From the California Post: The Undergraduate Students Association Council claimed hosting Hamas torture survivor Omer Shem Tov “obscured the broader reality of ongoing state violence.” UCLA was quick to slam the group’s comments and one member broke ranks to brand it “blatantly disrespectful” and revealed it was released without everyone present to vote on it. The council president also said he was not present when it was decided. The college’s Hillel brought in the 23-year-old to discuss his harrowing 505 days in the tunnels under Gaza at the hands of the terrorists after he was snatched during the October 7 massacre. He spoke at an event to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 14 — which was attended by chancellor Julio Frenk — and was widely celebrated by the university’s Jewish students.
...[Undergraduate Student Association Council] president Diego Bollo told The Post he was not present at the meeting, and that the councilmember who introduced the letter did so on a day when a councilmember who had promoted Omer’s event was not present to share her perspective and knowledge of the event. Bollo also said the letter was passed by a “bare majority.”
“I acknowledge that this reflects a lapse in oversight on my part as President, and I take responsibility for that institutional shortcoming. To address this issue, I am initiating a review immediately of our internal processes for drafting and releasing public statements,” Bollo told The Post. “I deeply value free speech and free expression on our campus. I have worked throughout my term to ensure that the university supports all student groups in hosting speakers and a wide range of programming. Free speech is a principle I do not compromise on — regardless of the nature or subject of any given event,” he added. ...Talia Davood, who is Jewish and on the council, said: “What left me particularly speechless was the decision to bring this forward on the night of Yom HaShoah — a day dedicated to mourning the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust... She added: “I want to recognize that not all officers present tonight were at the meeting last week. I also want to make it clear that my office condemns doxxing of any kind.” ...
...UCLA released a statement following the student body’s letter, saying: “The event’s message was one of resilience and respect for human rights and dignity — a message we support. “We stand by UCLA Hillel, UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and the UCLA chapter of Students Supporting Israel’s invitation to have this very important dialogue, which occurred on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. “We firmly stand against violence of any kind. Omer Shem Tov spoke with students and other members of the community with the chancellor and Dr. Felicia Knaul in attendance, and the event occurred without any disruption.
“We will review the process by which this letter was issued. The condemnation of such a peaceful event to share a story of resilience in the face of extreme suffering is antithetical to the values of our Bruin community.” ...
Jewish students make up an estimated 9% of UCLA’s undergraduate population, or roughly 3,100 to 4,000 students.
Full story at https://nypost.com/2026/04/22/us-news/ucla-students-protest-israeli-hostages-campus-visit/.
And there was one more letter yours truly found on the web:
No comments:
Post a Comment