December 16, 2013
Dear President Wong,
Last week you issued a public statement regarding an on-campus General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS) event glorifying the murder of Jews and numerous antisemitic social media postings by GUPS President Mohammad G. Hammad, including postings expressing his desire to murder an Israeli soldier and “all others who support the IDF.” In your statement, you said that “first and foremost” the University community must be “firmly committed to free speech,” although you also claim to work hard “to achieve a balance where both expression and safety are fostered.”
Therefore, we ask you to clarify your position on this matter:
Is it acceptable for a registered student organization receiving university funding to display or use rhetoric that glorifies or promotes violence against Jews?
Is it acceptable for a registered student organization receiving university funding to display or use rhetoric that glorifies or promotes violence against African Americans, Hispanics, or Muslims?
We look forward to your prompt response. Unless we hear otherwise, we will assume that your answer to these questions is “YES,” and we will inform the Jewish community that Jewish students, and all supporters of Israel, are not safe at San Francisco State University.
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 C!alifornia Jewish community leaders