SFSU student may face charges over threats to Jews
Friday, January 5, 2001 | byALEZA GOLDSMITH
A Palestinian student who apparently confessed to leaving a threatening message on the San Francisco Hillel voice mail may face criminal charges as well as disciplinary action.
The San Francisco State student, whose name has not been released, admitted to campus police that he left recorded death threats, including, "I will teach you a very good lesson, you fascist Nazi pigs" and "I will get every single one of you," according to Ligeia Polidora, director of public affairs at SFSU. The message was left at around 2:30 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Hillel office adjacent to the campus.
Although the 31-year-old SFSU student is a member of the General Union of Palestinian Students, he is believed to have acted alone.
The student is also believed to be the same man who threatened a pro-Israel activist, Josh Saidoff, during a Nov. 15 peace rally on the SFSU campus, said Polidora.
Saidoff, a student from Stanford University, was participating in the rally when he said a member of GUPS walked up to him and said, "I'm going to Palestine in two days. I'm going to kill you."
He said he later reported the situation to a campus police detective, Sgt. Debbie Walter, who led the investigation of the Hillel incident. She said she was not allowed to discuss the incident.
The student left for a vacation in the Middle East during the university's winter break, before the campus police could interrogate him on this charge, said Polidora.
The San Francisco district attorney issued a warrant for the student's arrest Dec. 20 over the Hillel threat. Polidora said the warrant is for the misdemeanor charge of a harassing phone call, with a hate-crime charge attached.
SFSU, meanwhile, scheduled a disciplinary hearing for yesterday. Although technically a December 2000 graduate, the student may not receive his degree, with penalties that could range from expulsion down to a verbal warning, said Polidora.
However, as of press time Wednesday, the student was believed to be in Jerusalem. "As far as we know he's not back," said Polidora, "but the hearing will proceed."
Despite the two incidents, Seth Brysk, San Francisco Hillel executive director, said anti-Semitic sentiment seems to be waning at SFSU.
Calling the death threat to Hillel "one negative event," he said: "We were able to handle it appropriately and now we're moving on. This was an unprecedented year of involvement. The activism of our Jewish students is wonderful."
However, some observers claim an anti-Semitic climate has long festered at SFSU, abetted by Palestinian and African-American students.
At the Nov. 15 demonstration "intended as a peace rally to spread the message of peace in the Middle East," Adam Sall, chairman of the campus Israel Coalition, witnessed several acts of hatred toward his group.
"We were spat at, a flier with peaceful messages was shoved in my friend's mouth, one girl in our group was approached by two from the Palestinian group and screamed at," he said. "This has gone on for too long on the S.F. State campus. Several Jewish students who would love to get involved are too fearful."
Saidoff, a member of the Bay Area-wide Jewish Students for Peace, agreed. "I have never encountered hostility like I saw during that rally," he said.
Sall started the Israel Coalition last year after witnessing a mock funeral, put on by the Muslim Student Association and GUPS. He said the 75 students carried two child-size graves and shouted messages over a bullhorn equating Zionism to Nazi Germany.
Sall said he wanted to create a group that would show "an accurate depiction of what's taking place in the Middle East" and seek peace. Although he wanted to build an open dialogue between Jewish and Palestinian students, he said he hasn't had much success so far.
"I thought peace was a common ground," he said. "Unfortunately, we can't seem to even agree on that."
There have been several tense moments for the group and campus Jews, said Sall. During Sukkot, for instance, Hillel built a sukkah and invited students in for free pizza. The Palestinian students, said Sall, stood 30 feet away with anti-Zionist signs, "I guess protesting Sukkot."
"Some of the Palestinian students have said that Hillel is a spy organization, spying for the Israeli government," he said.
A representative from GUPS could not be reached for comment.
In spite of any anti-Israel and anti-Jewish activities, Sall said Jews on campus will not be deterred from promoting a message of peace and unity.
"I once saw a girl who I'd never seen before read one of our 'Israel for Peace' signs. She ran off, threw her arms in the air and screamed, 'Yes!" said Sall. "Jewish people shouldn't have to be afraid to show they're Jews, on campus."
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