My Letter to UCI Chancellor Re: SJP

In the wake of the latest disruption of a pro-Israel event by Students for Justice in Palestine, 

I have added my own letter to UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman as his staff investigates the 

incident. In this letter, I call for Chancellor Gillman to effectively implement the UC Regents' 

Statement of Principles on Intolerance and kick SJP off of campus. 

Dear Chancellor Gillman, 



My name is Gary Fouse. I have written to you previously as a part-time teacher 


in the UCI Extension. Today I write to you strictly as a member of the 


community. I taught part-time at UCI from 1998-2016. Since 2007, I have been 


active observing and reporting on the activities of the Muslim Student Union and 
                                

                                    

                                    

                                        

                                        
                                    
                                


Students for Justice in Palestine. I have long complained about anti-semitism on 


the UCI campus, a problem that has been brought to the UCI campus,in my view, 


by these two organizations. 


I recall in 2010 when Students for Justice in Palestine's UCI chapter was formed 


when the MSU was suspended following the Oren disruption. (I was present at that 


event.) Since then I have twice observed SJP disrupt the annual I-Fest. I have 
                                

                                    

                                    

                                        

                                        
                                    
                                


written to the university and complained not only about the disruptions, but the 


fact that the students marched out of the Cross Cultural Center and back into 


the CCC after their demonstration. 


I also complained last year when SJP and others disrupted a pro-Israel event on 


May 18, yet another black eye for the university, which has suffered too many 


black eyes courtesy of the pro-Palestinian movement on campus. Once again, SJP 


used the CCC as a staging area. On that occasion, it was revealed that "legal 


observers" from the National Lawyers Guild attached to the UCI law school 


participated in that disruption. 


On May 10, I was present when SJP and others disrupted yet another pro-Israel 


event. I videotaped it and provided that videotape to Asst Vice Chancellor  


Edgar Dormitorio, who was also present. Clips of it have been used by 


organizations who have recently written to you to express their outrage at 


this latest incident. 


In addition, I spoke at two UC Regents working groups-at UCI and UCLA- in 2015 


and 2016 when they were revising the UC Regents’ Statement of Principles Against 


Intolerance, one that specifically addressed campus anti-semitism. In March 2016 


that statement was passed. You subsequently pledged to take steps to implement 


that policy. It is time to enforce that policy. 


Students for Justice in Palestine is not just a UCI problem or a UC problem. It 


is a national problem. In 2014 a document surfaced out of their SUNY Binghamton 


chapter that explicitly listed disruption as one of their tactics. On campus 


after campus including UCI, SJP has put that tactic into practice. 


After last year's warning letter following the May 18 incident, SJP was put on 


notice. They have now once again shown that they are unwilling to engage in 


civil discourse. They have shown once again that they will not respect the free 


speech rights of others. If the Statement of Principles is to have any meaning, 


it is time to remove this organization from the UCI campus once and for all. 


Otherwise, the Statement of Principles is nothing more than a scrap of paper. 




Sincerely, 




Gary  Fouse