Posted on 10/25/2003 9:34:23 PM PDT by stevejackson
Please read text below and TAKE ACTION:
This November 7th - 9th, OSU will permit a conference to be held by the Palestinian Solidarity Movement (PSM), the American student arm of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
PSM/ISM claims to be a peace activist organization in support of the Palestinian people, but it has a record of voicing hate-speech, intimidating Jewish students, supporting and enabling terrorism and, in one instance, of destroying property.
The Columbus PSM website states, As a solidarity movement, it is not our place to dictate the strategies or tactics adopted by the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation. [1] This, of course, is PSM-speak for We support Palestinian terrorism. Ohio Governor Taft has publicly stated that he deplores the Columbus PSM rhetoric, noting that their website condones terrorism and should be opposed by civilized people everywhere. [2]
The PSM originally intended to hold this same conference at Rutgers University, but was kicked off because the college administration and New Jersey Governor found PSMs beliefs to be repellent. This is why PSM decided to move their conference to OSU. [3]
PSMs New Jersey website states, We unconditionally support Palestinians' human right to resist occupation and oppression by any means necessary, and calls for the destruction of ALL of Israel: We are opposed to the existence of the apartheid colonial settler state of Israel... [4] The ISMs main website calls homicide bombings noble and also advocates Palestinian struggle by any means necessary. [5]
PSM members have recently confirmed their desire destroy Israel. In a protest on October 10, they chanted, "Palestine will be free from sea to sea," according to New Jerseys Star-Ledger. [6] If one looks on a map of the Holy Land, one can see this obviously refers to all of Israel.
According to Campus Watch, PSM/ISM activists rioted at Montreals Concordia University, smashing windows with rocks by their own admission. [7] This riot was independently confirmed, with photographs, by Aish HaTorahs newspaper. [8]
In a sworn affidavit, independently confirmed by the New York Post and Cleveland Plain Dealer, an eyewitness saw and heard PSM members chanting, Kill the Jews! at their 2002 conference at the University of Michigan (UM). [9, 10, 11] Former professor of the University of South Florida, Sami al Arian, was invited to speak at the PSM conference at UM. ABC news stated that Mr. Al Arian was arrested last February on charges of being a leader in the American branch of the terrorist group, Islamic Jihad. [12]
UKs Guardian newspaper documented ISM members meeting with terrorists only 3 days before they killed 3 and injured dozens in Israel. [13] The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that ISM members have harbored known terrorists. [14] In addition, there is a report, with photographs, showing ISM members trying to prevent Israeli soldiers from seizing terrorist bomb-making materials and rockets all being prepared for use against Israeli civilians. [15]
ISM/PSMs beliefs are not the issue as free speech should be protected. But is incitement to violence free speech? Is support for terrorist organizations free speech? Is it responsible for OSU to use Ohio taxpayer money to grant a forum to a group directly and indirectly allied with terrorists?
References
[1] Guiding Principles, Third National Student Conference on the Palestine Solidarity Movement, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, September 2003, http://www.palestineconference.com/gp.htm.
[2] Ohio Governor Bob Taft, Letter to constituent, Office of the governor, Columbus, OH, September 26, 2003, http://netwmd.com/anti-ism/responses/taft.html.
[3] Marilyn H. Karfeld, Countering the message: Pro-Israel education on OSU campus aims to rebut Palestinian conference, Cleveland Jewish News, Cleveland, Ohio, October 3, 2003, http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2003/10/02/news/local/bcover1003.txt.
[4] Our Mission, New Jersey Solidarity, New Brunswick, NJ, September 2003, http://www.njsolidarity.org/home.html.
[5] Huwaida Arraf and Adam Shapiro, Why Nonviolent Resistance is Important for the Palestinian Intifada: A Response to Ramzy Baroud, International Solidarity Movement, Ann Arbor, MI, 2002, http://www.freepalestinecampaign.org/artadam.htm.
[6] BRIAN DONOHUE AND SALLY GOLDENBERG, Noisy protests begin at Rutgers, Star-Ledger, Jersey City, NJ, October 10, 2003, http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1065764716131070.xml?starledger?nnj.
[7] Karameh, Resistance on Trial at Concordia University: Fighting the Criminalization of Palestinian Solidarity Organizing, Campus Watch, Philadelphia, PA, March 15, 2003, http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/591.
[8] Aish HaTorah staff writers, Riot at Concordia, Aish.com, Jerusalem, Israel, September 9, 2002, http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Riot_at_Concordia.asp.
[9] Debbie Schlussel, FBI Abomination, NYPOST.COM, NYP Holdings, Inc., New York, NY, September 18, 2003, http://nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/6059.htm.
[10] David Herz, sworn affidavit, notarized by Sandor Steinberg, notary in and for the Province of Quebec, practicing at the city and District of Montreal, Quebec, December 9, 2002, http://netwmd.com/anti-ism/affidavit.pdf.
[11] Stephen Ohlemacher, Mideast conflict sets stage at OSU, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, 10/12/03, http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1065951286314010.xml.
[12] USF professor Sami Al-Arian arrested on terror charges, ABC Action News, Tampa, Florida, 2/20/03, http://www.abcactionnews.com/stories/2003/02/030220alarian.shtml.
[13] Jeevan Vasagar, Vikram Dodd and Conal Urquhart, Bombers posed as peace activists, Guardian Unlimited, Guardian Newspapers Limited, Manchester, UK, May 2, 2003, http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,947846,00.html.
[14] Matthew Gutman, Tension rises between activists, army after third recent casualty, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, New York, NY, April 13, 2003, http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=12653&intcategoryid=1.
[15] Aaron Weisburd, ISM: No compromise in defense of bomb labs!, Internet Haganah, August 24, 2003, http://haganah.org.il/israel/archives/000880.php.
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