My letter to UC-Irvine EEO

Submitted by gary fouse (United States), Jun 3, 2008 at 20:38

Friday afternoon, I received correspondence from the UC-Irvine EEO Office Director, Kirsten Quanbeck. She advised me that her office had been informed that I had a concern about discrimination at UCI. (I since learned from Ms Quanbeck that the source was Rusty Kennedy, Director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission.) Enclosed was a packet of forms that I could use to file a formal discrimination complaint.

This morning, I spoke telephonically with Ms Quanbeck. I advised her of my concerns about the on-going issues involving the Muslim Student Union and their hate-monger speakers. I also told her that since I am not Jewish, I didn't feel I had standing to make a formal discrimination complaint. We did agree, however, that I would set forth my views in a letter.

That letter was sent to Ms Quanbeck today. Here it is:

Kirsten Quanbeck
Asst Executive Vice Chancellor and Director
Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity
University of California at Irvine

From:
Gary C Fouse
Adjunct teacher
UCI-Ext (ESL)

Subject:
Anti-Semitism at UCI/Muslim Student Union

Dear Ms Quanbeck,

In response to your letter dated May 27, 2008, I am sending you the below letter. I have been teaching part-time at UCI (Ext) since 1998. For the past few years, I have observed the on-going activities of the Muslim Student Union (MSU) and their sponsored events. I have listened to many of their speakers who they have brought to campus. Aside from the fact that many of these speakers are anti-Israel and anti-US, in my opinion, they are also anti-Semitic. I would like to give you a few examples:

Amir Abdel Malik Ali is an Oakland-based imam who comes to talk at UCI virtually every quarter on behalf of the MSU. Aside from the fact that he is a supporter of two known terrorist organizations (Hezbollah and Hamas), Ali also has spoken out at UCI in favor of suicide bombings that have killed so many innocent Israeli men, women and children on buses and in pizza parlors. He has referred to bombers as martyrs and heroes. I have personally watched videotapes of these statements made by Ali at UCI. Ali generally masks his references to Jews by referring to them as "Zionist Jews", but his tone is almost always contemptuous.

Mohammed Al-Asi is a former imam from Washington DC who has made more than one appearance at UCI, most recently, this past month. Al-Asi is also an open supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah, and, in past appearances at UCI, has referred to Jews as "low-life ghetto-dwellers". He has also stated (at UCI) that "you can take a Jew out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of a Jew". (I have not personally heard him make those comments. Others have.)

During his last appearance in May, while he was spouting his usual venom, I observed a group of about 20 school kids (middle school or high school-I am not sure) standing yards away from the speaker near their bus. They were obviously on some sort of UCI tour. While UCI officials were moving Jewish protesters from one spot to another and keeping walkways clear for students, no one seemed to care that these kids were being exposed to the hate speech of Mr Al-Asi. I still wonder if there were any Jewish kids having to listen to this man's words.

During the past MSU event, a mock wall was erected portraying the wall Israel has erected to keep out suicide bombers. Among other displays on that wall was a caricature of Ariel Sharon drawn in the old Nazi style of Julius Streicher's Der Stuermer, a notorious anti-Semitic publication of the Third Reich. Like Der Stuermer, Sharon's caricature was done with all the stereotyped images of Jews, oversized nose, lips and leering expression. This picture remained on that wall all week long. I am attaching a copy of this picture along with a sample of a drawing from Der Stuermer.

In addition, the Red County Blog has reported that on the Thursday evening of the MSU week, following a speech by Ali, a Jewish female who was filming the event was followed to a parking lot by about a half dozen MSU males who accosted her at her car. This incident was reportedly witnessed by a woman from off-campus who was attending the event. According to the witnesses' account, which I have read, she was also harassed by the males, and when she complained to the Campus Police who responded, she was met with complete indifference. (I add that I have no personal knowledge of this incident, but I would encourage your office to make the appropriate inquiries with Campus Police.)

My position is very clear. I believe that the MSU is an organization that engages in anti-Jewish words and deeds though they will deny that. If they oppose the state of Israel, that is their business. If they bring in speakers who also condemn the US, that is their right of free speech (though I will draw the obvious conclusions). When they bring in speakers who denigrate Jews and advocate violence (albeit it in Israel), I think the university has to rethink its position on free speech vs hate speech that incites. As you know, UCI has acquired a national reputation as a bastion of radical MSU activity and anti-Semitic speech. While I would be the first to state that 99% of our students have nothing to do with this ugliness, I can only be critical of an administration that, in my view, has abrogated its responsibility to provide a safe atmosphere on campus for its Jewish students by not standing up to the MSU. Issues of hate speech should not be limited to politically correct ideas of which group deserves protection. All groups deserve protection.

It is my request that your office check into the issues and incidents I have raised. As I stated earlier to you, I am not Jewish, and therefore, I don't feel I have standing to make a complaint of discrimination involving myself. However, I do feel the need to speak out on this issue.

Thank you for your attention.

Gary Fouse
UCI-Ext

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