Can you imagine the outrage if this was done to Black, Hispanic or even Muslim students? Could you imagine how fast people like Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton would be holding rallies on the Campus? Could you imagine how fast CNN, and MSNBC would be interviewing the "victims" of this Hate Crime?
But let it happen to Jews and nothing is said by anybody. No media, no leaders, and the University is "investigating" the matter. Which is PC Speak for: "Forget it you lousy Jews!"
I should not be upset about this. This is acceptable behavior on every US Campus these days. It is acceptable behavior in American society. It is just another part of clearing the nation of all Jews. And just like the Nazis, the average person will look the other way while his neighbor is discriminated against. We can now say it is not 2012 but 1938.
When Rayna Exelbierd returned to her dorm room at Glades Park Tower on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Ratoncampus last Friday, she found an “eviction notice” attached the door.
Exelbierd was one of more than 200 Jewish students in three dorms who received the fake notice from the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine.
“Some students who didn’t read the document believed they were really being evicted,” said Exelbierd, a 20-year-old sophomore from Memphis, Tenn.
The flier drew attention to Students for Justice in Palestine’s claim that about 25,000 homes have been demolished since the “occupation of Palestine” by Israeli troops began in 1967.
Noor Fawzy, who the university identified as a leader of Students for Justice in Palestine, could not be reached by email.
Exelbierd said students are very concerned. “We’re taking it very seriously,” she said. “We’re considering it a hate crime. The flier promotes hate; it doesn’t promote peace. People were scared by it. People felt threatened by it.”
Exelbierd and some of the other students who found the fliers on their doors met Wednesday at the offices of Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach on the Boca Raton campus to discuss the incident.
Scott Brockman, Hillel executive director, said in a statement, “While protecting and ensuring free speech on campus, the tactic used by Students for Justice in Palestine is unacceptable.”
The tactic, he said, “Does not promote civil discourse on campus but provokes, incites and intimidates.” And the placing of the fliers in the dormitories “compromises the university’s own value to ‘create and maintain a clean and safe and secure environment in which students live and learn.’”
The Hillel statement pointed out that the fliers contained the university housing department stamp, which Brockman said was “a clear violation of university guidelines.”
Brockman said the Jewish student campus organization is giving the university “space” to investigate the incident. “We want a statement that Jewish students will be safe on campus and have a safe environment in which to live,” he said in a phone call Wednesday afternoon. Brockman said he wants the university to “get in front of the issue.”
Andrew Rosenkranz, director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Florida region, said, “The University is taking the matter very seriously and will open an investigation. Nobody wants to come back to the dorm and see a fake eviction notice nailed to their door. The university needs to create and maintain an atmosphere where people feel they are in a safe learning environment.”
Rosenkranz said the incident resonates with the Jewish community because of “the sheer number of homes affected.”
The ADL monitors Students for Justice in Palestine and is aware of anti-Israel activities on the FAU campus, he said. “There have been a number of uneventful rallies at FAU. Thankfully, they were not well attended.” One rally was in support of Israel Apartheid Week, he said.
Rosenkranz said the “eviction notices” were an isolated incident. “We really don’t hear that much,” he said. “FAU has a strong sense of Jewish community among its students.”
Rosenkranz said the Anti-Defamation League supports freedom of speech but questions “the way the speech was transmitted.” He said the university told the ADL that there are “guidelines with respect to messages that groups can give on campus” and the university would look at those guidelines.
The ADL will monitor the situation and be in contact with Brockman at Hillel, Rosenkranz said. “At this stage, we were pleased to learn that a full investigation was going to be opened.”
Rosenkranz said the ADL has met several times with FAU President Mary Jane Saunders and offered its workbook for college and university administrators, “Responding to Bigotry and Intergroup Strife on Campus.” The manual is “a guide to responding to situations just like this,” Rosenkranz said.
Charles G. Brown, FAU senior vice president for student affairs, could not be reached despite calls to his office. Brown and the university issued the following statement late Wednesday afternoon.
“The University has received a number of inquiries following the recent posting of mock eviction notices in certain FAU residence halls.
The University, as an institution of higher education, prides itself on being a venue for free expression, regardless of viewpoint. However, the distribution of printed material on University property is subject to FAU policy and regulation.
These policies require that printed material be distributed only at reasonable times and places and in reasonable manners. These policies are designed to ensure that the manner in which material is distributed is consistent with the educational mission of the University, its uninterrupted orderly operation, the safety of the University community, and the protection of University property and that of its students, faculty and staff.”
The statement continued, “The recent mock eviction postings did not comply with the policies of University Housing and Residential Life or the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership concerning the distribution of printed material, and therefore the postings were removed.”
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