AMP contacts FAU about punishment of students who walked out of IDF speech

The American Muslims for Palestine today sent a letter to the Mr. Dennis Crudele, interm president of Florida State University, and the president of its Board of Trustees, Dr. Mary Jane Saunders to express concern over the punitive measures the university took against students who walked out of a speech given by an Israeli soldier in protest earlier this year. Some students have been banned from holding leadership positions in student groups; have been put on indefinite probation for the remainder of their undergraduate years and, perhaps most troubling, are being forced to undergo a "re-education" training program devised by the Anti-Defamation League, which is notorious for its tactics to stifle Palestine solidarity activism. AMP's letter was sent to several other college administrators as well, including Dean of Student Conduct, Joanne Ellwood.

Last year, AMP teamed up with the Center for Constitutional Rights and other organizations and contacted university officials after the university caved into pressure from campus Hillel groups, the ADL and the Zionist Organization of America, and opened an investigation into a Students for Justice in Palestine event, which had been sanctioned by univeristy officials. The investigation was dropped and the students were exonerated.

Background information on the students' protest and disciplinary actions against them, can be found in this Electronic Intifada article. AMP's letter is posted below. 

Mr. Dennis J. Crudele

Interim President
Florida Atlantic University

Dr. Mary Jane Saunders
President of Board of Trustees

August 15, 2014

Dear Mr. Crudele and Dr. Saunders:

The American Muslims for Palestine is a national, grassroots organization dedicated to educating the American public and media about Palestine and its rich cultural and historical heritage. Our goal is to help put a face on Palestinians in this country and to help get their narrative into the national discourse so the public will be able to make better and more informed decisions about issues occurring in the Middle East.

We are writing to you today on behalf of the students who are being harshly censored and punished for practicing their constitutionally protected rights of freedom of speech, freedom of political speech and freedom to protest. 

The people in question protested a speech given by a member of the Israeli military, who not only helps support Israel’s occupation of Palestine but who also participated in and justified his role in Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s three-week offensive on the Palestinians of Gaza in 2008/09 that left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead, including at least 355 children. 

According to a statement issued by the students, two students will remain on “indefinite probation” for the remainder of their undergraduate careers at FAU, two are barred from holding leadership positions in official student organizations and three must undergo mandatory University Campus of Difference training program based on a curriculum created by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). One of them must also undergo 25 hours of community service, as will two others, if they ever decide to return to FAU.

Universities long have been the place where students have been able to grow into informed adults, transformed by the ability to exchange ideas, debate policies and otherwise explore philosophy, politics and other aspects of the human condition in a safe haven that encouraged such discourse. As leaders of this university, you are obligated to ensure this enriching environment continues for all students, even those who hold a political view with which you or others may not agree.

While AMP fully condemns all forms of racism and bigotry and believes all students should be protected from discrimination and harassment, we believe FAU’s response to the walkout casts a chilling effect on political speech, particularly for Arab and Muslim students on your campus. Criticizing Israeli policies and its military is not anti-Semitic, just as criticizing US policies is not un-American. Last year, the Center for Constitutional Rights and AMP, along with other organizations, sent a letter of concern regarding the administration’s response to an ‘eviction’ protest staged by the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine. Caving to outside pressure from campus Hillel groups, the Anti-Defamation League and the Zionist Organizations of America, the FAU administration chose to open an investigation into an event that had received prior administrative approval.

Now, we are concerned the university is once again buckling under this outside, pro-Israel pressure. We are deeply troubled that the students are being forced to undergo a training program, devised by the ADL, an organization that has a history of silencing free speech on issues related to Palestine solidarity work. While the ADL was formed in 1913 to fight anti-Semitism and while it has championed free speech and other civil rights causes over the years, it also has a long and troubled history of spying on American citizens and organizations; of stifling free speech and urging censorship of speakers, books, films and other materials that question Israeli policies, which contravene international law and deprive Palestinians of their basic human rights. The ADL does not hesitate to smear advocates for Palestinian justice as anti-Semitic or terror supporters. 

AMP has done extensive research into the ADL and its activities. We have attached our booklet: The ADL: Protector of Civil Rights or Silencer of Free Speech to this email. We encourage you to read this booklet and then to reconsider your harsh treatment of students who wanted nothing more than to protest a speaker who represented harsh military and state policies that continually contravene international law and deprive Palestinians of their rights. In your quest to protect certain student groups on campus you have inadvertently harmed other students and it is time to rectify this situation so FAU can once again be considered a diverse university that welcomes all students, regardless of their religion or political ideas.

Sincerely,

Dr. Hatem Bazian

Chairman
American Muslims for Palestine
Senior Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley

CC: Ms. Stacey Volnick, Vice President and Chief of Staff

Dr. Corey A. King, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students

Ms. Joanne Ellwood, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Conduct