Arizona State University Students Told that "Jews Control the Media"

Recently, we posted an article about the speaking appearance of some guy named Muhammed el-Kurd at Duke University. El-Kurd, a Palestinian with a history of anti-Semitic comments, apparently is on the university lecture circuit.

So now, El-Kurd has followed up on his Duke appearance with a speaking appearance at Arizona State University on April 10, where, among other things, he told the audience that “Jews control the media”.

The blog, Israelly Cool, has posted snippets of El-Kurd’s poisonous talk which can be accessed here and here.

It appears that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has been prohibiting-or attempting to prohibit- audience members from recording El-Kurd’s talks. That is par for the course. It is what they try to do in California as well, as I know from personal experience (and that includes the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine). This comes down to state law pertaining to recording events. Under California law, it is entirely legal to record public events at public universities as long as you don’t obstruct or disrupt the event.

I think it is fair to ask just who it is that is sponsoring El-Kurd’s talks around the nation. Who is paying his travel expenses? Where does SJP get the money to pay speakers like El-Kurd? We know that American Muslims for Palestine-AMP- is a major supporter of SJP. Both organizations were co-founded by UC Berkeley professor Hatem Bazain, himself a Palestinian. 

In addition, are universities using funds from student fees to pay for these events? (Student organizations like SJP routinely get university funding from student fees.) It all may be perfectly legal under the First Amendment, but it would be nice to know.