew.

      Perhaps he feels some residual guilt for apartheid, but that's not our fucking problem.

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    4. Mike,

      They, and others like them, in the Academy and the media etc, may not advocate violence explicitly.
      But, do you not think that by their rhetoric, endorsements, and their actions they advocate violence in an implicit way?

      If a Palestinian went out tomorrow and rammed a vehicle into a group of Israeli citizens, injuring and killing them, do you think many of these people would believe the Palestinian man/woman had committed a crime?

      Or would they be more likely to see it as legitimate resistance?

      Once you have classed a particular group as being involved in a political struggle of resistance, you are unlikely to think of their actions as crimes.

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    5. "They do not advocate violence.

      What SFSU does is empower those who spread hatred toward Jews."

      They're threading the needle. Call it what you will, what they are against is being seen and known as violent, but they are giving jihad their blessing. On some level they must be aware of this, and need to be outed.

      Israel is the resistance.

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    6. "Israel is the resistance."

      That is a terrific way of looking at it.

      Israel is, in fact, the resistance. Israel is resisting the barbarism and tyranny and anti-democracy known as al-sharia.

      Israel resists the absolute chaos that is engulfing most of that part of the world.

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    7. Yes, and they are also resisting the EU that pours millions of Euros into destabilizing Israel. When you have a bunch of German "peace workers" showing up to instruct you on democracy, the world has again turned upside down.
      How does a European prove he's anti-racist?
      He blames the Jews.
      And you can simply go down the list of European sins and the answer is always the same.

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  3. If Iran can be America's new best friend why can't terrorist Universities be American Universities new best friends? Consistency across the board, man. Maybe you should be taking donations to send An-Najah University some James Taylor albums or something. ;)

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  4. They don't 'honestly think it's a matter of social justice'. Nor is it a spontaneous upwelling of well-wishing freshly scrubbed young people espousing justice and clarity. It's terrorism by any other name. It's organized, funded, documented and intentional.

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  5. What I would love to see - but it will not happen, of course - is for the students involved with Hillel to to walk over to President Wong's office and quietly, non-violently, sit down.

    That would be a beautiful thing.

    I think that Astren should organize it.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they should sit down and not move. The police should be forced to drag them away. Then they should come back and do it again. Wong shouldn't know a minute's peace.

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