Day 2 at the UCI/MSU Hate Fest

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


Note the peace-loving lady with the weapon on the wall


Mock Wall showing adapted US flag


Day Two of the Muslim Student Union Festival of Hate at UC-Irvine featured American activist Anna Baltzer, a young Jewish lady who travels from campus to campus giving the same spiel about how Israel is an occupier and oppressor of Palestinians. Ms Baltzer appeared at UCI last year and gave the same presentation.

Baltzer's manner is impressive. She does not come across as a radical. She doesn't clench her fist and shout, "power to the people". She is lady-like and comes across as a moderate, so much unlike most of the other MSU speakers. To be sure, Baltzer, a graduate of Columbia University and Fullbright Scholar, is affiliated with the International Solidarity Movement and International Women for Peace, both Palestinian-advocate organizations that while proclaiming themselves as pro-peace, defend the "right of resistance" of the Palestinians (a pretty wide door). In her previous appearnce at UCI, she said she could understand why Palestinians resorted to violence.

Baltzer went through her historiography of the Jewish state and its "mistreatment" of the Palestinian people. She did, however, gloss over such details as those Arab attacks on Israel beginning in 1948, the countless acts of terror committed against innocents, the more recent suicide bombings, the rockets launched from Gaza (which she did acknowlwdge, but in a manner minimizing the damage and loss of Israeli life as compared to Gazan deaths). She failed to mention that Hamas is still launching rockets into Sderot and southern Israel. As before, she called for the divestment of Israel-so popular on US campuses these days.

Since Baltzer travels so widely promoting her cause, I asked her during the Q&A who paid for her travel and expenses. Her answer was that it comes from her book and DVD sales, book tours and courtesy of her book publisher ("Witness in Palestine"-Paradigm Publishers). She denied that she received funding from the International Solidarity Movement. (She must sell one hell of a lot of books to finance the travel she does.)

Oh, one final thought: If the MSU wants to project a moderate image, they could do better than wear red t-shirts with a passage from that noted man of peace (and cop-killer)H. Rap Brown.