U.S. media is reporting that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is opposing a California state resolution against anti-Semitism on colleges and universities that also encourages educators to crack down on demonstrations against Israel. According to the report:
August 29, 2012, 4:49 am California (AP) — A California resolution against anti-Semitism on colleges and universities also encourages educators to crack down on demonstrations against Israel, angering advocates for Muslim students. With no debate, lawmakers approved the resolution Tuesday. Most of the incidents the resolution cited are related to the Israel-Palestine debate. These include instances of protesters comparing Israeli police to Nazis and urging support for Hamas. ‘California schools need to recognize that anti-Semitism is still a very real issue on college campuses around the state — it did not disappear with the end of World War II,’ said Assemblywoman Linda Halderman, the resolution’s author. The Council on American Islamic Relations said the resolution went too far and constituted an attack on students’ right to free expression. ‘To be clear, genuine acts of anti-Semitism should be condemned, but this resolution goes far beyond that,’ said Rachel Roberts, a spokeswoman for the group. ‘By characterizing pro-Palestinian speech as anti-Jewish, the Legislature sidelines those Muslim students and progressive Jewish students who often organize together to raise awareness about the Middle East.’ Roberts said the council was disappointed that the resolution was drafted and passed while colleges were out of session. The resolution, which is symbolic and does not carry policy implications, also condemns the suggestion that Israel is a ‘racist’ state and that Jews ‘wield excessive power over American foreign policy.’ The resolution characterizes the student campaign to pressure the University of California system to divest from Israel as anti-Semitic, and applauds university leaders’ refusal to consider it. Pro-Palestinian protests have become a regular occurrence on many University of California campuses. Students sometimes simulate checkpoints or combine swastikas with the Star of David. In 2010, 10 Muslim students were convicted of misdemeanors for repeatedly interrupting a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at UC Irvine, where students were suspected of painting swastikas in university buildings. The lawmakers’ action also drew criticism from free speech advocates. Carlos Villarreal, director of the San Francisco chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, called the resolution irresponsible and dangerous because it combines legitimate condemnations of acts of intimidation and hate with specific objections to tactics used to support the Palestinian people. ‘In doing so, it can be seen as having no other purpose than to demonize all those who criticize the nation-state of Israel or support the rights of the Palestinian people,’ he said. Halderman did not mention Israel when she introduced the resolution. Some of the lawmakers who signed on as co-authors seemed surprised to later learn of the references to Israel. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, was one of the few who did not support it. ‘Ignorance reigns up here,’ he said. One co-author, Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, said she understood critics’ concerns. ‘We absolutely have to have colleges and universities that are free from anti-Semitism,’ Lowenthal said. ‘But we just have to be careful that we don’t accidentally silence legitimate debate as we try to shut down organized hate.’ The California Legislature has no Muslim members, according to the council.
Documents released in the Holy Land Trial have revealed that the founders and current leaders of CAIR were part of the Palestine Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as identifying the organization itself as being part of the US. Brotherhood. A recent post discussed an interview with the Deputy leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in which he confirms a relationship between his organization and CAIR. Investigative research posted on GMBDW had determined that CAIR had it origins in the U.S. Hamas infrastructure and CAIR and its leaders have a long history of defending almost all individuals accused of terrorism by the US. government, frequently calling such prosecutions a “war on Islam.” In 2009, a US federal judge ruled “The Government has produced ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR, ISNA and NAIT with HLF, the Islamic Association for Palestine (“IAP”), and with Hamas.”