A group of “lunatic” UCLA student government members left a UC Regent member “disgusted and appalled” after they condemned an on-campusappearance from a Hamas hostage.
The scathing letter, published Friday by Jonathan “Jay” Sures, scolded members of the UCLA’s Undergraduate Students Association Council who said a visit fromOmer Shem Tov— a 23-year-old who survived 505 days in Hamas captivity — “obscured the broader reality of ongoing state violence.”
“Like many University leaders, I am disgusted and appalled by the Council’s recent statement condemning an on-campus event featuringformer Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov,” Sures started his letter.
“Rather than hearing the perspective of a 23 year old peer abducted by terrorists at a music festival and held hostage by Hamas for 505 days, those of you who voted for the letter of condemnation chose not to listen at all,” Sures, who is Jewish, wrote.
Sures called the USAC’s condemnation of Shem Tov “shortsighted, antisemitic or both,” in an interviewwith Jewish Insider.
In his written response, Sures went on to quote a direct section of theletter from USACcondemning Tov’s appearance on campus, pointing out the hypocrisy.
“While we affirm the humanity of all people impacted by violence, we reject the selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence,” USAC’s letter said.
“Let’s unpack this,” Sures wrote.
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“Omer Shem Tov is not a representative of the Israeli government. In fact, he is a young student, like many of you, whose life took a horrific turn when he and his friends were kidnapped at a music festival and driven into Gaza, where he was held hostage and tortured for months underground without contact to the outside world,” he added.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
