UC Irvine History Professor Jon Wiener has just thrown in his two cents on behalf of the University administration. Read his article in The Nation very carefully. It's quite interesting how he remains rather dismissive of the numerous and well documented incidents of antisemitism at UC Irvine, instead choosing to dismiss charges against the school as "bogus." Wiener also refers to those who abhor hate speech as "right-wing Zionists" and identifies the three Senators who were troubled by the OCR report by political party (Republican) and name (Jon Kyl, Sam Brownback, and Arlen Specter), without even acknowledging the names and party affiliation of the five Congressmen and women who also requested that the OCR re-open their investigation (Yes, all five were Democrats).

Lead among them was Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA) who characterized the scene at UC Irvine by the following:

The titles of some of the lectures at the event -- "Death to Apartheid: A Farewell to Zionism" and "Silence is Consent: Stop the Palestinian Holocaust" -- are also disturbing. And, the guests invited to give these lectures have a record of making anti-Semitic statements. As is observable on YouTube, one of the lecturers, Amir Abdel Malik Ali, stated in a speech at UCI in May 2006, "The truth of the matter is: [Israel's] days are numbered. We will fight you until we are either martyred or until we are victorious." It should be of concern that a speech given at UCI calls for "martyrdom" - the euphemism for suicide bombing.

Wiener  - who is apparently no apt student of legal history - attempts to disqualify Jewish experiences with racism by arguing that the invocation of national origin discrimination (Title VI, 1964 Civil Rights Act) is a capitulating endorsement of the ZOA position.  Au contraire, Dr. Wiener, its the law. In the Supreme Court Case, Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb (1987), the court held in a dispute regarding a synagogue painted with antisemitic slogans:

Jews can state a § 1982 claim of racial discrimination, since they were among the peoples considered to be distinct races, and hence within the protection of the statute at the time it was passed. They are not foreclosed from stating a cause of action simply because the defendants are also part of what today is considered the Caucasian race.

Wiener clearly didn't make it out of his ivory tower to hear some of the most pervasive forms of anti-Semitism in the 2008 edition of the MSU's hate week. If he still believes the charges are "bogus," then he surely missed Muhammad al-Asi's speech on Monday, May 12, 2008. Here is a portion of al-Asi's speech:

*As the years go by you are going to feel more cornered in the nation state ghetto you
constructed.

*Just like you (Jews) didn't learn from exile, you didn't learn from ghetto life.

*You left the ghettos of Europe, there were no ghettos to speak about in Muslim Countries. You left those ghettos and came in the fashion that you did, with all the bloodshed that went with it and still continues.

*You came to the holy land, which you desecrated and blasphemed with every decision that you made and still are making and then you realize that you are in a territory of hostilities around you. These hostilities didn't come from nowhere, these hostilities are a reaction to all the misery and all the hostility that you brought with you.

*Then as you realized you have located yourself you began to build a wall, a barrier, around the country you are living in, isn't this a grand definition of a ghetto!

Wiener also invoked a letter by five Jewish students in early April alleging that "Jewish students are physically safe and secure on our campus." However, he didn't didn't mention that those very same students characterized the Muslim Student Union's events as "threatening" in a press release issued in mid-May:

In the upcoming week the pro-Israeli Students of the University of California, Irvine will witness acts of hatred from fellow students. Ring Road, a main road on UCI's campus, will have a makeshift wall which will have pictures, articles, and a bloodied Israeli flag that blames Israel and Jews for a so-called Palestinian Holocaust in Israel. This threatening event will be taking place all week.

But why simply rely on the fickleness of five student "leaders?" Why not cite the several Jewish and supportive non-Jewish students who testified before the OCR and the "ad hoc" task force as witnesses and victims to anti-Semitism? Are they ignorant and misinformed? Or are they not telling the truth?

Using Weiner's logic, it simply doesn't matter. Jewish students can and will endure incessant persecution, and should never have the right to address their racial grievances.