The War at Home

I have lived in Orange County (and neighboring cities in Los Angeles County) on and off since 2003. And all that time, the Jewish community has been wondering what the heck to do about UC Irvine.

In case you didn’t know, UC Irvine is a complete and total war zone when it comes to relations between Jewish and Muslim groups. When I was in college, both sides were going at it. Their Muslim Student Union (MSU) would bring plenty of anti-Israel speakers to campus, display horrible pictures and harass Jewish students.

The Jewish students wanted desperately to fight back. It got to the point where it got violent among the Jewish groups; when the MSU brought the “Apartheid Wall” – a common tactic used by many Muslim groups to show the border between Israel and the Palestinian Territories – there was a group of students who decided to burn it down. I knew one of the students who did it.

It was a terrible situation all around. The Muslim student groups kept harassing students. The Jewish groups were desperate, sometimes calling in groups with tactics that, rather than bring a sense of peace to campus, isolated us and wanted to teach us to hate the Muslim student groups. Orange County Hillel ignored everything for UC Irvine – much to the determent of my Cal State Fullerton campus and any potential we had for a Hillel.

Despite the tensions, there has fortunately been somewhat of a lull at UC Irvine in the past few years regarding this issue. Compared to the horrors of when I was there, it seemed to be quiet. Until last month.

Last month, Michael Oren, an Israeli ambassador, came to UC Irvine. And as soon as he arrived onto the stage, 11 students began to heckle him. He walked off. When he came back, they continued. This went on for about an hour. Eventually, these 11 students were arrested. As to what their fates are, whether warnings or expulsion from the UC system, is yet to be determined.

Although, according to this article from Yahoo! News, these hecklers may not have been members of the Muslim Student Union, it seems like things are starting to brew again at UC Irvine. These 11 students brought back up to the surface the things that were going on when I was at Cal State Fullerton. It’s like an infectious disease that will spread throughout campuses and poison students, forcing them to act foolishly during a time where they should be trying their best to find peace where they can.

I am even more concerned now than I was when I was at school. I was talking to my cousin this week, who is getting ready to graduate from high school and go to college. One of the colleges he got accepted to is UCI. I know he’s an adult and he can make his own choices (and he’s smart, so he will make good ones), but I hate for him to inherit the sins of my generation of college students who have made UCI a difficult and sometimes scary place to learn.

I don’t want Jewish students to turn their backs on UCI. It’s a great school in the UC system that has fabulous programs. So, despite what the Zionist Organization of America says, I would never discourage him from going there if that’s what he really wants. Rather, I would give him this advice: Keep your head above water. Don’t fall into the depths of what extremists around you are willing to do, no matter what side they’re on, even if it’s the one you believe in. Rise above bigotry and bias and find your friends in the moderate zones.

I lived by this example, and it worked to my benefit – one of the greatest ones being my wonderful friend Rudy. She was associated with Muslim groups when she was at Cal State Fullerton; I was Jewish and associated with my own groups. There were jokes on campus about our friendship – “Oh, there go the Arab and the Jew,” “They’re solving the Middle East peace process,” etc. I always listened to Rudy, and she listened to me. I became friends with some of her more moderate Muslim friends, and I found a sense of respect. We didn’t always agree, but we shared views and were friendly with each other. While others were trying to make our campus a war zone, I found my peace and enjoyment and never succumbed to hate.

I may be a rare breed, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could do something like this at UC Irvine? I’m not sure if it would be too late. Gather for coffee and talk about issues regarding this? Or perhaps do an event together – a food fair or something of the sort? They may sound naïve, along the lines of, “Can’t we all just get along?” But obviously the un-naïve plan isn’t working, and hasn’t been for many years. I am of the firm belief that food brings people together in so many ways. Perhaps it’s with food that we will open up our eyes and realize that we aren’t as different as we thought. There will always be disagreement. But there should never be hate to the point of isolation.