Shorts: U.S.

Thursday, May 14, 2009 | by

U.S. back on U.N. rights council

The United States was elected to a seat on the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council on May 12, reversing a Bush administration policy of boycotting the group in part because of its focus on Israel.

President Barack Obama has made the move a cornerstone of his foreign policy efforts, viewing the council as part of his “new era of engagement,” the Associated Press reported. — jta

U.C. Irvine Muslim event under fire

Nearly 2,700 people have signed an online petition urging U.C. Irvine’s chancellor Michael Drake to publicly denounce an annual Muslim Student Union event called “Israel: The Politics of Genocide.” It began May 5 and runs through May 21.

“As an American, you have the right to speak out and explicitly denounce anti-Semitism, especially when it occurs on your campus,” the petition reads. It also calls on Drake to condemn the Muslim group as a whole, alleging that it consistently violates a campus pledge to create “a learning climate free from expressions of bigotry.” — jta