San Francisco State University has suffered from a rash of anti-Israel extremism, including the glorification of the murder of Israelis.
The president of GUPS (General Union of Palestine Students), Mohammad Hammad, recently publicly stated “I seriously cannot get over how much I love this blade. It is the sharpest thing I own and cuts through everything like butter and holding it makes me want to stab an Israeli soldier.” Most recently, he has taken to harassing a specific Israeli soldier, linking to her Facebook page. On his blog post he writes threatening commentary, such as that what he is “interested in is the head of this fucking scum on a plate, as well as the heads of all others like her, and all others who support the IDF.”
This is violent speech threatening the committing of murder, and is not speech protected by the US Constitution. Such rhetoric makes it a challenge for Israelis, Jewish students, and non-Jewish friends of Israel alike, making them feel unsafe at SFSU. How can a student feel comfortable to talk about his or her love for Israel, and how can Israelis talk freely about their time in the IDF, when they know that students on campus want to stab them?
Last year Hammad responded to a tweet by a pro-Israel user about an Israeli soldier who had killed a Palestinian terrorist, writing, “You are a sickening supporter of terrorism, I only wish it were you on the other end of this monster’s barrel.”
Should someone who expresses interest in stabbing others be permitted to remain as a student at that institution? Apparently the president of SFSU thinks so, as no action has been taken against Hammad.
At the same university, the General Union of Palestine Students’ 6th Annual Palestinian Mural Celebration entitled “We Speak for Ourselves; Honoring our Forebearers” praised and displayed pictures of members of US designated terrorist organizations. They also created posters stating that “My heroes have always killed colonizers.” Such heroes included Leila Khaled, who hijacked planes, failing once only because Israeli sky marshals overpowered her.
In an earlier post, SFSU President Condemns Campus Event With Slogan “My Heroes Have Always Killed Colonizers”, we wrote about how this event was condemned. Yet no action has been taken against the students behind the event or to prevent such from occurring in the future.
With these posters, they are suggesting that their heroes have killed civilians, and are implying that Israelis are colonizers, and should be killed.
It is precisely this support for causing death that is impeding peace and hurting the Palestinians. Over 60% of Palestinian Muslims support suicide bombings, a challenging obstacle to a true and lasting peace.
Would there be the same reaction if these students were asking to kill any other ethnicity or nationality? Why do people turn a blind eye when the focus is on murdering Jews and Israelis? The AMCHA Initiative has thankfully worked hard to bring these issues to light. When will the rest of the media start reporting on this?
By Gilad Skolnick
ADL response to these events.