On September 22, 2009, the Orange County Independent Task Force on anti-Semitism (OCITF) received a carbon copy of a letter from the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) to UC Irvine General Counsel Diane Giocaris. The letter describes “…very disturbing information concerning the Muslim Student Union (MSU) and a program it conducted during its anti-Israel and anti-Semitic event at UCI last May.”
On May 21, 2009, as part of “Israel: the Politics of Genocide,” the MSU featured George Galloway, a member of the British Parliament, whose topic was “Viva Palestina, Galloway’s convoy to Gaza…”. ZOA’s letter alleges that: “Prior to the program, MSU specifically affirmed in writing that this was not going to be a fundraiser. Yet, according to the ZOA, at the program, both MSU and Mr Galloway solicited funds for Viva Palestina from the over 850 people in attendance and we are concerned that the funds may have been delivered to Hamas in Gaza in July 2009.” Hamas has been designated by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and providing material support and resources to an FTO is a violation of federal law. The letter states that several University policies were violated during this event and that at least four campus administrators were present, but did nothing to stop the unauthorized and “potentially illegal” fund raising activities.
Earlier this year, Galloway was refused entry into Canada for allegedly providing material support to Hamas.
The OCITF urges community members to contact UCI Chancellor Michael Drake and urge him to immediately investigate these very serious allegations.
Chancellor Michael Drake
University of California, Irvine
Office of the Chancellor
Irvine, CA 92697-5125
(949)-824-5111
chancellor@uci.edu
to read the entire ZOA letter click here:
Filed under: News | Tagged: George Galloway, Hamas, UCI campus anti-Semitism, UCI Chancellor Michael Drake, Viva Palestina |
Orange County Independent Task Force on Anti-Semitism 
I was also present at that event and witnessed the collection. I also personally saw Edgar Dormitorio at the event.
Gary Fouse
adjunct teacher
UCI-EXT
[…] a fundraising event with George Galloway where they were videotaped passing around a hat for donations to Hamas. First, this is a violation of UCI policy about fundraising on campus. Second, this is a […]