December 5, 2013
Subject: Safety of Jewish students at SFSU
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
Leila Beckwith
Co-founder, AMCHA Initiative
CC:
CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White
CSU Board of Trustees
CSU Interim General Counsel Andrew Jones
Kenneth Monteiro, Dean of College of Ethnic Studies at SFSU
California State Senator Leland Y. Yee (San Francisco)
California State Senator Mark Leno (San Francisco)
California Assembly Member Philip Y. Ting (San Francisco)
California Senator Carol Liu, Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Education
California Assembly Member Joan Buchanan, Chair of the Assembly Education Committee
California Assembly Member Marc Levine
California State Senator Marty Block
California Assembly Member Das Williams
California Assembly Member Jose Medina
California Senator Lois Wolk
California Assembly Member Richard Bloom
California Assembly Member Steve Fox
California Jewish community leaders
BCC:
Wide circulation in the Jewish community