Anti-Israel speakers were invited to give political speech by De Anza’s Inter-club Council on Club Day last Thursday, according to one of the speakers. ICC Programs Chair had prior knowledge of speech content, which violated ICC Code on mutual respect, mandating that clubs do not present negative items against other clubs in their presentations. The anti-Israel speech was given in front of a booth for Jews, Israelis, and Friends, which featured large Israeli flags.
Two San Jose State students, along with a De Anza student, spoke against the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa, calling them oppressive, at De Anza’s Club Day, under a time slot reserved by Latino-advocacy group, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA).
Callahan said that Club Day exists for De Anza clubs to recruit members, advertise themselves, and maintain a table. Among the clubs present, Jews, Israelis, and Friends (JIF) had a booth set up in close proximity to the speakers, and featured large Israeli flags on each side of the booth.
The speakers, SJSU’s Sulaiman Hyatt and Shahid Ali, along with De Anza student and MEChA member, Anthony Choice, used the performance time allotted to MEChA to speak about the “oppressive” nations. The speech included statements about the definition of an oppressive nation and how the four countries practice it, according to students and community members present at the event, and La Voz, De Anza’s student paper. The moderator of the event, Inter-Club Council (ICC) Chair of Programs, Hala Hyatt, is responsible for ICC-sponsored events, according to ICC Chair, Sarah Joy Callahan. Her position as chair of programs requires her to emcee the yearly event. Ms. Hyatt is the sister of one of the speakers, Sulaiman Hyatt.
Mr. Hyatt stated on Tuesday that he had been invited to speak by the ICC, and collaborated with Choice to utilize MEChA’s time slot for the speech. Mr. Hyatt stated that he was speaking on behalf of “MSA Bay Area.” Hyatt said he used the Latino-advocacy time because MEChA has more to do with just Latino issues, and said he spoke at the event because “action needed to be taken.” The performances for Club Day, including the speech, were predetermined by a sign-up sheet that stated only the time and name of the club.
Hyatt said that he has done several speeches with similar content, and that his sister, and De Anza’s ICC Chair of Programs, Hala Hyatt has been present at some of these events.
ICC Chair, Callahan, said that the performances are not screened beforehand because the clubs are trusted to have performances that do not violate the ICC Code. The Code states in Article IV Mutual Respect, that “all activity planned by a club must be socially acceptable…” and must be “mutually respectful to the diversity of our campus when planning events…” Section D states “Clubs must not advertise/promote negative items about another club.”
Ms. Callahan stated, “I’m not going to say it doesn’t look bad.” Hala Hyatt was unavailable for comment, but Ms. Callahan stated, “If Hala did something to violate the Code she swore to uphold, it would have been out of ignorance and not malicious intent.” Callahan said, “Even if she had a lapse of judgment—which is not good—but [we should] make the punishment fit the crime.” She said that ultimately, failure for an ICC officer to uphold the Code would result in expulsion, but the issue must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Sulaiman Hyatt held a meeting for a group at SJSU’s MOSAIC room Tuesday afternoon, a group he referred to as “Concerned Students,” whose goal is to try to correct the “fundamental flaws of the MSA” (Muslim Student Association). In the meeting, Mr. Hyatt spoke about the Muslim community’s need to become more active. He said that he aims to use events to “kick somebody in the nuts and see how they respond.” He said that the speech at De Anza was meant to cause uproar on campus. “Mission accomplished.” Mr. Hyatt said. Another member of the group, who identified himself as “Bob,” said that the group will meet a lot of opposition, especially from the Zionist movement, and the group should not worry about this opposition because they have experience dealing with it.
Mr. Hyatt said that the group’s main issues address 9/11, Zionism, the Iraq War, and Black Power. On Zionism, Hyatt stated, “Israel is a state that needs to be dissolved. That is the only way to deal with the issue.”
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Club Day speaker names Israel as oppressive nation in front of sukkah
Three speakers, under the time slot allotted to a latino-advocacy group, gave speeches about oppressive nations, including Israel, in front of Jewish club booth, according to De Anza students and other witnesses.
Anthony Choice, of the De Anza Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Atzlan (MEChA), voiced his opinion about the oppression imposed by four countries: the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. The speech was given on Thursday, Oct. 20, on Club Day, where different clubs on campus were allowed time and space to present and promote their clubs. One of the clubs present was Jews, Israelis, and Friends (JIF), who had a sukkah set up in celebration of a Jewsih Holiday, were positioned in close proximity to the speakers, and some witnesses felt the speech may have been directed to their booth and that the speakers were aware of the booth and JIF.
Club Day is put on by Inter-Club Council (ICC) as a day for clubs to present themselves and use time on the mic to speak to the students. ICC mediates the clubs and on Club Day, introduced the speakers and orchestrated the event. MEChA is a regional organization, with clubs on many campuses, including San Jose State, that organizes to help rasie money for latino children, among other activities. Acoording to several witnesses present at the event, a man with dreadlocks, later identified as Anthony Choice of MEChA, used the latino-advocacy club's time allotment to give a specch about oppressive nations. He named, in order, the U. S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa, say witnesses. The speech was given in front of the JIF booth, among others. The booth featured a sukkah made of several pieces of wood, with a large Israeli flag painted on two sides.
The other two speakers were described as wearing a black power T-shirt and a tradtitional Muslim garb, possibly Egyptian. Witnesses also say that the event's moderator, a female student high up in the ICC, thanked the speakers by name. One witness says that she called one "brother."
JIF students did not react publicly to the speech, but people at the booth report that they were confused about why the speakers were there, because one or two of the men were from San Jose State. One Jewish student, and potential JIF member, said the speakers spoke about wanting peace in a preaching manner, but raised their voices and increased hand gestures when they spoke about oppression. Some JIF members wanted to issue a rebuttal, but decided not to, to "be civil." Another De Anza student and active JIF member, Ryan Medeiros, said the group did not stand up and say anything because he felt it would have shown that they were insulted, which is what the speakers wanted.
"There was a lot of emotion going on," said Anna Kirshon, a De Anza JIF member. Kirshon said she wasn't offended as far as politics go, but could see how others might be. "To me, their tone sounded offensive." Rebecca Reice, a staff member at Hillel of Silicon Valley, said she does not believe that the issue involves the Muslim Student Association (MSA).
One student did speak in response to the oppression speakers, given time at the end of the MSA's time slot. Jeremy Zimmer, a New College student, was at Club Day gaining membership for a club called Students for Justice (SFJ). Zimmer, a Jewish student, but not affiliated with any campus Jewish organization, spoke to the crowd, saying that not all Israelis are supportive of what the government does. Zimmer said later that he felt compelled to speak in response to Choice because he felt the issues are more complicated than presented. He said the situation in each of these four places is different and that the distinction is important. He said the information was not being used in a productive way. Zimmer aims to create a peace coalition with SFJ to open discussions between conflicting groups, where groups should listen to all views before telling others how to feel or act in order to create an understanding that not everyone will agree but they must have mutual respect in order to open communication. He said that fifteen seconds of ranting will cause the entire system to fail.
ICC chair, Sarah Joy Callahan, De Anza MSA president, and a San Jose MSA member, did not respond to e-mail and phone inquiries. Anthony Choice could not be contacted for comment.
Anthony Choice, of the De Anza Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Atzlan (MEChA), voiced his opinion about the oppression imposed by four countries: the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. The speech was given on Thursday, Oct. 20, on Club Day, where different clubs on campus were allowed time and space to present and promote their clubs. One of the clubs present was Jews, Israelis, and Friends (JIF), who had a sukkah set up in celebration of a Jewsih Holiday, were positioned in close proximity to the speakers, and some witnesses felt the speech may have been directed to their booth and that the speakers were aware of the booth and JIF.
Club Day is put on by Inter-Club Council (ICC) as a day for clubs to present themselves and use time on the mic to speak to the students. ICC mediates the clubs and on Club Day, introduced the speakers and orchestrated the event. MEChA is a regional organization, with clubs on many campuses, including San Jose State, that organizes to help rasie money for latino children, among other activities. Acoording to several witnesses present at the event, a man with dreadlocks, later identified as Anthony Choice of MEChA, used the latino-advocacy club's time allotment to give a specch about oppressive nations. He named, in order, the U. S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa, say witnesses. The speech was given in front of the JIF booth, among others. The booth featured a sukkah made of several pieces of wood, with a large Israeli flag painted on two sides.
The other two speakers were described as wearing a black power T-shirt and a tradtitional Muslim garb, possibly Egyptian. Witnesses also say that the event's moderator, a female student high up in the ICC, thanked the speakers by name. One witness says that she called one "brother."
JIF students did not react publicly to the speech, but people at the booth report that they were confused about why the speakers were there, because one or two of the men were from San Jose State. One Jewish student, and potential JIF member, said the speakers spoke about wanting peace in a preaching manner, but raised their voices and increased hand gestures when they spoke about oppression. Some JIF members wanted to issue a rebuttal, but decided not to, to "be civil." Another De Anza student and active JIF member, Ryan Medeiros, said the group did not stand up and say anything because he felt it would have shown that they were insulted, which is what the speakers wanted.
"There was a lot of emotion going on," said Anna Kirshon, a De Anza JIF member. Kirshon said she wasn't offended as far as politics go, but could see how others might be. "To me, their tone sounded offensive." Rebecca Reice, a staff member at Hillel of Silicon Valley, said she does not believe that the issue involves the Muslim Student Association (MSA).
One student did speak in response to the oppression speakers, given time at the end of the MSA's time slot. Jeremy Zimmer, a New College student, was at Club Day gaining membership for a club called Students for Justice (SFJ). Zimmer, a Jewish student, but not affiliated with any campus Jewish organization, spoke to the crowd, saying that not all Israelis are supportive of what the government does. Zimmer said later that he felt compelled to speak in response to Choice because he felt the issues are more complicated than presented. He said the situation in each of these four places is different and that the distinction is important. He said the information was not being used in a productive way. Zimmer aims to create a peace coalition with SFJ to open discussions between conflicting groups, where groups should listen to all views before telling others how to feel or act in order to create an understanding that not everyone will agree but they must have mutual respect in order to open communication. He said that fifteen seconds of ranting will cause the entire system to fail.
ICC chair, Sarah Joy Callahan, De Anza MSA president, and a San Jose MSA member, did not respond to e-mail and phone inquiries. Anthony Choice could not be contacted for comment.
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