Arab gangs are on the attack in San Francisco State University:
he head of San Francisco State University asked the District Attorney's Office on Monday to
prosecute pro-Palestinian demonstrators who crashed a pro-peace, pro-Israel rally on campus last
week.
University President Robert A. Corrigan's request stems from a May 7 pro-Israel rally disrupted
by a handful of screaming counter-demonstrators, who ripped down Israeli flags and cornered a
group of organizers against a wall. The tense situation was captured on security cameras.
"The only thing stopping violence and chaos was an incredible police presence," said Dikla
Tuchman, 20, a member of the Jewish group Hillel, that sponsored the event.
"We were stuck there against the wall for 45 minutes, it was complete verbal assault," she said.
"They were screaming out 'F--- Israel', 'Die Jews,' 'Get off our campus.' "
Corrigan condemned the disruption and asked that a hate crimes prosecutor help the university
bring the offenders to justice.
"In my 14 years as president of this university, I have never been as deeply distressed and
angered by something that happened on this campus as I am by the events of last week," he
wrote.
District Attorney Terence Hallinan, reached at his home late Monday, said he had not been
notified of Corrigan's request, but would respond.
SFSU has a history of heavy tension between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian factions. The
campus conflicts seem to mirror the eruptions in the Middle East.
On April 9, a large group of Jewish students, faculty and community members held a prayer vigil
at a small table on campus to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. While they were
praying, pro-Palestinian groups gathered nearby to protest Israel's occupation of the West Bank.
To advertise their event, pro-Palestinian organizers circulated grotesque posters of Jews eating
Christian babies. One speaker told the Jewish students to "go back to Germany, they'll hook you
up," said Roil Been, program coordinator for Hillel.
The Muslim Student Association, the General Union of Palestinian Students and Women's Islamic
Association could not be reached for comment late Monday.
At another pro-Israel rally Dec. 8, pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupted the event with
chants such as "Stop killing our children."
SFSU allows counter-demonstrators to register and hold protests as long as they stay 30 feet
from demonstrators.
"Students come to a campus to learn to think critically and expose themselves to cultures
different from their own," said Seth Brysk, Hillel executive director. "I'm sorry and I'm sad Jewish
students and Palestinian students are not able to meet each other and lear |
