Israel Ambassador @ UC Irvine

[justAguy]

Wow lots of good posts here guys you all have great things to say. Sher Varun Rajbir Kush n teraBaap's quote of Varun lol, all good points ! This is a good discussion

 

[Rajbir]

The fact that people from Cali to Florida are talking about this shows that something was accomplished.
"It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear."

no offense but all it accomplished was making muslim americans worsen their image and fit the stereotype even more. They have taken 2 steps back, and if this is what they resort to, i dont think they will ever take a step forward. At least not here.

 

[justAguy]

no offense but all it accomplished was making muslim americans worsen their image and fit the stereotype even more.

I don't think so, didn't give me a bad image of them at all, actually gave me a heroic image of them. It was an instance of politically active students not hurting anyone. It's one thing to riot n start fires but it's another to just shout. It really wasn't that bad... reading through the previous posts from the first page it was revealed that they might have been extreme in the past but this certainly isn't as crazy as those previous examples Sher gave, all they did during this was yell n then walk out

 

[faizan]

For people who actually understand how terrible the situation is for Palestinians, this is not embarrassing, this is about time. As a long time anti-zionist, their screams and arrests were music to my ears. Silent protests against the Israeli Lobby is exactly what the Israeli Lobby wants. I hope that this continues across the country.

 

[Kush]

The fact that people from Cali to Florida are talking about this shows that something was accomplished.
"It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear."

no offense but all it accomplished was making muslim americans worsen their image and fit the stereotype even more. They have taken 2 steps back, and if this is what they resort to, i dont think they will ever take a step forward. At least not here.

i was going to say exactly this but in a much more verbose way. instead i chose to study. thank u rajbir. The reason we are tlaking about them is NOT because we're stimulated about palestine (though im glad that you are varun! seriously its an issue that needs exposure and a resolution) but rather because of HOW they acted.

 

[Kush]

For people who actually understand how terrible the situation is for Palestinians, this is not embarrassing, this is about time. As a long time anti-zionist, their screams and arrests were music to my ears. Silent protests against the Israeli Lobby is exactly what the Israeli Lobby wants. I hope that this continues across the country.

faizan and justaguy (btw my last post was just for discussion, not trying to knock your opinion. i get hyped in stuff but thanks for debating things out with me, i love a good debate), im not saying silently protest, but again, DID IT HELP THEIR CAUSE to yell? no! if theyre arrested they get fined/slaps on the wrist and sent home. People who are in the U.S. and in a position to HAVE their minds swayed one way or another are (potentially) now fearful and hateful because of how they acted.

Be loud, be angry. I have no issue against this. but does this acutlaly help? thats all i'm asking.

 

[COMTONDAJATT]

in the end, any publicity is good and can serve as an advantage. their cause was to get some attention and they succeeded. they just didnt know how to use civil disobedience correctly.

people who hate muslims or are xenophobic will be so regardless. if a person is mature and rational enough to see the facts behind the palestine/israel argument there is no way they can sway one way or another on it and a random act by some students at a california university wont change that. sure you can say that this makes them look bad but at least they are getting looked at.

 

[Varun]

people who hate muslims or are xenophobic will be so regardless. if a person is mature and rational enough to see the facts behind the palestine/israel argument there is no way they can sway one way or another on it and a random act by some students at a california university wont change that.

+1. Seriously, if a marginal act like this is supposed to put Muslim Americans "two steps behind" and shit on their assimilative/civil rights struggle as a whole, then I think its America who must change its mindset, not the Muslims.


Damn, if you people think this act by a selective group of people put all Muslim-Americans behind, I can only imagine of your opinions of Muslims post 9/11...sheesh.

 

[panic! at the bhangra]

i dunno... they could have made their point during the open forum. Admin had alloted a good chunk of time for questions/answers after the ambassador's speech. if they really wanted answers, they could have waited till the end. but as soon as they interrupted they just left... but because of all the "drama," they cancelled the q/a session

 

[Kush]

people who hate muslims or are xenophobic will be so regardless. if a person is mature and rational enough to see the facts behind the palestine/israel argument there is no way they can sway one way or another on it and a random act by some students at a california university wont change that.

+1. Seriously, if a marginal act like this is supposed to put Muslim Americans "two steps behind" and shit on their assimilative/civil rights struggle as a whole, then I think its America who must change its mindset, not the Muslims.


Damn, if you people think this act by a selective group of people put all Muslim-Americans behind, I can only imagine of your opinions of Muslims post 9/11...sheesh.

lol im not suggesting the world changed his position, but you dont think 1-2 people if not more had solidified/new thoughts supporting all muslims being terrorists? thats 1-2 more than were there before, and to me that is an ULTIMATE, GARGANTUAN FAIL.

 

[terabaap]

I think what irks most of us(or at least me) is the groups PAST history. I have no problem with the manner in which they protested.

 

[faizan]

If you support bhagat singh or udham singh, and you condemn this kind of protest, you are an utter hypocrite. I await the damage control.

 

[[Sher] Imran]

Terabaap, my thoughts exactly. When I heard about this the other day, my first thought wasn't "I'm glad they stood up for Muslims worldwide," but rather "great here we go again, how did they manage to blow it this time?" Their past behavior has soured the way I look at this situation, however I'm glad they spoke up, although yelling and what not doesn't prove a point as much as shutting the person down through rhetoric.

 

[faizan]

LOL there is a SUPPORT ISRAEL BY SENDING MONEY advertisement on this thread, oh the irony.

 

[Jabar Jung]

If you support bhagat singh or udham singh, and you condemn this kind of protest, you are an utter hypocrite. I await the damage control.

Agreed, but their ways of protests were different. Shaheed Bhagat ji threw a harmless bomb in an assembly, that sent a big shock wave through the british empire, but that particular incident caused much attention to the issue and then when they were taken to the courts, they said what they had to say. But in this case of protests, they just yelled some things that were hard to understand. Whenever they started saying something people started clapping and cheering. It was not effective at all. I could say they could have waited till the end to ask questions, but how do we know they were going to pick on them to ask quesitons? They could have made many excuses just to run away from the questions, which i believe they definitely knew were coming.

Just my point of view.

 

[faizan]

Yea but, Jabar, the last thing these students need is to throw a bomb, lol...it's refreshing to see that we agree on an issue for once

 

[Kush]

If you support bhagat singh or udham singh, and you condemn this kind of protest, you are an utter hypocrite. I await the damage control.

Agreed, but their ways of protests were different. Shaheed Bhagat ji threw a harmless bomb in an assembly, that sent a big shock wave through the british empire, but that particular incident caused much attention to the issue and then when they were taken to the courts, they said what they had to say. But in this case of protests, they just yelled some things that were hard to understand. Whenever they started saying something people started clapping and cheering. It was not effective at all. I could say they could have waited till the end to ask questions, but how do we know they were going to pick on them to ask quesitons? They could have made many excuses just to run away from the questions, which i believe they definitely knew were coming.

Just my point of view.

Very fair point jabbar. they could have avoided any and all confrontation, but that would have looked equally as stupid, but this time on the part of the ambassador. I understand that ALSO doesn't achieve anything because questions/issues are avoided, but neither did shouting. A PEACEFUL forum in which to discuss issues is necessary for any progress to be made. And I would hope the ambassador of all people could at least be one of the few people who would permit a public forum. otherwise its hopeless and theyre all going to end up killing one another, every last person. let's hope it doesn't come to that.

 

[J Hayer]

In the end of the day, it promoted discussion, created publicity.
for an issue as important and dire as this one -- a few slaps on the wrist are worth it in my opinion.
while im guessing the groups previous methods were "questionable," in the current situation- they did a pretty
powerful thing - they forced discussion.