Student Israel activists passed out anti-BDS flyers during Brooklyn College event

http://mondoweiss.net/2013/02/tablet-student-activists.html

Tablet magazine published a story today that claims that "four students affiliated with Hillel were ousted" from last night's Brooklyn College talk on the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. But they only quote from the students themselves--and get much of what occurred wrong, according to witnesses I spoke to. The reporter who wrote the story was clearly not at the event, and did not reach out to the student organizers of the event to get their side of the dispute.
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According to Sarah Aly, a student volunteer with Students for Justice in Palestine at Brooklyn College who witnessed the mini-controversy, the students were passing out anti-BDS flyers in the middle of the event, while Judith Butler was talking--contra the claim that they had flyers "in their laps." They were also talking during the event. When a student volunteer asked them to stop passing out the flyers and to quiet down, the Hillel-affiliated activists refused. That's when a volunteer asked a security guard to remove them. Two other witnesses who preferred not to have their names published also confirmed this story to me. So yes, these students were removed, and you can debate whether that was the right move or not. But it wasn't about them getting kicked out because they were "pro-Israel" or had flyers "in their laps."
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So here Tablet is implying students were turned away because they were Jewish. But that's false. In fact, I sat in front of two attendees who were wearing kippahs and clearly Jewish.


Sucks when you get it wrong. Better luck next time oberliner.

No, Tablet did not "get it wrong" just because Alex Kane and a "student volunteer with Students for Justice in Palestine" say so.

Incidentally, the two attendees who were wearing kippahs wouldn't happen to have been members of Neturei Karta would they?

It's like no one has ever heard of reporting any more. Just score one for the team!

There are two sides to every story, no?

So why is the first story any more valid than the second?

You really need to get beyond this agitation over articles from magazines you don't like.

Melanie Goldberg, an Israel Campus Coalition intern says she and three other students were escorted out by security because they would not relinquish BDS fact sheets that were in their possession.

“One of the SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine, which organized the event) members came over and got really close to my face and told me to give him the sheets, or he would call security. I told him I would not. We were simply taking notes so we could ask informed questions like we were encouraged to do by the school and Political Science Department,” Goldberg told The Algemeiner.

The SJP member, identified only as Carlos, alerted security who then made Goldberg and the other three students leave.

Brooklyn College Vice President Milga Morales was nearby during the incident, but when asked to intervene by Goldberg declined to do so.

http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/02/08/efforts-to-shut-down-dissent-at-anti-israel-brooklyn-college-event-reported/

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/4-jews-tossed-bds-meet-article-1.1259347

College officials and a member of pro-Palestinian group countered that Goldberg and fellow Hillel members Yvonne Juris, and brothers Avi and Michael Ziegler, were being “disruptive” and started distributing flyers during the event.


“Based on official reports, they were being quite disruptive,” said college spokesman Jeremy Thompson. “They were asked to quiet down so they wouldn’t disturb the other attendees around them. After not complying, they were escorted from the building.”


There's seems to be contradictions to what Goldberg is claiming.

Students arrested for heckling Oren at Irvine speech

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/02/09/1010535/oren-heckled-by-arab-students-in-la

vs



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/4-jews-tossed-bds-meet-article-1.1259347#ixzz2KSYsc5sw

There are entire websites devoted to supporting the "Irvine 11" like they are some kind of heroes.

for disrupting that event, whereas these students were just kicked out.

Glad to see that the pro-Israel contingent's enthusiasm for free speech has returned. Granted, it was at an event that they think should have been shut down and not allowed to proceed in the first place, but still, its progress.

In fact, none of the claims by anyone say that these students actually disrupted the event.

The most they are accused of is passing out flyers (which they deny doing) and quietly talking.

In fact, every report of this event says that it went on without incident or disruption of any kind.

In Irvine, the folks loudly shouted out phrases repeatedly over and over again making it essentially impossible for the speaker to proceed.

In Brooklyn, there was nothing remotely like this reported by anyone.

was there in fact, no one in attendance who did not support BDS and asked questions?

Or are you saying these four were it and they were escorted out?

however, I think distributing flyers whilst the event is proceeding is something with which the organisers could legitimately take issue. They were given the option of handing over their flyers or leaving, and they evidently chose the latter.

The four students claim they were reading their own flyers in order to educate themselves:-

Its up to you whether you want to believe that or not. Frankly, they must be especially dense if they can't think of questions to ask without referring to their own flyers. But even if it were true, they would only need to refer to one copy of their flyer, and not a pile of them.

But the bit I liked best was when Dov Hikind let fly on the students behalf:-



Indeed. But then again, an unrepentant former member of a Arab terrorist organisation would probably have been kicked out of the Democratic party years ago. Fortunately for Mr Hikind, he is an unrepentant former member of a Jewish terrorist organisation.

http://www.thenation.com/article/172699/former-terror-suspect-leading-attack-brooklyn-college-bds-panel#

I have to say, though, Michael Bloomberg seems to understand issues of free speech and freedom of religion a lot better than most Democrats.