San Francisco State Partners with Violently Anti-Jewish Arab University

Its not over at San Francisco State

Via Israel Thrives:

San Francisco State Partners with Violently Anti-Jewish Arab University

San Francisco State University is among the most racist universities in the United States.

It is therefore fitting that it would partner with what is probably the most racist university in the world - An-Najah National University in the Palestinian Authority controlled town of Nablus.

How bad is An-Najah? Michael L fills in the blanks:

The ADL has this to say about An-Najah National University:

An-Najah University, in the West Bank city of Nablus, has been a flashpoint in the conflict between Israel and Palestinians since at least 1980, when violent anti-Israel protests led the Israeli military to close the school intermittently. Today the student council of An-Najah is known for its advocacy of anti-Israel violence and its recruitment of Palestinian college students into terrorist groups. The council, almost completely controlled by factions loyal to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah, glorifies suicide bombings and propagandizes for jihad against Israel. Hamas has described An-Najah as a"greenhouse for martyrs." 

Matthew Levitt, the director of the Washington Institute's Stein Program on Terrorism, Intelligence, and Policy, has this to say:

Al-Najah is the largest university in the territories and "the terrorist recruitment, indoctrination and radicalization of students for which al-Najah is known typically take place via various student groups," among them the Hamas-affiliated Islamic Bloc. "Of the thirteen members of Al-Najah's 2004 student council, eight," he says - "including the chairperson - belong to Hamas's Islamic Bloc." 

After the kidnapping of three Jewish teenagers last year the graduating students of An-Najah University held up the three fingered salute in solidarity with the kidnappers:

Palestinian Media Watch tells us:

The Facebook page of the National University’s Islamic student group of An-Najah University in ‎Nablus, a school funded by USAID, called for murder of Jews posting this picture ‎of a religious Jews hiding in fear and the Islamic source from the Hadith that the PA interprets as ‎anticipating the genocide of Jews.

Tree: “O Muslim, O servant of Allah, there is a ‎Jew behind me – come kill him.”‎


Note: The Islamic belief that Jews will be killed ‎by Muslims as a precursor to the Resurrection ‎appears in the Hadith (sayings and practices ‎attributed to Islam's Prophet Muhammad).This ‎Islamic tradition asserts that as the killing of ‎Jews progresses, Jews will hide behind ‎stones and trees, but they will expose the ‎Jews and call out: "Oh Muslim, servant of ‎Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill ‎him." Only one tree, called the Gharqad, will ‎hide the Jews from the Muslims. ‎

And it was at An-Najah University that they created a "grotesque shrine" to the Sbarro pizza parlor massacre.

Writing in the Jerusalem Post, Mel Alexenberg tells us:

A group of An-Najah art students constructed a replica of the Sbarro pizzeria, site of the massacre.

Visitors pushed to see realistically sculpted body parts and pizza slices strewn throughout an environment set for a performance artwork.

Wearing a terrorist’s military uniform and black mask, the performance artist entered the mock pizzeria under a sign reading “Kosher Sbarro” and set off a simulated explosion to the cheers of the crowd. Upon entering and leaving, the visitors enthusiastically wiped their feet on Israeli and American flags used as doormats.

That is the school SFSU has chosen to partner with. Israel Thrives has written extensively about his Alma Mater in the past

San Francisco State University Funds Hatred Towards Jews (August 24, 2014)

Say Hello to SFSU Professor Trevor Getz (June 26, 2014)

Dear Professor Fred Astren, Why Does San Francisco State University Support Violence Against Jews? (June 26, 2014)

San Francisco State University Funds Hatred (June 6, 2014)

San Francisco State University and calls for murder (March 3, 2013)

Arab anti-Zionists call for murder at San Francisco State University (February 6, 2013)

Giving San Francisco State University the chance to do what is right (December 19, 2013)

SFSU responds to Arab calls for violence against Jews (December 10, 2013)

Screeching for Jewish Blood at San Francisco State University (December 9, 2013)

"I Love This Blade..." (December 6, 2013)

“Canned Palestinian Children Meat" (December 4, 2013)

San Francisco State University: Dangerous Incitement to Violence: Early reports hit the blogsphere

The first reports of the incitement to violence at San Francisco State appeared in the blogsphere Sunday Nov. 10, at Pro Israel Bay Bloggers, a "local blog for local people", and gave some background on the long history of anti-Israel activism at the school.

From the post:  San Francisco State University: Dangerous Incitement to Violence

Not that long ago, San Francisco State had a well deserved reputation for being a scary place for pro-Israel and Jewish students. This is the school that displayed flyers featuring a Palestinian baby on a soup can label, captioned  "Palestinian Children Meat, slaughtered according to Jewish rites under American license".  This is the school where Jewish students were physically assaulted, spat on and screamed at  "Too bad Hitler didn't finish the job," "Get out or we will kill you," "F**k the Jews," "Die racist pigs." at a vigil commemorating the Holocaust.

It was never about free speech or academic freedom. It was pure racism, unbridled Jew-hatred, and had it been directed towards any other minority on campus, it would not have been tolerated.

Anti-Semitic imagery from San Francisco State University, 2002

From "Peace with Realism":

Laurie Zoloth, Professor of Ethics and Director of Jewish Studies at San Francisco State, reports that such posters, as well as posters proclaiming "Jews=Nazis," have become common. She also states: "I cannot fully express what it feels like to have to walk across campus daily, past posters of cans of soup with labels on them of drops of blood and dead babies, labeled 'canned Palestinian children meat, slaughtered according to Jewish rites.'" 

In an open letter Zoloth described what happened at a "Peace in the Middle East" rally sponsored by SFSU Hillel on May 7, 2002 when a group of students, numbering around 50, remained to chant afternoon prayers. The following account has been confirmed by other witnesses:

Counter demonstrators poured into the plaza, screaming at the Jews to "Get out or we will kill you" and "Hitler did not finish the job." I turned to the police and to every administrator I could find and asked them to remove the counter demonstrators from the plaza, to maintain the separation of 100 feet that we had been promised. The police told me that they had been told not to arrest anyone, and that if they did, "it would start a riot." I told them that it already was a riot.

Finally, Fred Astren, the Northern California Hillel Director and I went up directly to speak with Dean Saffold, who was watching from her post a flight above us. She told us she would call in the SF police. But the police could do nothing more than surround the Jewish students and community members who were now trapped in a corner of the plaza, grouped under the flags of Israel, while an angry, out of control mob, literally chanting for our deaths, surrounded us. Dr. Astren and I went to stand with our students. This was neither free speech nor discourse, but raw, physical assault....

There was no safe way out of the Plaza. We had to be marched back to the Hillel House under armed S.F. police guard, and we had to have a police guard remain outside Hillel.

 
Apparently some are longing for a return to those days of infamy.

Last Thursday, a rally was held at San Francisco State to celebrate the 6th year anniversary of the Edward Said mural at the school  The 6th Annual Palestinian Mural Celebration  was entitled "We Speak for Ourselves; Honoring our Forebearers"      The event  was co-sponsored by the local Arab Resource Organizing center, and the Middle East Children's Alliance, as well as AMED , the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas program at SFSU.

The program began in Malcolm X Plaza. There were tables adorned with kaffiyahs, and bumper stickers that read "End Israeli Apartheid" and "End US funding of Israel."  There were also tables for art projects. There were cans of spray paint and stencils glorifying convicted PFLP airline hijacker Leila Khaled, and there were stencils inciting extremism and murder. 

At San Francisco State, a young man proudly shows off his art project "My heroes have always killed Colonizers"

Again San Francisco State crosses the line.  "My heroes have always killed colonizers" is an outrageous incitement to violence, doing nothing to promote intellectual discourse on campus.  Please contact the Office of the President Leslie Wong  to express your concern over these threats to campus climate, and your concern for the safety of students on campus

Overview: What happened on November 7 at San Francisco State University?

On November 7, a commemoration of the 6th anniversary of the Edward Said Mural was held at San Francisco State University.  Speakers and and art projects were scheduled for the quad, with a more formal reception to be held later.  The event poster indicates it was sponsored by the Caesar Chavez Student Center, the Palestinian Youth movement, the Arab Resource Organizer Center, the Mid East Children's Alliance, the Arab Culture and Community center and AMED, the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative of SFSU.

From the events' Facebook page 

The 6th Annual Palestinian Mural Celebration
We Speak for Ourselves; Honoring our Forebearers.

Join the General Union of Palestine Students and community members on Thursday November 7th 2013 as we remember the honorable Dr. Edward Wadie Said.

Friends and Family can look forward to a night filled with the beauty and resilience of Palestinian culture as well as critical commentary on the legacy of Edward Said, the role of culture in social struggles, and a re-telling of the arduous efforts of veteran Guppies in getting the mural done.

Program is as follows:

12pm in Malcolm X Plaza
Blessing and Ceremony to start the day.
Poetry by GUPS members
Community speak out/open mic
music
procession/march around to Edward Said mural

5:30 in Jack Adams Hall
Poetry and mural presentation by special guests Salam Oweis and Susan Greene
Keynote address by Ziad Abbas of the Middle East Children's Alliance
Panel Discussion featuring GUPS veterans
Food provided by Oasis Grill, Ali Baba's Cave, and Sahara
Dabkeh (Shabab Al Quds)!

Bring your dancing shoes!

Until Return.
Until Freedom.
And even then.

A table of stencils was available. There is some controversy whether the stencils were provided by the General Union of Palestinian Students, or other groups at the event.  One of the stencils featured terrorist hijacker  Leila Khaled.  Others featured the motto "My heroes have always killed colonizers".

Students and community members who observed the event, and who saw the photos after, were upset by the incitement and glorification of violence and murder at this state funded institution.

Our hope at this blog is to chronicle and document the response from school members, the mass media and from advocacy groups.