Jews Block Anti-Zionism Event on Campus
Source: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com, November 9th 2000
College Blocks ‘Anti-Zionism’ Event
Muslim and Jewish students at OCC are caught up in a swirling debate.
By MARLA JO FISHER
COSTA MESA - Political tensions in the Middle East have spilled onto the campus at Orange Coast College, where Muslim students seeking to hold a series of educational panels and demonstrations were told last week they could not use campus buildings after complaints from Jewish students.
The resulting flap has included a debate over whether campus officials should allow a demonstration titled “Anti-Oppression, Anti-Hate, Anti-Zionism, Anti-Israel” and has brought representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Anti-Defamation League of B’Nai B’rith into the fray.
The catalyst for the campus demonstrations has been the weeks of violence between Palestinians and Jewish settlers on the West Bank and Gaza Strip that have resulted in the deaths of nearly 180 people, mostly Palestinians.
At issue is whether a student event billed as “Anti-Zionism” and “Anti-Israel” should be banned as anti-Semitic hate speech.
Muslim Student Association spokesman Usama Kahf said his group’s message is not meant to be threatening and is not aimed at Jewish people.
“Zionism is a political, nationalistic ideology to establish a purely Jewish state in Palestine,” Kahf said. “People are saying we are anti-Jewish, but that’s absurd. We respect all religions. There are anti-Zionist Jews.”
Initially, the group had received approval for an event in the student lounge as part of an “Anti-Oppression Week.” But conflicts arose after students began advertising specific events, particularly the “Anti-Oppression, Anti-Hate, Anti-Zionism, Anti-Israel” demonstration, scheduled for today.
According to campus officials, Jewish students complained that they felt threatened. The Anti-Defamation League arrived on campus, and officials withdrew permission for the event, saying they did not have enough information about what was planned and who the speakers would be.
The Muslim Student Association also had neglected to obtain a permit for a demonstration outside the boundaries of the campus quad, officials said. Campus spokesman Jim Carnett said the students could still receive permission to hold their event in the student lounge if they agree to certain conditions set by the administration, including a ban on the title “Anti-Zionism.”
The American Heritage Dictionary defines Zionism as “an organized movement of world Jewry … with the aim of reconstituting a Jewish state in Palestine. Modern Zionism is concerned with the development and support of Israel.”
Meanwhile, campus officials are allowing the Muslin students to demonstrate daily outdoors on the campus quad, an area traditionally set aside for free speech. Students are planning a demonstration from noon to 3 p.m. today.
“We have an obligation to offer a safe and nonhostile environment to our students,” OCC President Margaret Gratton said Wednesday. “That’s what allows students to pursue their education.”
The associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California wrote to Gratton on Nov. 2, asking for assurances that the group would be allowed to use campus facilities. A campus attorney wrote back that the students had failed to comply with rules for holding the event, and that fliers publicizing the event “may incite hate and violence and further disruption to the normal college atmosphere.”
The campus held a standing-room-only forum on the Middle East with Jewish and Islamic panelists Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, students not involved in the disagreement had differing opinions.
Mir Waiss Najibi, a Muslim student who emigrated from Afghanistan, said he didn’t blame Jewish students for complaining about the anti-Israeli demonstration.
“If there was someone bashing Afghanistan, I would be greatly offended,” Najibi said.
But Jewish student Jessica Galanter said she thought the students should be allowed to espouse anti-Zionism.
“If they are stating their opinion in a civilized manner, they have a right to say what they want, as long as they aren’t using any racial slurs,” Galanter said.
