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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/17801/full/17801/anti-zionist-speaker-causes-ruckus-at-s-f-high-school/ <br /><br /> <b>Anti-Zionist speaker causes ruckus at S.F. high school</b> <br /> Friday, May 17, 2002 | by <p>ALEZA GOLDSMITHBulletin Staff </p> <br /><br /><p>Hatem Bazian, a graduate student at U.C. Berkeley with a long history of espousing anti-Zionist rhetoric in the Bay Area, was the lone speaker at the assemblies on May 9.<br /><br /> Billed as a Middle Eastern cultural assembly, it also featured a rap song by a student, in which Zionists were compared to Nazis while students ran back and forth with Palestinian flags, according to those in attendance.<br /><br /> Many Jewish students and faculty claim the assemblies bordered on anti-Semitism and had no place in a public school.<br /><br /> "It was pure pro-Palestinian propaganda," said senior Anna Fishkina, a member of the campus Star of David Club. "Girls came out of that assembly in tears. One girl cried for hours and we couldn't stop her."<br /><br /> Fishkina was particularly concerned that many students attending the assemblies were not well educated enough on Middle East issues to separate fact from fiction.<br /><br /> "I felt angry and a little unsafe," she added. "I couldn't believe this was allowed to go on."<br /><br /> The principal of Washington High School, Andrew Ishibashi, planned to issue an apology this week to those who attended the two separate assemblies. The apology, drafted at the recommendation of the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Anti-Defamation League, was meant to explain that "we were not aware this would turn out to be a political rally promoting one side." It would also affirm that the school, said Ishibashi, "does not endorse, in any way, what was said."<br /><br /> However, it still remains unclear as to who actually helped the students organize the rally and recruit Bazian.<br /><br /> In fact, Ishibashi and other faculty were not certain who the speaker actually was until the school's sign-in sheets were checked on Tuesday, five days after the assemblies. The administrators then found out what Jewish organizations suspected—that it was Bazian who had signed in.<br /><br /> While the assemblies were organized by the Middle Eastern Club and approved by its faculty sponsor, Carrie Camajan, the teacher said she is only the sponsor of record—there to sign forms—and played no part in organizing the events. She said she was unsure of the name of the woman who came from the one of the school's community resources, the Richmond Village Beacon, to assist the students.<br /><br /> Others, including JCRC education specialist Jackie Berman and Washington High School's Star of David Club sponsor Adin Eichler, believe the Beacon employee's name is Angel. Whether or not she contacted Bazian is unknown.<br /><br /> An employee named Angel Ryono did not return phone calls as of press time.<br /><br /> Ultimately, however, Ishibashi said he will take "full responsibility" for the mishap, and will make it a priority to see that future assemblies "are much more carefully reviewed" beforehand.<br /><br /> Berman met with the Star of David Club to address their concerns after the assembly and is continuing to work with them as an educational resource on the history of the Middle East. She said she and the JCRC are "very much appreciative of [Ishibashi's] responsiveness" and look "forward to working with him in the future."<br /><br /> In the meantime, she is trying to arrange a meeting with San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Arelene Ackerman to ensure this type of "problematic event" does not occur on any other campuses.<br /><br /> The Anti-Defamation League will also serve as a resource to the school.<br /><br /> Students from both the Middle Eastern Club and the Star of David Club are currently working together with Ishibashi to organize a more balanced, nonpolitical cultural assembly reflecting "all they share in the Middle East" like dance and music.</p> <p> </p>

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