An open letter to Pres. Wong of San Francisco State University from the AMCHA Initiative

An open letter to Pres. Wong of San Francisco State University, by Tammi Benjamin of the AMCHA Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating, documenting, educating about, and combating antisemitism at institutions of higher education in America.

 

Dear President Wong,

As you know, a posting from the Tumbler account of GUPS president Mohammad G. Hammad has recently been widely circulated.  The posting includes a photograph showing Mr. Hammad holding a large knife and a caption reading "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."  This is a horrifying image, all the more so because Mr. Hammad is the leader of a university-sanctioned and funded student organization that recently hosted an on-campus event glorifying the murder of Jews.

Following articles about Mr. Hammad's posting in several Jewish media outlets such as the Jewish Journal and the Jewish Press, members of the Jewish community throughout the state and across the country are understandably outraged at such behavior, and deeply concerned for the safety of Jewish students at SFSU.

In light of Mr. Hamad's post threatening violence against Jews and his organization's sponsorship of an event that included the glorification of the killing of Jews, we and many members of the Jewish community want to know what your action plan entails -- what concrete steps you have already taken, and what steps you intend to take in the immediate future -- to keep Jewish students safe from antisemitic harassment and attack on your campus.

We believe that if a registered student group or its leader threatened violence against any other student ethnic group, the university would take prompt and concrete actions.  We expect nothing less for Jewish students.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

 

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin

Co-founder, AMCHA Initiative