Muslim students who heckled Israeli envoy Oren: We have no regrets

[bemildred]

Eight of the Muslim students convicted of misdemeanors for disrupting a speech by Israeli ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California, Irvine last year thanked their supporters at a public meeting in an Anaheim mosque and expressed no regrets for their actions.

Student Mohamed Abdelgany told an audience Sunday at the Islamic Institute of Orange County that while they are upset about the verdict, the activism that brought the eight and two others a sentence of community service and probation is part of higher education, the Orange County Register said.

Abdelgany said their lives would be "hollow shells" if they didn't stand by their principles.
Student Taher Herzallah said her mother feared she would go to jail, and made her promise no protests for a year.

The students' lawyer Reem Salahi told the audience they would appeal.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/muslim-students-who-heckled-israeli-envoy-oren-we-have-no-regrets-1.386785

[snagglepuss]

Nor should they. I hope they win their appeal. nt

[snagglepuss]

1. Self delete. Duplicate post.

[bemildred]

2. Supporters rally around the 'Irvine 11' at town hall event

The room was packed full of people who gathered to applaud an unlikely bunch: a group of men who had been convicted of misdemeanors less than 48 hours ago.

The men -- part of the "Irvine 11" found guilty of disrupting a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren—told those gathered at the Islamic Institute of Orange County of their activism and expressed gratitude for community support. At one point, the nine men stood to applause.

On Friday, a jury found the 10 Muslim students guilty after deliberating for two days. A judge sentenced the men to community service, probation time and fines. Charges against an 11th defendant will be dropped pending completion of community service.

The students were in support of the Palestinian cause, and shouted phrases such as "You sir, are an accomplice to genocide," at Oren during the event, held at UC Irvine.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-town-hall-20110926,0,6541970.story

[bemildred]

3. The Irvine 11: Giving voice to the voiceless

On Friday, Shaheen Nassar addressed a crowd of reporters and community members outside the Orange County Superior Courthouse in Santa Ana, California, less than 30 minutes after the presiding judge in the Irvine 11 trial sentenced Nassar and his co-defendants to community service and informal probation. The judge declared, to his credit, that jail time would be "inappropriate" due to the fact that the defendants were motivated by their personal beliefs, that they had clean records, and were productive members of the community.

"I intend to continue my activism, to give voice to the voiceless, including my cousins who died during the Gaza massacre. And the 1,400 other civilians who lost their lives during that massacre as well," said Nassar.

The Irvine 11, as they have come to be known, acted in the finest tradition of civil rights leaders when they non-violently spoke out in opposition to Israeli policies during a speech delivered by Israeli ambassador Michael Oren in February 2010. Oren had come to UC Irvine as a guest of the university administration, on a speaking tour planned by the Israeli government to boost Israel's image in response to global criticism of its wanton attacks on Gaza in the winter of 2008-09, and the apartheid policies on the ground in occupied Palestine.

The sentencing followed a jury's decision to convict the students on two misdemeanour counts of "conspiracy to disrupt a public meeting" and "disruption of a public meeting" after weeks of aggressive courtroom theatrics by the District Attorney's prosecution team, which intended to criminalise the student's acts of dissent and protest.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/09/2011926103946574233.html

[bemildred]

4. Behind the scenes with Israel's campus lobby

Over the past year, I have obtained public records that shed light on how the Israel lobby works on US campuses. At UC Berkeley, my alma mater, as well as at UC Hastings School of Law, the documents reveal how the Israel lobby pressures university administrators to interfere with campus activity - both academic and political - that addresses Israel's policies towards and treatment of the Palestinian people.

My requests were made in the shadow of two high-profile backlash campaigns to counter events at UC Berkeley and UC Hastings School of Law. In March 2011, esteemed legal academics and practitioners attended a conference called "Litigating Palestine" at UC Hastings School of Law.

On the eve of the conference, the UC Hastings Board of Trustees voted in a closed emergency meeting to withdraw its sponsorship of the event without explanation. Though the conference was permitted to proceed, the Dean of the Law School was asked not to give opening remarks as planned.

A year earlier, a historic decision by UC Berkeley's student government to divest from companies profiting from Israeli human rights violations and war crimes and occupation was overturned in response to similar pressure. Though the bill initially passed with a 16-4 majority, the student body president vetoed it and, after weeks of intense lobbying, the student senate was one vote short of overcoming the veto.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/09/201192384847314840.html

[Scurrilous]

5. Good on them.

:thumbsup:

[shira]

6. So you'd have no problem with a cooperative effort to disrupt/silence a pro-Palestinian speaker? n/t

[Scurrilous]

7. I saw Moshe Dayan give a speech at the Univ. of Florida back in the 70's.

He was heckled loudly throughout his talk (there was a large contingent pissed off anti-Shah/anti-Israel Iranian students on campus). Never did he let it bother him. He kept at his speech, stopping occasionally to poke fun at his detractors. There was no walking off stage, no cops, no arrests, no trials. Just free speech. I guess Israeli leaders were made of sterner stuff back then.

And if the tables were turned, and a pro-Palestinian speaker was given the same treatment, I'd be all for it. :thumbsup:

[bemildred]

8. 'Irvine 11' evidence released by Orange County district attorney

Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas on Wednesday released emails and court documents used in the trial to convict 10 Muslim students on criminal charges of disrupting a speech.

---

The evidence includes two videos from the event, multiple email chains from the students who planned the disruption and minutes from meetings of the Muslim Student Union, an organization that has denied planning the protest but whose members were involved.

One email from a student summarizing the event said, "It is our duty to show the people who are going to listen that this man is a war criminal, and we will not allow a platform for him to spread lies on our campus, whether it be at UCI or any other campus around the nation."

---

Jacqueline Goodman, one of the defense attorneys in the case, said it's rare to devote so much energy to a misdemeanor, especially after a conviction. She added that the D.A.'s office is publicizing only a small portion of the evidence, which included thousands of pages of documents.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0929-irvine-eleven-evidence-20110929,0,2964072.story

[azurnoir]

9. wonder how the tax payers of Orange County feel about this?

is this money well spent or are there other more pressing needs?

[Scurrilous]

10. Irvine 11 conviction reveals double standard and bias

<snip>

"When we disrupted Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's keynote speech at the Jewish Federations of North America's annual general meeting last November in New Orleans, we were met with hisses, boos, verbal harassment and even physical attacks from other members of the audience. But criminal charges were never so much as mentioned. Yet, on September 23rd, ten students who interrupted Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren's speech at UC Irvine in February 2010 were convicted of two misdemeanors for their participation in that protest. Today, October 11, 2011, is a national day of action to protest those unjust convictions. We think it's a perfect opportunity to look at the similarities and differences in these two actions.

In both protests, each person who stood up to bring attention to crimes committed by the Israeli government acted non-violently, and cooperated fully with security personnel and the police. So what was the difference? Why were we not arrested, charged and tried while the Irvine 11 were? Logically, the opposite should have been true: our target was bigger – the Prime Minister of Israel; our venue was bigger – the largest Jewish event in North America; and our protest came later – inspired in part by the brave actions of the Irvine 11. But there is one more difference, and it proved to be the crucial one: we are Jews and the Irvine 11 are Muslims."

more