Irvine MSU suspended one year for Israeli ambassador disturbance

I’ve written a lot about the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine and the anti-Semitic—yes, ANTI-SEMITIC—speakers they have repeatedly brought to campus over the years. They’ve sponsored a lot of explosive events, which have motivated responses from Jewish students, but nothing has gotten them negative attention like their planned interruption of a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren.

The university administration, which has been more than reticent to address Muslim-Jewish tensions on campus, responded by suspending the student group for a year. That means no university funding and MSU members will be required to do 50 hours of community service. Not sure how that last part will be enforced, but here’s what led to the punishment:

In a May 27 letter to the Muslim Student Union released Monday by the university, the student affairs disciplinary committee announced that after an investigation it found the group guilty of violating certain sections of the university’s policies applying to campus activities, organizations and students, including disorderly conduct and obstructing university activities.

During a Feb. 8 speech at the university sponsored by a campus pro-Israel group, Ambassador Michael Oren repeatedly was heckled and interrupted; 11 students were arrested in the incident.

The disciplinary committee, based on evidence found on social networking sites and personal observation, found that “The disruptions were planned, orchestrated and coordinated in advance by the Muslim Student Union.”