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Letter to Georgetown Administration, 3 January 2006 Followup letter, 9 January 2006 Letter regarding ISM's recruitment of "martyrs" Jan Poller's letter to Georgetown Lee Kaplan's letter to Georgetown Letter of January 15: Charlotte Kates advocates terrorism against children |
Georgetown University hosts Palestine Solidarity Movement Conference The following letters are proof that Georgetown University's administration, including President John DeGioia, are fully aware of the nature of the Palestine Solidarity Movement (also known as the International Solidarity Movement). If they allow the divestment conference to proceed in mid-Feburary, they are KNOWINGLY AND WILLFULLY hosting an event with terrorist connections. OPEN LETTER posted to Israpundit and United American Committee (3 January 2006) (See also http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20716, "Georgetown's Jihad" by Lee Kaplan) To: Dr. John DeGioia, President, Georgetown University president "at" georgetown.edu Dr. Daniel R. Porterfield, Office of Public Affairs, Georgetown University Subject: Use of Georgetown facilities by terrorist advocates and accomplices Dear Dr. DeGioia, Dr. Porterfield, I am writing to alert you to a very serious prospective abuse of Georgetown University's meeting facilities by an organization with terrorist connections. The Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM, also known as the International Solidarity Movement or ISM), which has scheduled its Fifth Annual Divestment [from Israel] Conference at Georgetown University, February 17-19, 2006, obviously lied to Georgetown staff and administrators about its objectives and background in order to gain the use of GU facilities and the prestige and perceived legitimacy that goes with them. I am confident that, once GU verifies the following items for itself, it will cancel the event and permanently ban the Palestine Solidarity Movement from coming onto GU property for any purpose whatsoever. This is what the PSM says on its Web site, http://www.palestinesolidaritymovement.org/ Washington, DC, December 23rd, 2005 – The Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM) announced today that its fifth annual conference will be held February 17th through 19th at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. The annual conference comes to Georgetown's campus, which possesses a Catholic and Jesuit identity, on the heels of a series of bold initiatives taken by the decision-making bodies of various Christian denominations to consider the use of divestment as a tactic to non-violently influence a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The event will be hosted by Georgetown University's Students for Justice in Palestine (GU-SJP) on behalf of PSM, a coalition of North American organizations dedicated to implementing divestment and boycott strategies as a component of human rights activism in order to realize both equality and justice for all people residing within Israel/Palestine Note, incidentally, that a BOYCOTT of Israel, if done in cooperation with a foreign government or possibly a governmental entity like the Palestinian Authority, may violate U.S. antiboycott laws. (I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.) More to the point, however, are four things that ISM/PSM doubtlessly "forgot" to tell GU when it scheduled the use of its facilities. (1) ADVOCACY OF TERRORISTIC VIOLENCE ISM/PSM does not commit acts of terrorism but its spokespeople are on record as advocating the use of terroristic violence in Israel. Adam Shapiro, who is going to be one of the Divestment Conference's speakers, has personally advocated terrorism as shown below. Note that freepalestinecampaign.org is a site friendly to ISM/PSM and it is reporting the ISM leaders' remarks. http://www.freepalestinecampaign.org/attacks_on_ISM.htm Two of the ISM's leaders, Adam Shapiro and his wife, Huwaida Arraf, defended the use of violence against Israelis in a January 2002 article in the Palestine Chronicle: "The Palestinian resistance must take on a variety of characteristics -- both nonviolent and violent. But most importantly it must develop a strategy involving both aspects... [W]e accept that Palestinians have a right to resist with arms, as they are an occupied people upon whom force and violence is being used. The Geneva Conventions accept that armed resistance is legitimate for an occupied people, and there is no doubt that this right cannot be denied." http://www.thejewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=2709 Charlotte Kates, the organizer of the New Jersey Solidarity Movement -- an offshoot of the International Solidarity Movement -- has refused to condemn homicide bombings and other means of “armed resistance.” (2) FACILITATING, AIDING, AND ABETTING TERRORISM ISM personnel have committed actions that, if done in the United States, would probably constitute serious felonies (e.g. aiding terrorists, material support to terrorists). http://home.comcast.net/~jat.action/ISM_info.htm Susan Barclay, the ISM organizer deported by Israel after she hid Islamic Jihad terrorist Shadi Sukiya in the ISM office in Jenin, told the Seattle Post Intelligencer that, "she knowingly worked with representatives from Hamas and Islamic Jihad -- terrorist groups that sponsor suicide bombings and exist, according to their charters, to demolish the Jewish state entirely." (Seattle Post Intelligencer, Thursday March 20, 2003, Activist's death focuses spotlight on Mideast struggle, By Sam Skolnik, Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter. http://israelbehindthenews.com/Archives/Jul-04-03.htm#agitate Days before a British suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt in Mike's Place, a bar in suburban Tel Aviv, the bomber and an associate took tea with members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian group that promotes non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation. (3) A HISTORY OF VIOLENT THREATS, CONTRARY TO GU's CODE OF CONDUCT Georgetown University's Code of Conduct's Preamble states, "Especially intolerable in view of the University's commitment to respect for the person are offenses against persons because of their race, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation." However, per http://www.standwithus.com/news_post.asp?NPI=85 (and other online sources), "Recently, the Director of the Solidarity Movement, George Rishmawi, explained to the San Francisco Chronicle that the recruitment of American student volunteers is useful to the Palestinian Movement because 'if some of these foreign volunteers get shot or even killed, then the international media will sit up and take notice.' When the Solidarity Movement met at the University of Michigan, delegates chanted 'Kill the Jews.'" A repetition of this behavior— chanting "Kill the Jews" or for that matter a chant to kill anyone else— could easily embarrass the university and might even result in the police being called. I am not an attorney and I don't know the point at which conduct crosses the line from freedom of expression to incitement to riot but these are not the kind of people I would want anywhere near my property, much less on it. (4) AIDING AND ABETTING PERSECUTORS OF CHRISTIANS I am not sure how GU's Catholic alumni and benefactors feel about GU allowing its facilities to be used to aid and abet, at least indirectly, the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. Here is what the PSM's Palestinian friends are doing in areas that are now under their control: http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=44202&eng=y "The general plan of Hamas also includes the imposition of a special tax, called al-jeziya, upon all of the non-Muslim residents in the Palestinian territories. This tax revives the one applied through all of Islamic history to the dhimmi, the second-class Jewish and Christian citizens." "In an interview with Karby Legget, published in the December 23-26 edition of “The Wall Street Journal,” Masalmeh, the leader of the Hamas contingent at the municipal council of Bethlehem, confirmed: “We in Hamas intend to implement this tax someday. We say it openly – we welcome everyone to Palestine but only if they agree to live under our rules.” " Palestinian Christians Face Persecution By Chris Mitchell, Christian Broadcasting Network http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/051219a.asp?option=print WEST BANK - Two thousand years after the birth of Christ, Christians are leaving the Holy Land in record numbers, and a new report suggests persecution against Palestinian believers is getting worse. "…since Israel withdrew from the Palestinian populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza …[Christians] fear for their own lives, they fear for their own family, they fear for the future of their community." Speaking of anti-Christian persecutions, GU should also be aware that its $20 million donor, Al-Waleed bin Talal, represents a country in which the practice of Christianity is illegal. I am not sure why he is giving money to "promote Muslim-Christian understanding" when the Royal Family he represents routinely persecutes and punishes people for being Christians. (Conversion to Christianity from Islam may even be punishable by beheading.) As just a couple of examples of what Mr. bin Talal represents, From Catholic World News, 20 September 1996 "In Saudi Arabia, where American troops stand ready to protect an autocratic regime, no form of Christian worship is allowed. It is illegal to celebrate Mass, to wear a cross or crucifix, to read or own a Bible, or even to recite a Christian prayer in the privacy of one's own home. Last December, seven foreigners living in Saudi Arabia were arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for participating in a private Christmas celebration." http://www.persecution.org/Countries/saudi_arabia.html "May 18, 2002 - Filipino Christians Benjamin Diaz and Danilo de Guzman were deported to Manila. They were charged for the possession of Christian CDs and a Bible, which were confiscated during a raid on their home in March of 2001. Though sentenced to 150 lashes, the two were deported after a month in prison and paying a fine for possession of the Christian materials." REQUESTED ACTION I am confident that, once Georgetown University's administration verifies the truth of the above items for itself, it will tell the ISM/PSM to find another location for its divestment conference and permanently ban it from using GU facilities and resources for any purpose whatsoever. Followup letter of 9 January 2006 To: President DeGioia, Dr. Erik Smulson, Communications Department (also posted to Israpundit) cc: The Hoya I saw the following on Georgetown's official Web site. http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=12183 "The Georgetown University Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) will sponsor the fifth annual national conference of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement on the campus of Georgetown University from February 17 to 19, 2006. At Georgetown, any student organization with access to University benefits, such as SJP, may reserve available facilities for its events. In 2004 the conference was held at Duke University. In 2003 it was held at the University of Michigan, in 2002 at Ohio State University, and earlier in 2002 at the University of California at Berkeley."This letter's purpose is to put it ON RECORD that Georgetown University has been advised of the Palestine Solidarity Movement's true nature and history. These include advocacy and facilitation of terroristic violence, an openly-stated stated willingness to get student volunteers injured or killed to get international media attention, and use of violent hate speech at another university. GU can verify the following information by doing independent Google searches for the items in question and need not (and should not) merely rely on my statements. The Palestine Solidarity Movement, also known as the International Solidarity Movement: (1) Openly advocates terroristic violence (2) Has facilitated terroristic violence abroad (3) Has engaged in violent hate speech contrary to GU's own Code of Conduct (4) Has stated openly its intention to recruit American college students for the purpose of getting them hurt or even killed in confrontation with Israeli security forces (like Evergreen College student Rachel Corrie) Most of this information was sent to the following addresses last week [E-mail addresses removed or broken on this page to defeat spam software]: president "at" georgetown.edu (President DeGioia)(1) ADVOCACY OF TERRORISTIC VIOLENCE, INCLUDING SUICIDE BOMBING Adam Shapiro, who is going to be one of the Divestment Conference's speakers, has personally advocated terrorism as shown here. http://www.freepalestinecampaign.org/attacks_on_ISM.htm (Quoting Adam Shapiro and Huwaida Arraf): "The Palestinian resistance must take on a variety of characteristics -- both nonviolent and violent. But most importantly it must develop a strategy involving both aspects... [W]e accept that Palestinians have a right to resist with arms, as they are an occupied people upon whom force and violence is being used. The Geneva Conventions accept that armed resistance is legitimate for an occupied people, and there is no doubt that this right cannot be denied." http://www.thejewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=2709 Charlotte Kates, the organizer of the New Jersey Solidarity Movement -- an offshoot of the International Solidarity Movement -- has refused to condemn homicide bombings and other means of “armed resistance.” (2) FACILITATING, AIDING, AND ABETTING TERRORISM ISM personnel have committed actions that, if done in the United States, would probably constitute serious felonies (e.g. aiding terrorists, material support to terrorists) as defined in U.S. Code Section 18. Not legal advice as I am not a lawyer. http://home.comcast.net/~jat.action/ISM_info.htm Susan Barclay, the ISM organizer deported by Israel after she hid Islamic Jihad terrorist Shadi Sukiya in the ISM office in Jenin, told the Seattle Post Intelligencer that, "she knowingly worked with representatives from Hamas and Islamic Jihad -- terrorist groups that sponsor suicide bombings and exist, according to their charters, to demolish the Jewish state entirely." (Seattle Post Intelligencer, Thursday March 20, 2003, Activist's death focuses spotlight on Mideast struggle, By Sam Skolnik, Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter. http://israelbehindthenews.com/Archives/Jul-04-03.htm#agitate Days before a British suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt in Mike's Place, a bar in suburban Tel Aviv, the bomber and an associate took tea with members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian group that promotes non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation. (3) A HISTORY OF VIOLENT THREATS, CONTRARY TO GU's CODE OF CONDUCT (4) RECRUITMENT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF GETTING THEM HURT OR KILLED IN CONFRONTATIONS WITH ISRAELI SECURITY FORCES Georgetown University's Code of Conduct's Preamble states, "Especially intolerable in view of the University's commitment to respect for the person are offenses against persons because of their race, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation." However, per http://www.standwithus.com/news_post.asp?NPI=85 (and other online sources), "Recently, the Director of the Solidarity Movement, George Rishmawi, explained to the San Francisco Chronicle that the recruitment of American student volunteers is useful to the Palestinian Movement because 'if some of these foreign volunteers get shot or even killed, then the international media will sit up and take notice.' When the Solidarity Movement met at the University of Michigan, delegates chanted 'Kill the Jews.'" The first part of this statement, recruitment of American student volunteers for the purpose of getting them hurt or killed for media exposure, is backed by a Hamas terrorist's statement about peace activist Rachel Corrie, an Evergreen College student who was killed in an accident with an Israeli bulldozer: "'Her death serves me more than it served her,' said one activist at a Hamas funeral yesterday. '...Her death will bring more attention than the other 2,000 martyrs.'" Making of a Martyr by Sandra Jordan, Guardian Newspapers. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/3-22-2003-37821.asp Rachel was working with the ISM/PSM at the time and, although several other ISM members were standing nearby, none made any identifiable effort (as shown by their own testimony on Web sites friendly to the ISM/PSM) to pull her out of the slowly-moving bulldozer's path when it became obvious that the vehicle, for whatever reason, was not going to stop. If I were a GU parent, these are not the kinds of people with whom I would want my son or daughter to become involved. The ISM/PSM's First Amendment right to express ideas does not entitle it to the use of Georgetown's privately-owned facilities to advocate terrorism, recruit students to support terrorism, or advance the goals of the Palestinian Authority (which is on record as sanctioning violence against women, gays, and lesbians as well as persecution of Christians in areas under its control). I assume that Georgetown would refuse to allow the Ku Klux Klan to hold a rally on GU property even if no crosses were burned in places off limits to open fires, and the same standards of decency ought to apply to hosting an organization with terrorist connections. Letter of 9 January documenting the ISM's possible use of Georgetown facilities to recruit "martyrs" (Also posted to Israpundit) To: president "at" georgetown.edu (President DeGioia) Public Safety (Dr. Erik Smulson, requesting it to be forwarded to Dr. Porterfield) gucomm "at" georgetown.edu (Georgetown Communications) Risk Management) Gentlemen, It has just come to my attention that one of the speakers/ leaders of the Palestine Solidarity Movement's divestment conference at Georgetown, Nadeem Muaddi, has published material that calls for Christians to become "martyrs" for the Palestinian cause. His use of the phrase "whatever the cost" suggests that the actions involved may indeed cost the lives of the so-called "martyrs" he is recruiting, although this does not necessarily require them to commit a violent felony like suicide bombing; standing in front of an armored bulldozer (as they encouraged Rachel Corrie to do) also would work. He adds, by the way, "If this “cost” so happens to be death, then one will have become a martyr." You may want to run his statements by an attorney who is qualified to interpret the statement, "it’s about time more Christians step forward and offer themselves up as martyrs for a true and just resolution to the Palestinian Issue" in the context of the rest of Mr. Muaddi's article to determine exactly what he is soliciting his audience to do. ================================== (1) Proof of Nadeem Muaddi's participation in the divestment conference http://www.palestinesolidaritymovement.org/pressrelease.htm CONTACT: Nadeem Muaddi Spokesperson Palestine Solidarity Movement Phone: (484) 431 – 7432 Email: media@palestinesolidaritymovement.org Palestine Solidarity Movement to Hold its Fifth Annual Divestment Conference at Georgetown University, February 17-19, 2006 ======================================== (2) Call for Christians to become "martyrs" for Palestine http://www.jerusalemites.org/articles/english/july2005/30.htm Also http://ramallahonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2257 (Ramallah Online) July. 30. 2005 A Call for Christian Martyrdom by Nadeem Muaddi [Entire article was sent to GU's administration, excerpts only here] But if Christians are indeed required to follow Christ’s example by bearing witness to the virtues of peace, truth, love, and justice – “whatever the cost” – then why have millions of Christians either remained silent or avoided turning their words into deeds on the issue of Palestinian suffering? Bishop Younan faithfully claims that “Martyria is the Via Dolorosa with resurrection”. If this interpretation of “a theology of martyria” is correct, then it’s about time more Christians step forward and offer themselves up as martyrs for a true and just resolution to the Palestinian Issue. * Nadeem Muaddi is a graduate student at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He can be reached at Nadeem_Muaddi@yahoo.com. Jan Poller's letter to Georgetown (appears by his permission), 9 January 2006 Dear President DeGioia: Below is an article by Mr. Nadeem Muaddi, a Christian spokesman for the International Solidarity Movement/Palestinian Solidarity Movement. I highlighted some pertinent quotes. What reaction do you expect from the parents when they find out that Georgetown University considers it “free speech” to allow agents of a foreign government (The ISM is controlled by Palestinian organizations in Palestine) to recruit their children for missions that are likely to result in their injury or death? Like the Ward Churchill story, this story is going to spread far beyond Academia. Jan Mel Poller [phone number provided to President DeGioia] Some links to the article: http://www.jerusalemites.org/articles/english/july2005/30.htm http://www.hcef.org/hcef/index.cfm/mod/news/ID/16/SubMod/NewsView/NewsID/1331.cfm http://www.ramallahonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=2257 [The entire article was sent to President DeGioia] Letter sent by Lee Kaplan, 11 January 2006 Dear President De Gioia;Letter sent on 15 January 2006: PSM spokeswomen advocates terroristic attacks on children Posted to IsraPundit as well The following E-mail was sent this morning, to Georgetown University Administration, Georgetown Risk Management, and The Hoya [GU's student newspaper]. The Hoya is welcome to contact me at [phone number given] to discuss the ISM and PSM further. Note that this communication documents the fact that GU's administration has been informed of these matters and cannot later claim ignorance as an excuse if it allows the conference to proceed. ==================== "Charlotte Kates is a spokesperson for the group New Jersey Solidarity. A self-professed Communist, she joined the Communist party at age 13 and her favorite book is State and Revolution, by Lenin. As of May 2004, the 23-year-old Kates was a law student at Rutgers University, and was also a leader of the Palestine Solidarity Movement on that campus." Ms. Kates: (1) Leader of Rutgers University's Palestine Solidarity Movement "This meeting was originally set to take place at Rutgers University, but organizers moved it to OSU when Rutgers University had the good sense to cancel it. However, the cancellation only took place after Rutgers organizer Charlotte Kates publicly declared that Israeli children are "legitimate" targets of suicide bombers. Kates took part in the OSU meeting, where she was joined by many other radical activists advocating the destruction of Israel "by any means necessary."" SO THE PSM IS ALSO LYING TO GEORGETOWN'S ADMINISTRATION AND THE GEORGETOWN COMMUNITY ABOUT ITS TRUE AGENDA, WHICH IS TO DESTROY A COUNTRY THAT IS FRIENDLY TO THE UNITED STATES. Furthermore, I found a very disturbing opinion column that was written by Naeem Muaddi, the Palestine Solidarity Movement spokesperson who recently threatened to sue me for my less-than-favorable interpretation on his call for Christians to offer themselves as "martyrs" for the Palestinian cause. (See Al-Awda member Raja Chemayel's alleged definition of "martyrs" below, by the way; depending on which ISM/PSM person is speaking and when he is speaking, the definition ranges from emergency service workers to human shields to suicide bombers.) Here is the link to Mr. Muaddi's opinion column, "Suicide Bombing: Not the Issue" It is well known that the International Solidarity Movement, of which the PSM is the student branch, openly endorses terroristic violence and has in fact given safe house assistance to terrorists in Israel. Although the PSM claims it is separate from the ISM, considerable evidence to the contrary has been posted and there is no doubt whatsoever that the two groups are closely interlocked. Now we have Nadeem Muaddi, an official spokesperson of the PSM, who takes a very ambivalent stand toward terroristic bombings of civilians. Most importantly, "Suicide Bombing: Not the Issue" says, Though I am not offering a justification for the practice of suicide bombing or any other violent act, I am explicitly stating the source of this violence. Since Sept. of 2000, 3,805 innocent Palestinians and 1,017 innocent Israelis have been murdered as a direct result of the violence stemming out of Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian land and its people. This is like saying, "I cannot offer any justification for rape but the woman was asking for it by wearing skimpy clothing." This statement condemns and excuses rape in the same breath, just as Muaddi manages to condemn and excuse terrorism in a single paragraph. His article then says, Israel violently oppresses the Palestinians, while Palestinians are sometimes forced to violently resist this oppression. ...It is clear that the only effective solution to the conflict is to end the occupation. The first sentence says Israel is "forcing" the Palestinians to commit terroristic violence against hospitals, Seders, women, children, and male noncombatants. The last is a fairly clear statement that the terrorism won't end until Israel ends its occupation. (As shown by the Arabs' long litany of terroristic violence prior to 1967, even this statement is simply not believable.) This is, at least to me, a tacit endorsement of terrorism as a means of achieving geopolitical goals. Muaddi also says, "Sadly, [pro-Israel] organizations and individuals perpetuate the myth that Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine is justified and mandatory to protect against Palestinian suicide bombers. This, however, is proven false solely by the fact that the first Palestinian suicide bombing occurred in 1994, 27 years after the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip first began." This demonstrates either the writer's ignorance of the facts or his choice to ignore them. Even if the first suicide bombing occurred in 1994, it was predated by countless other acts of mindless Palestinian violence toward Israeli civilians such as the Ma'alot school shooting, the Munich Massacre, and pre-1967 acts of terroristic violence that took place WHILE THE GAZA STRIP AND WEST BANK WERE UNDER ARAB CONTROL. Meanwhile, I remind GU's administration that other ISM/PSM leaders
openly endorse terroristic violence and aid and abet terrorists in
Israel. An Al-Awda member (Al-Awda is an affiliate of ISM/PSM) recently
solicited a "martyr" to bomb Ariel Sharon's hospital room. Here is a
portion of the E-mail in question; I won't bother you with the
more-extensive details that have already been sent to the appropriate
law enforcement agencies. Open letter to Dear Abou el Fidda' , If you are next Martyr on the waiting list [directions to Hadassah Hospital were given] Show you Fake-Press-Card to the Security [MY NOTE: This shows that someone has actually done reconnaissance for a suicide bombing mission] you will see a large "VIP-Waiting-Hall" Show again your fake-Press-Card and start Then , order for yourself a cup of coffee, If by then , This man under intensive care will anyhow die, Raja Chemayel |
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