"What Can We Do?"
Posted by: Jonathan Constantine | 04/06/2008 8:37 AM
The above quote can be attributed to student "leader" and Anteaters for Israel President Isaac Yerushalmi in Daniel Tedford's story this morning in the Daily Pilot. Yerushalmi was also quoted:
I hope you change your mind.
"Students on campus need to be aware that there is anti-Semitism, but we can't stop it,"Funny, I always thought good leaders were there to be effective against injustice. Isaac, I didn't realize standing idly by and merely making students "aware" really cut it. Those students who you refer to as the minority and unaware of what's occuring "on the ground" at UC Irvine, actually did provide "on the ground" evidence to prompt an investigation by the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, the United States Commission on Civil Rights, and now the United States Senate. Similarly you have an opportunity to press the investigation forward and instruct your fellow students to document and file complaints when this type of intimidation persists.
I hope you change your mind.
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We are the minority because we distance ourselves from campus organizations that have members/students who epitomize groupthink.
My goodness... they make it sound like we didn't even attend UC Irvine.
This isn't just a problem that Jews have to deal with and I find it offensive that people always try to paint the situation as a Jewish vs. Muslim issue that Hillel can fully control with more social programming.
I know Isaac personally and he is THE MOST active fighter of anti-Semitism on campus. In the four years I've been at UCI, I've never seen pro-Israel life so active and thriving, very much due to Isaac's leadership. The media has created a false front to who he really is.
When Mohamed Al-Asi visited UCI earlier this year, Isaac was the one who led one of the most successful protests against the anti-Semitic speaker, and found creative ways to make students realize how hateful the event was.
In addition, under Isaac Yerushalmi's leadership, Anteaters for Israel has:
- Grown by 400% in membership size, since inauguration of the new leadership (that's a figure I heard from previous year's AFI board members)
- Held the largest pro-Israel event ever to hit UC Irvine, with 1,000+ in attendance (by the way, this was a POLITICAL EVENT)
- Helped Jewish life on campus by setting an all-time record for the number of Jewish students at weekly Shabbat dinner (over 100 students attended this past quarter's AFI-Hillel cosponsored "Israeli Shabbat")
- Taken the most active stance against anti-Semitism at UCI, since the history of AFI (i.e. Mohamed Al-Asi protest)
There's a reason for all this success, and it's not luck. This is the strongest leadership Anteaters for Israel has ever experienced in UCI's history (and strongest leadership Jewish/pro-Israel life @ UCI has experienced in general). EVEN THE ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA ADMITTED TO THIS EARLIER THIS YEAR!!!
Before you publicly criticize Isaac and his fellow leaders, I'd suggest you get to know these people and try to understand the approach they're taking. They are just as much against anti-Semitism as you are, and I'm sure your energies will be much more effective if you work together. Afterall, you all share a common enemy.
I think you are missing the point. Isaac and the other 4 students made the charge (publicly) that anyone who disagrees with them is an outsider and not "on the ground," despite the efforts of both Jewish and pro-Israeli students to prompt a civil rights investigation. AFI to my knowledge never issued a complaint. If you did, you certainly weren't very effective.
On an another note, I was there when Isaac protested Al-Asi, which I acknowledged in a previous post. But it seems he had a change of heart based on his interview in the Daily Pilot and the OC Register.
I don't doubt Isaac is very smart, he just has to take a more bold stance and become the leader he purports himself to be. He and others can't be sending mixed signals. One the one hand the press release from the 5 students acknowledges that antisemitism is a problem, while making the contradicting claim that the reality of the environment is being fabricated by off-campus groups. As a student at UCI who has documented MSU events, I take great offense to that assertion. Isaac along with the other 4 students, should take the first step not to discredit those who have taken painstaking efforts to raise awareness on this campus. At that point, we can start to channel our energies.
--Jonathan