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U-M Bows to Student
Aggression ... Again
The University of Michigan, at Dearborn
and Ann Arbor, has been the sites of
recent aggressive behavior that cannot be
tolerated on campus or anywhere. Under
the guise of diversity and the free expres-
sion of ideas, the university administra-
tion has failed to respond with appropri-
ate consequences for bullying, intimidat-
ing and threatening of students.
Last December, students woke up
to eviction notices shoved under their
dorm room doors by the student group
SAFE, threatening to destroy their per-
sonal belongings, if their rooms were not
evacuated. The university's response was
minimal, in comparison to Northeastern
University in Boston, where the student
group involved in a similar activity was
suspended from campus activities for a
year.
So it was no surprise when the same
group was involved last month in a
divestment project targeting the U-M
Central Student Government. When the
student group didn't get the response
they desired, they held a continuous
sit-in at the student government offices
until their demands were addressed.
They received significant outside sup-
port from national and international
BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions)
advocates, including their recent guest
speaker, Electronic Intifada founder, Ali
Abunimah, who monitored their activity
on campus using the social media. Some
student government members received
serious threats that caused at least one to
stay away from classes all week, fearing
for his personal safety. Again, there were
no tangible consequences.
Just two days later, another social
media campaign was orchestrated using
student activists to again threaten peace
at the university and the safety of stu-
dent panelists, causing a postponement
of the screening of Honor Diaries, a film
about honor violence against women at
the Dearborn campus. Congratulations
were sent via twitter to the activists who
achieved a victory in shutting down the
film, which invigorated their campaign
and led to additional cancellations at
Chicago and U-M Ann Arbor, according
to sources from the Honor Diaries pro-
duction team.
Social media bullying cannot be
allowed to disrupt campus life again. If
the university does not take the neces-
sary disciplinary action to halt this activ-
ity, students will not learn that behavior
has consequences and will continue
to cross the line of civility, making life
unbearable for everyone on campus.
Dorene Weisberg
West Bloomfield
Volunteer Helps IDF Send
Aid After Philippines Cyclone
-4.% Last November, I spent
two weeks working on
an Israel Defense
Forces base with
Volunteers for Israel. It
was an uplifting privi-
lege and honor to
know you are relieving
Rae Sharfman
IDF soldiers from
menial tasks so that
they can attend to other issues.
I was stationed at a medical base. We
arrived shortly after a cyclone hit the
Philippines. We hit the ground working
as fast and as hard as we could, sorting
and packing supplies for them.
The base was full of huge trucks piled
high with these supplies. And one night,
they were gone — shipped to where they
were needed and, I hope, appreciated.
Israel is the expert country when it
comes to disasters, sending supplies,
medical teams and field hospitals as
quickly as possible. In fact, the first baby
born in the Philippines after the Israelis
arrived was named Israel.
Our supervisor was the most orga-
nized, pleasant and friendly one anyone
could have. He has posters and letters of
appreciation all over the walls from vari-
ous groups that had worked in his part
of the warehouse.
Our group was mixed: Jews and non-
Jews, young and old, from various parts of
the world as well as the U.S. and Canada.
Included were two young adults from
South Africa, two retired doctors who are
not Jewish and other volunteers who had
recently made aliyah. It was great being
part of this mixed group, some who vol-
unteer yearly and some for the first time.
Friendships develop and hopefully will
continue for many years to come.
I will definitely volunteer again, and
I encourage others to try it. The accom-
modations are not plush, but adequate.
The best thing we can give to Israel
is ourselves. Try it, I assure you, you
will like it. For information, contact Ed
Kohl at michgan@vfi-usa.org ; (248)
420-3729, Carol Kent at (248) 865-8580,
carolkent@aol.com; or visit the VFI-USA
website, www.vfi-usa.org.
Rae Sharfman
West Bloomfield
Annabel's Recipes
Are A Huge Hit
Just a quick note to let you know how
much I appreciate the recipes in your
paper by Annabel Cohen.
They are written so that "dummy me"
can understand them, and I find them
very easy to make. Her detail to direc-
tions makes cooking so simple. Her
selections are wonderful, and the variety
is exciting and great.
Kudos to you for offering us such a
pleasant kitchen experience.
Muriel Moray
Franklin
ZOA Warns U-M Of Possible Title VI Civil Rights Violations
On April 4, Morton A.
Klein of the New
York-based Zionist
Organization of
America wrote a four-
page letter to
University of
Michigan President
Morton A.
Mary Sue Coleman
Klein
"after receiving trou-
bling reports about
Jewish and pro-Israel students being
threatened, harassed and intimidated
on your campus:'
The letter charged that supporters of
the pro-Palestinian student group SAFE
had reportedly issued death threats
to one student, "and they have called
students anti-Semitic epithets such as
likes' and 'dirty Jews:"
"Almost more shocking:' the letter
continues, "is the administration's abys-
mal response to the conduct. According
to media reports, the administration
has shown little regard for the physical
and emotional safety and well-being
of Jewish and pro-Israel students on
campus, taking the outrageous position
that death threats and violent rhetoric
do not warrant the administration's
intervention."
The ZOA letter warns U-M that
under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, universities that don't remedy
anti-Semitic hostility on campus risk
losing their federal funding.
The ZOA asks U-M to conduct a full
investigation and if "the evidence sub-
stantiates SAFE'S wrongdoing and vio-
lation of university policies, then this
group should be suspended for at least
one year and be compelled to undergo
civility training."
It also "strongly recommends" that
the university publicly condemn SAFE'S
conduct "as hateful, anti-Semitic and in
violation of university rules and values"
and publicly affirm that the University
of Michigan opposes all boycott, divest-
ment and sanctions efforts against
Israel."
The letter concludes, "Staying silent
and doing nothing is an unacceptable
response:'
❑
SAVE THE DATE
5ENEFITT1NG CHU.DREN WITH pis/MOT/ES.
Wednesday,
May 28, 2014
www.jarc.org
April 17 • 2014
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