From controversial anti-Arab flyers to anti-gay messages and ideological disputes between student groups, recent issues of dealing with diverse thoughts and actions have elicited conversation on campus. Students and faculty alike have reacted with concern about how certain convictions are being presented.The following e-mail is from President Jehuda Reinharz, sent Monday, Sept. 30, to all students:

"Last year, I appointed a Task Force on the Brandeis Experience: Embracing Diversity, which issued a number of recommendations. In response to one of the Task Force's specific recommendations, I appointed Dean Nathaniel Mays to the position of Assistant Dean of Student Life and Coordinator of Diversity Services. That there was a need for that appointment has been made evident by an incident last week, which Mays addresses in the letter that follows. Mays provides a valuable perspective, and I urge every member of the community to read his remarks thoughtfully and with care."

The following is an excerpt from Assistant Dean of Student Life and Coordinator of Diversity Services Mays' e-mail, sent last month to all students:

"The beauty of being a part of any intellectual community is found in the opportunities that one has to engage, and be engaged, with people and ideas that are different. Brandeis, like most colleges and universities, affords members of its community no less an opportunity to learn through critical thinking, personal reflection, and dialogue. By being so engaged, our hope is that our students will contribute to the human community in such a way as to foster respect, civility, and understanding among individuals and groups."



Anti-Arab flyers at Rabb

Anti-Arab flyers appeared around Rabb a few weeks ago, upsetting students and the administration. The poster began, "Who took Moshe Goldschmidt, castrated him, put out his eyes and murdered him?" and ended, "The Arabs; doing in 1929 what they would do today -- if they could."

In the e-mail released to the entire Brandeis Community, Mays wrote of the incident, "I must admit that the flyer circulated on those stairs past week engagament that is welcomed at Brandeis."

Mays said that part of attending a University means dealing with hard questions about life and relationships: "the flyers did not really measure-up to the challenging conversations we welcome on campus," he said. "This did not come across as an intellectual kind of engagement on a hard topic. This came across to me and other people more as something that was intended to inflame negative emotions."

Director of Public Safety Edward Callahan said officials are uncertain who perpetrated this incident. "The University doesn't tolerate that type of discrimination or in any form," he said about the flyer. "We're asking members of the community if they have seen anybody putting this type of flyer up or if they have any information to let us know."

Class of '05 Senator Michael Corwin brought forth a resolution to Senate "condemning (the) anti-Arab hate speech." The resolution was supported by leaders of several student groups.

Zionists for historical veracity (ZaHaV) Chairman Mitchel Balsam '05 said, "I pity the person who did it, if I ever find out. It's unacceptable. Mostly I was worried about my friend, Ayam Banasi, who is one of my best friends even though we are completely different. I didn't want him to see it on his own, and I was happy when I got to show it to him first and he got to hear it from me."



Anti-gay graffiti causes community to respond

At least three or more instances of anti-gay graffiti have appeared in East Quad, where the word "faggot" was written on a dry erase board on few residents' doors, resulting in an Oct. 1 meeting at Swig Lounge.

Many people were in attendance. Approximately 30 students, Director of Residence Life Maggie Balch, Campus Police and Public Safety officer Dayna Kelley, East Quad Senator Andrei Khots, representatives from numerous clubs, and East Quad director Luigi Solla, who began the meeting by saying that acts of hate and ignorance will not be tolerated in the community.

At the Swig meeting students talked about ways that people can use the resources on campus to help prepare them to educate other members of the community. Students also worked on a hate speech and oppression bulletin boards that all East Quad resident advisers will display on their floors.

"More campaigns are soon to come," Solla said in a later statement. "There is certainly an overall sense of trying to get this ignorant thinking out of our residential community," Solla said. "A lot of students were upset that went to the meeting. We were talking about what we can do to educate people so stuff like this won't happen again."

Students discussed ways to prevent further acts of "hate and ignorance," terms which Solla frequently referred to in a letter to the Justice. Leslie Melzter '03, Triskelion General Coordinator, among some who were vocal in the in the meeting, offered the services of her student organization and GLBT safe zone stickers for residents' doors.

Rebecca Katz '05, an East Quad resident, said she was shocked to learn of anti-gay messages at Brandeis University, and was glad to attend the Swig meeting, where people openly talked about anti-gay incidents.

"I think the immediate response has been great on the part of Luigi Solla, our Quad Director," Katz said. "It was nice that we got together and talked about it -- it was very Brandeis. A lot of people also left with stickers to show their support for the community. People just have to learn that this is not a joke, and will be taken seriously."

But Katz said she is not completely unaccustomed to anti-gay feelings at Brandeis University. Last year, she recalls a conflict with an openly gay male posting pictures of male models outside of his door. "They were all torn down and he kept posting them back up," she said.

Solla is now working with Martha Stone, a residential adviser who is also the Social Justice and Diversity Awareness Coordinator, to form an East Quad solidarity campaign against hate and ignorance.

Peggy Eyssallenne '04, Co-coordinator for SOAR and Student Union Community Integrations Coordinator, said she believes student action is not enough.

"I think that administration needs to take a very strong stand on issues of diversity and hate," she said. "I also think the whole student body should take a strong stand, not just students of color - which is usually who takes a strong stand for diversity and against issues such as the flyer and graffiti written in East against homosexuality and the Sherman incident."



Controversial pro-Palestinian speaker sparks debate

On Sept. 27, the coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions Jeff Halper sparked controversy regarding a presentation about Salim Shawamreh, a Palestinian who had his home destroyed three times by Israeli forces. ZaHaV and members of the newly charted Arab Cultural Club (ACC) were among the many student organizations in attendance.

Shawamreh's house was built on Palestinian land, near a main road with busy traffic. This violated multiple Israeli zoning laws that are designed to protect people from potential terrorist attacks.

Balsam, who attended the presentation, said he believes that the location of Shawamreh's house was succeptible to terrorist attack.

"I am not army trained at all, and I know if I were driving past (Shawamreh's) house, I would be scared. The house in the pictures was in the middle of nowhere. It's technically part of the village, but it's zoned by Israel. He could have sat in his kitchen window and shot at a passing car," he said.

Vice-Chairman of ZaHaV Ari Stein '04 said that approximately 90 percent of housing demolitions stop terrorists from hiding and firing at roads and villages.

"It's necessary for security to get rid of these houses," he said.

President of the ACC Ayham Bahnassi '05 said the West Bank is still under Israeli occupation, posing a serious problem.

"If (Israel) does not want to be known as occupiers, let these people build their homes on their own land," he said. "It should not be up to Israel because it is in the West bank. It's Palestinian territory."

This dispute was only the basis for further disagreements.

Before Halper arrived on campus, Balsam forwarded a Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) e-mail to all members of ZaHaV, describing how Halper strongly denounces the dismantling of illegally-built Arab homes.

"Compared Israel to the Nazis: Halper has compared Israeli building laws to the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany," part of the ZOA e-mail said. "According to Halper, Israel should give up its 'Jewish tribalism' and instead develop a new 'Israeli national identity' that would include Arabs and Arab culture."

And this is why Balsam said Halper is unwelcome at Brandeis University: "Halper knows this is a predominantly Jewish Institution. He (was) insulting three-fourths of the student population."

Daniel Estrin '06, one of the many students who received the ZOA E-mail, said that while it was important to have ZaHaV be heard, "things got out of hand."

"ZaHaV had said to join forces to these two speakers who have been known to spread anti-Israeli rhetorics to many many different college campuses across the country," Estrin said. "I was told to be pointed and polite. In the course of that, a lot of people in ZaHaV did not behave very nicely in terms of their asking questions and arguing with the speakers. It became more of an attack."

But, Balsam said he was just well-prepared for the presentation.

Balsam and Stein met with the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) in Boston, creating a plan of action against Halper. In the ZOA e-mail sent to ZaHaV members, Balsam reported that he was excited that CAMERA was organizing material to counter Halper and Shawamreh.

"In two hours of discussion and planning, we mapped out an appropriate course of action in response to their presentation," part of the E-mail said. "WE WILL DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU. The most important thing is that everyone possible show up to our meeting tomorrow night to organize ourselves."

Co-President of the Arab-Jewish Dialogue group Marina Pevzner '04 helped sponsor the event through Brandeis's International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life. Pevzner said that the presentation became a political confrontation, where members of ZaHaV came prepared to attack the two speakers with posters stating accusations against Halper.

"It was supposed to be an event to lead people to understand," Pevzner said. "But it became a political confrontation or debate, where we did not mean for this to happen this way. We are dealing with a group of students who are completely not respectful."

Balsam said he tried to attend the presentation open-minded, but when he heard Halper tell "lies," about Israel supplying China with military aide, things began to change.

"(Halper) leaves out half the story and leaves it out on purpose," Balsam said. "When the United States asked Israel to stop, Israel cut the contract. Why? To save it's friendship with America. (Halper) would only say that bad part of the story. In the end nothing went through."

"The problem we have with Halper, and the reason we were so upset he came to Brandeis, is that he is a liar. We are not saying everybody has to agree with the Israeli government, but there are certain things that are lies."