It should be added that this is the text of a letter from Dr Menton to The Nation in response to Wiener's article, which I had the pleasure of assisting him to transmit through the Nation's blog.

Below is my own response to The Nation regarding Jon Wiener's article:

As one who has been a part-time teacher at the University of California at Irvine since 1998, I would like to respond to Jon Wiener’s recent article in your publication on the on-going issue between the Muslim Student Union (MSU) and Irvine‘s Jewish community.

Leaving aside the controversy over Daniel Schroeter‘s decision to leave UCI, an issue I am not qualified to comment on, there is no question in my mind from my own observations over the years at UCI that the MSU has been guilty of bringing radical, hateful speakers to UCI over the years. Many of these speakers are not only anti-Israel, but anti-Jewish and anti-America as well. Anti-Semitism (on the part of the MSU) is a problem at UCI. To borrow a line from professor Wiener, I should know. I teach there too.

Virtually, ever quarter, the MSU brings in Oakland based imam, Amir Abdel Malik Ali. This is a man who not only condemns Israel and the US, but calls suicide bombers in Israel heroes and martyrs. He defends organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Another controversial speaker is Abdul Alim Musa, a Washington-based imam, who is an ally of the above two organizations and Iran. He speaks of the day when Islam will take over the US.

Then there is Mohammed Al-Asi, another frequent speaker at UCI sponsored by the MSU. This imam is also a supporter of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian Government. In previous speeches at UCI, he has referred to Jews as “low life ghetto dwellers” and said, “you can take the Jew out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the Jew.” In his last appearance at UCI in May, in which I was present, he gave ominous warnings to the Jews to get out of “Palestine” before it is too late. (I am paraphrasing.)

Also, during the MSU-sponsored events in May, they erected a mock wall depicting the wall Israel has erected to keep out suicide bombers. On that wall were numerous photos, phrases and slogans. Most notably, there was a cartoon depiction of Ariel Sharon drawn in the old style of Julius Streicher’s Der Stuermer, a notorious anti-Semitic newspaper of the Third Reich. The picture showed Sharon with all the stereotyped Jewish features, huge hooked nose, big lips and a leering expression on his face. That drawing remained there for an entire week.

These are examples of why I consider the MSU to be sympathetic to terrorism directed against Israel and to be anti-Semitic (though they deny it).

In addition, I have nothing but criticism for the administration at UCI. They deny charges of anti-Semitism at UCI and defend “free speech”. I too defend free speech. No one is dragging these hateful characters off to jail and I don’t advocate that. However, I call this what it is-hate speech. I also believe that the UCI administration has been indifferent to Jewish complaints of anti-Semitism at the university. They have failed to provide a safe and peaceful environment for their Jewish students.

Wiener, in his article, passes off complaints as coming from “right-wing” Zionists” and three Republican senators. His repeated use of the term, “right-wing Zionists” betrays his political agenda. Anti-Semitic hate speech should not be an issue of liberal vs. conservative nor an item of concern for only Jewish Zionists. Reasonable people can disagree on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. However, for this issue to lead to expressions of anti-Jewish sentiment on an American campus is wrong.

As I have stated repeatedly, 99% of the students at UCI are not involved in this ugliness. There are two problems; a radical MSU and an indifferent administration and faculty . As a result, what should be a great university has acquired a notorious national reputation-which, as far as I am concerned, it deserves.

Gary C Fouse
Adjunct teacher
University of California Ext

“Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him….”

The so-called Haditha (sacred teaching) of Hate is one of the most notorious writings in Islam. It instructs Muslims to kill Jews. One would think that Muslims would try to keep this phrase secret from the rest of the world.

Not so the Muslim Student Association at the University of Southern California, which has even put the haditha up on its campus website. Now, as a result of protests lodged by David Horowitz's Freedom Center and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the university's Provost, Chrysostomos L. Max Nikias, has ordered the MSA to remove the haditha from its website.

I applaud the action by USC. Finally, one university (hardly a conservative bastion) has summoned up the courage to put the MSA in its place, albeit belatedly. This haditha should have been struck down as soon as it appeared. This cannot be considered free speech. It is a call to murder, plain and simple. If this is what USC's MSA subscribes to, it reveals them to be nothing more than radicals and vicious bigots. This kind of language has no place in American society. Similarly, those Muslims who subscribe to this "teaching" have no place in our society. Decent Muslims who want to gain a place in our society must turn away from this kind of language.

It would be nice to see my own university, (UC-Irvine)take similar measures against the MSU (Muslim Student Union). It would be refreshing to hear UCI's leaders tell the MSU that speakers who come to our campus and call Jews "low-life ghetto dwellers" (Imam Mohammed Al-Asi), glorify acts of mass murder by suicide bombers in Israel (Amir Abdel Malik Ali) and displays that depict Jews with hooked noses, thick lips and leering gazes are not going to be tolerated any longer at UCI. Don't hold your breath. The cowards who run UCI have, up until now, not summoned up the courage to confront the MSU and their vicious speakers. In fact, the MSU receives funding from UCI in the form of money taken from student tuition fees. The May 2008"Palestine Awareness Week" was funded by UCI to the tune of $6,500, according to Frontpage Magazine. Thus, UCI supplies funding to MSU to bring in hate mongering speakers and erect racist, anti-Semitic displays that denigrate Jews.

So it will be up to the rest of us to bring the public's attention to what is going on in academia. David Horowitz's Freedom Center, for one, will be putting on a "Stop the Jihad on Campus Week", which will occur during the week of October 13-17, 2008. Public attention must be brought to the actions and words of these various MSA's across the nation. Hopefully, the public can demand that universities crack down on hate speech on their campuses.

On August 15, 2008, Daily Kos writer John K Wilson wrote a piece attacking David Horowitz and his planned "Stop the Jihad on Campus" campaign. Wilson's article was entitled: "David Horowitz's jihad against free speech on campus".

Below is my response:

"I would like to respond to John K Wilson’s article of August 15, 2008 attacking David Horowitz’s "Stop the Jihad" campaign. As one who has been teaching part-time at the University of California at Irvine for the past 10 years, I can tell you that Horowitz is correct when he describes radical Islamic activity on US campuses. The campus where I teach is arguably the worst in the nation when it comes to radical Muslim activity and anti-Semitic expression.

The UCI Muslim Student Union (MSU) on a regular basis, brings in radical speakers who are not only anti-Israel, but anti-Semitic and anti-American to boot. Acknowledging the fact that there is nothing unusual about anti-American and anti-Israel thought on US campuses and it is, indeed, protected by the First Amendment , it is the anti-Semitic nature of these speakers that most concerns me.

This past May, the MSU hosted a "Palestine Holocaust" week. Among the speakers was Mohammed Al-Asi, a Washington-based Imam who, in a past appearance at UCI, referred to Jews as "low-life ghetto-dwellers" and made the following statement: "You can take a Jew out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the Jew". As he was spouting his hate-filled rhetoric in May, a group of high school students on a campus tour was right behind him waiting for their bus. They had to listen to this hate speech. Meanwhile, that situation was ignored by a group of deans who more interested in playing hall monitor and keeping Jewish protestors from getting too close to the speakers. (The protest was entirely peaceful.)

Also appearing, as he does virtually every quarter, was Oakland-based Imam Amir Abdel Malik Ali. This hate-filled figure is an open supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah (as is Al-Asi), who glorifies suicide bombers and others who specialize in bombings against innocent Israeli men, women and children. This is another figure who hates his own country as much as he hates Israel. As he repeatedly called George Bush an idiot, he also referred to a black Army general serving in Africa (name unknown) as an "Uncle Tom". Free speech? Sure, but is this the kind of speaker the MSU wants to be identified with? What kind of conclusions are the rest of us supposed to draw?

In addition, during the week-long hate-fest, the MSU erected a mock wall simulating the wall Israel has built to keep out suicide bombers (with notable success). Along with various other photos and phrases, there appeared a cartoon drawing of Ariel Sharon, drawn in the unmistakable style of Julius Streicher’s Der Stuermer, the notorious anti-Jewish Nazi newspaper of the Third Reich. In the drawing, Sharon was portrayed with all the stereotypical Jewish features, hooked nose, thick lips and a leering gaze. This drawing remained on that wall for an entire week.

And who pays for these speakers and displays? MSU at UCI receives university funding-taken from student tuition fees including $6,500 for the "Palestine Holocaust Week". Indeed, the other half of the problem at UCI is a complacent and/or intimidated university leadership that will not address complaints about the hate speech, which they insist is "free speech". They will not even speak out publicly and condemn the things that are being said against Jews.

No one, including myself, has ever suggested that these speakers be dragged off to jail for what they say. At the same time, I object to the fact that Jewish students at UCI have to endure this hatred on an almost quarterly basis. Last May, a Jewish female student who was filming Malik Ali’s evening speech was followed back to her car by half a dozen male Muslim students and surrounded and harassed as she tried to leave. A woman from South Africa witnessed the incident. According to this woman’s account, when the campus police arrived and observed what was happening, they reportedly showed complete indifference. One officer reportedly stated to the woman, "It’s just the Muslims getting back at the Jews." (Though I have no personal knowledge of the incident, I brought it to the attention of the UCI EEO Office and requested they look into it. No one has ever gotten back to me about it. )

This is not to suggest that Jewish students have to live in fear at UCI. I would point out that 99% of the students at UCI are not involved in this ugliness. Yet, there is a problem at UCI that I see as twofold. First, there is a radical MSU that is clearly sympathetic to acts of terror against Israel. The other is the leadership at UCI.

Finally, there is this saying that has recently appeared on the campus website of the University of Southern California Muslim Student Association :

'Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him....'

The above is the hadith (Sacred Teaching) that is one of the most troubling writings in Islam. Fortunately, the USC Provost has just ordered the MSA to remove it. You can talk about freedom of speech and freedom of religion all you like, but the above statement is clearly an incitement to murder which has no place on a university website.

You may disagree with Horowitz’s politics, but in my view, he is performing a valuable public service in bringing attention to hate speech on US campuses. If the MSU groups across the nation want to make the case for Palestinians’ grievances, that is their right. If they want to bring in speakers who insult the US, and the President , that is also their right, just as it is my right to make the necessary conclusions and express my own reactions. When they engage in clear anti-Jewish words and depictions, then they deserve all the criticism they get. Likewise for an administration that tolerates and turns a blind eye to hatred on its campus by a small but vocal minority."

Gary Fouse
Adjunct teacher
Univ of California-Irvine, Ext
http:garyfouse.blogspot.com

I believe this letter was written as a respectful response to Mr Wilson and focused on the issue of anti-Semitic hate speech. It will be interesting to see what kind of response it gets from Daily Kos and their readership.

gary fouse
fousesquawk