Folks, there is a reason we have the Second Amendment. Be Seeing You,
Chris
Posted on 05/13/2002 8:02:17 AM PDT by FreeperinRATcage
Dear Colleagues,
TODAY, ALL DAY, I have been listening to the reactions of students, parents, and community members who were on campus yesterday. I have received e-mail from around the country, and phone calls, worried for both my personal safety on the campus, and for the entire intellectual project of having a Jewish Studies program, and recruiting students to a campus that in the last month has become a venue for hate speech and anti-Semitism. After nearly 7 years as director of Jewish Studies, and after nearly two decades of life here as a student, faculty member and wife of the Hillel rabbi, after years of patient work and difficult civic discourse, I am saddened to see SFSU return to its notoriety as a place that teaches anti-Semitism, hatred for America, and hatred, above all else, for the Jewish State of Israel, a state that I cherish. I cannot fully express what it feels like to have to walk across campus daily, past maps of the Middle East that do not include Israel, past posters of cans of soup with labels on them of drops of blood and dead babies, labeled "canned Palestinian children meat, slaughtered according to Jewish rites under American license," past poster after poster calling out "Zionism=racism, and Jews=Nazis." This is not civic discourse, this is not free speech, and this is the Weimar Republic with brown shirts it cannot control. This is the casual introduction of the medieval blood libel and virulent hatred smeared around our campus in a manner so ordinary that it hardly excites concern-except if you are a Jew, and you understand that hateful words have always led to hateful deeds.
Make Comments View Comments Printable Article Email Article
Yesterday, the hatred coalesced in a hate mob. Yesterday's Peace In The Middle East Rally was completely organized by the Hillel students, mostly 18 and 19 years old. They spoke about their lives at SFSU and of their support for Israel, and they sang of peace. They wore new Hillel t-shirts that said "peace" in English, Hebrew and Arabic. A Russian immigrant, in his new English, spoke of loving his new country, a haven from anti-Semitism. A sophomore spoke about being here only one year, and about the support and community she found at the Hillel House. Both spoke of how hard it was to live as a Jew on this campus how isolating, how terrifying. A surfer guy, spoke of his love of Jesus, and his support for Israel, and a young freshman earnestly asked for a moment of silence, and all the Jews stood still, listening as the shouted hate of the counter demonstrators filled the air with abuse.
As soon as the community supporters left, the 50 students who remained praying in a minyan for the traditional afternoon prayers, or chatting, or cleaning up after the rally, talking -- were surrounded by a large, angry crowd of Palestinians and their supporters. But they were not calling for peace. They screamed at us to "go back to Russia" and they screamed that they would kill us all, and other terrible things. They surrounded the praying students, and the elderly women who are our elder college participants, who survived the Shoah, who helped shape the Bay Area peace movement, only to watch as a threatening crowd shoved the Hillel students against the wall of the plaza. I had invited members of my Orthodox community to join us, members of my Board of Visitors, and we stood there in despair. Let me remind you that in building the SFSU Jewish Studies program, we asked the same people for their support and that our Jewish community, who pay for the program once as taxpayers and again as Jews, generously supports our program. Let me remind you that ours is arguably one of the Jewish Studies programs in the country most devoted to peace, justice and diversity since our inception.
As the counter demonstrators poured into the plaza, screaming at the Jews to "Get out or we will kill you" and "Hitler did not finish the job," I turned to the police and to every administrator I could find and asked them to remove the counter demonstrators from the Plaza, to maintain the separation of 100 feet that we had been promised. The police told me that they had been told not to arrest anyone, and that if they did, "it would start a riot." I told them that it already was a riot. Finally, Fred Astren, the Northern California Hillel Director and I went up directly to speak with Dean Saffold, who was watching from her post a flight above us. She told us she would call in the SF police. But the police could do nothing more than surround the Jewish students and community members who were now trapped in a corner of the plaza, grouped under the flags of Israel, while an angry, out of control mob, literally chanting for our deaths, surrounded us. Dr. Astren and I went to stand with our students. This was neither free speech nor discourse, but raw, physical assault.
Was I afraid? No, really more sad that I could not protect my students. Not one administrator came to stand with us. I knew that if a crowd of Palestinian or Black student had been there, surrounded by a crowd of white racists screaming racist threats, shielded by police, the faculty and staff would have no trouble deciding which side to stand on. In fact, the scene recalled for me many moments in the Civil Rights movement, or the United Farm Workers movement, when, as a student, I stood with Black and Latino colleagues, surrounded by hateful mobs. Then, as now, I sang peace songs, and then, as now, the hateful crowd screamed at me, "Go back to Russia, Jew." How ironic that it all took place under the picture of Cesar Chavez, who led the very demonstrations that I took part in as a student.
There was no safe way out of the Plaza. We had to be marched back to the Hillel House under armed SF police guard, and we had to have a police guard remain outside Hillel. I was very proud of the students, who did not flinch and who did not, even one time, resort to violence or anger in retaliation. Several community members who were swept up in the situation simply could not believe what they saw. One young student told me, "I have read about anti-Semitism in books, but this is the first time I have seen real anti-Semites, people who just hate me without knowing me, just because I am a Jew." She lives in the dorms. Her mother calls and urges her to transfer to a safer campus.
Today is advising day. For me, the question is an open one: what do I advise the Jewish students to do?
Laurie Zoloth, Director, Jewish Studies Program
Yeah I pinged you all 'cause of the Deja vu. It was an education and then some. The cops had zero interest in protecting our rights.
At the same time I'm still not sure what I would have done different...The suggestions for baseball bats, self-defense training or guns are all well meaning, but I discount all of them. Instead I used judgement, and beat a strategic retreat. It's interesting to note that this group apparently had no retreat route available. I shudder to think what would have happened if someone, on either side, were to bring a gun to such an event!
Idiot.
Next to the anti-Jewish communist using a claim on Judaism to subvert everything, the proud victim is my least favorite group of co-religionists.
These people get off on being the good victim and writting about it. I have an image of Ms. Zoloth (probably on Zoloft) writting a letter to the NY Times and Forward saying how proud she was of the Jews quietly getting into the cattle cars.
These moral-midgets have internalised anti-semetism. They go byond the sniveling Ghetto Jews who will accept alot of abuse but refuse to make waves, lest their is a pogrom. The Ghetto Jews at least understood that self-defense is justified, they were just afraid.
Ms. Zoloft here actually turns this fear into a vitue. She is in the midst of a Stockholm syndrom.
There is a better response which comes from the bible: if someone comes to murder you, you are commanded to kill them first.
Ms. Zoloft's stance here is literally sinful in my view.
Ron
For every Jew, a .22 , (www.jpfo.org)
Having gone to some FReeps since 9/11, I agree. They have gotten bolder and the PLOers (imo) have gone from the back of the pack to being at the forefront and their "way of protesting" and denial of freedom of speech by others (meaning pro-America/pro-Israel) is becoming ever increasing apparent.
Leftists waking up.
By the way, the angry mob commited organized confinement and conspiracy to confine a group of people, in addition to sedition and invasion of jurisdiction of US territory. This is the kind of mob that should be deported to a jail for a few days before released on bail one by one until they are tried properly.
God forbid if America dared doing that. They have no guts. When it comes to get a single gun owner in a house, ah! they come MP5 blazing dozens of them. A mob of angry pro-terrorist demonstrator? No, they runaway like scared rats because their bosses in the higher institutions of democratic mob movement is observing them.
SICK!!!!!
I do not mean to prejudge you, but I see that you used the word "diversity" to describe your Jewish studies program. Perhaps you can now see that the word "diversity" is really a code word of the Left for "hate America, hate whitey."
Your problem is that your studies program has been identified with America and whitey by the Leftists at San Francisco State University. All you have to do is start talking about how evil America and whitey are, and your group at State will be welcomed back into the elitest hate club of the Left with open arms.
Perhaps if you had not been so involved in the hate America and whitey activities in your youth at State, you would not have naively staged your demonstaration of support for Israel. The only difference between now and then, is that you are now on the receiving end of the hatred you perpetuated in your youth.
Oh, well, don't worry. Even little hate filled children of the Left grow up sometimes.
Best regards,
stripes1776
Folks, there is a reason we have the Second Amendment. Be Seeing You,
Chris
Ask the students at Hillel House why Hillel takes a dime from the Clinton loving Bronfman family. The liberalism the family supports with their billions is directly responsible for the crap they are experiencing.
Liberals are always testing the waters, sending up a flag to see who waves and throwing mud against the wall to see if it sticks. The increased polarization of western vs islamic culture is going to shake the rats out of the walls. Now is a good time to begin an effort to contain liberal hegemony.
They should be advised to 1) Pray 2) Arm themselves 3) Kick major @ss if need be.
Liberals are always testing the waters, sending up a flag to see who waves and throwing mud against the wall to see if it sticks. The increased polarization of western vs islamic culture is going to shake the rats out of the walls. Now is a good time to begin an effort to contain liberal hegemony.
Yessir, the battle lines have been drawn. The anti-american, anti-israeli, anti-freedom, pro-fascist crowd is exposing itself more and more with each passing day.
It's good to see who your enemies really are.
That said, it sounds like she has been part of radical leftist pro-tyranny, anti-American demonstrations before, so one might well say that "She dished it out, but now she can't take it." She still does not clearly admit guilt in having brought US society to this condition by her past actions...sowing the wind, now to reap the whirlwind.
As a poster above says, the only non-Jewish allies she now would have would be the (serious) Christian (right), and I will just bet she is an anti-Christian bigot, or was until very recently...(never to late to repent and fly right...)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.