Groups denounce speech at Irvine

Two Jewish groups are demanding that the chancellor at U.C. Irvine denounce an anti-Israel, anti-Semitic speaker hosted by a campus Muslim group.

The Zionist Organization of America and the Orange County chapter of the Anti-Defamation League have asked Michael Drake to condemn the May 13 speech by Amir Abdel Malik Ali and revoke the charter of the Muslim Student Union that hosted him.

In his speech, delivered as part of Israel Apartheid Week, an annual event on several campuses, Malik Ali compared Jews to Nazis and said Muslim students should not engage in dialogue with them.

Jews would not be expected to sit down with Nazis “for tea and cake,” Malik Ali said. Then, referring to Jewish students, he said, “You all are the new Nazis. So we’re saying, we ain’t sitting down with you for tea and crumpets.”

In a May 17 letter to Drake, ZOA leaders insisted, “It is your obligation to ensure that these deplorable circumstances finally stop.”

Drake condemned the speech but has refrained from denouncing Malik Ali by name or taking action against the Muslim Student Association. — jta