At UC Irvine a controversy was sparked when the Israeli ambassador to the United States was called in to give a speech to the Law and Political science department. Eleven students now termed as the “Irvine 11″ were nabbed by the police for creating a disruption in the ambassadors speech who was called over to talk about the ‘Goldstone Report’ published by the United Nations regarding the matter of Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinians in the past few years.
What is ironic or should I say hypocritical of the authorities is that they arrested these Irvine 11 for a reason that was not even entirely existent. The speech of the ambassador was completed the way he wanted it to be completed and in the given time, furthermore, he was given his due time to have a question and answer session with the student after the speech which does not impinge the law in any way which states something to the effect that all persons have the right to freedom of speech and may state what they have in mind but whatever is stated may not interrupt with the lecturers, professors or visiting orators right to teach or express his or her ideas fully.
I find this Irvine 11 arrest to be extremely double standard for it nabbed those who expressed themselves against the Israeli atrocities whereas held no actions against those who badmouthed the Muslims by calling them names and in the process disrupted the speech as well. If anything, all protesting parties should have been arrested to show a non-biased approach to this dilemma.
Irvine 11
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