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| Jewish student sues UC Berkeley for allowing attack |
| 2011-03-08 |
| [JTA] - A student has brought a federal civil rights lawsuit against the University of California, Berkeley, saying the university did not protect her from being attacked because she is Jewish. Lawyers for Jessica Felber, 20, say the case, filed in US District Court in Oakland, Calif., on March 4 against the university, the regents of the University of California and their ranking officials, is the first of its kind. Her suit alleges that Husam Zakharia, a fellow student and the head of Students for Justice in Palestine, rammed into her with a metal cart because of the pro-Israel sign she was holding during a pro-Israel demonstration on the Berkeley campus on March 5, 2010. The rally, organized by the student Zionist group, Tikvah, was a counter to anti-Israel events being held that same week as part of Israel Apartheid Week. Felber was treated for her injuries, and Zakharia was arrested for battery but later released. The complaint alleges that the Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Association, another pro-Palestinian group on campus, harass and attack Jewish students, and that the university knows about it and has not taken sufficient steps to protect its Jewish students. The complaint further charges that university officials have tolerated “the growing cancer of a dangerous anti-Semitic climate on its campuses” that violates the rights of Jewish and other students “to enjoy a peaceful campus environment free from threats and intimidation.” The suit calls for damages and a jury trial. Pro-Israel and anti-Israel students have clashed before on the Berkeley campus. In November 2008, Zakharia was one of three student cited for battery in a physical altercation over displaying the Palestinian flag at a pro-Israel event. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #16 For the reader (unnamed) Conflating their emotion and anger of what might be a legit gripe with winning in a courtroom, good luck with that. What protection does the University afford to any type of protesters and during what circumstances? What do they protect the demonstrators with? Personal Bodyguards? Human shields? A rent a cop? Of course, the plaintiff knew the inherant risks, and has a right to a court trial. But she may not get as far as she would want unless she can prove conclusively that only Jewish students don't get protection. Many campuses afford almost nil protection to ANY kind of protestors beyond a minimal amount, and that would be under aggravated circumstances. Come on, young women are getting raped on campuses all accross the US, one girls wants to bring the legal over a minor assault, go for it babe, but Im not getting emotional over your bad drama. Some people got beat down with a baseball bat around here during a home invasion for forty dollars. So spare me the sob story. Do colleges really give a shit about young undergrads? Only as far as it affects their jobs. Dream the dream, but look for the case being only able to bring minimal punishment or downgraded or thrown out in court for the very reason that demonstrators get freaky at campuses all over the US and most administrations don't give a Rats ass beyond how it affects their job. Does the University afford protection to any type of protesters at all times? What do they protect the protectees with? Personal Bodyguards? Human shields? Religious fanatics of any faith are on my shit list. Muslim, Jewish or Christian. Or Mormon. I don't really care what religion you are as long as you keep 3 feet or more away from me. |
| Posted by: Fire and Ice 2011-03-08 22:26 |
| #15 Of course she knew it was a possibility. That is totally irrelevant to the law suit, which correctly notes that the university has a history of selective and prejudicial support for the palestinian activists over Jewish students. |
| Posted by: lotp 2011-03-08 21:30 |
| #14 Fire and Ice, why do you find it necessary to lick Muslim boots? The campus police are legally required to provide a safe protesting area on campus by several California court decisions, and chose NOT to enforce the law against the Muslim attacker. Personally, I think the Jewish should have double-tapped the Mohammaden attacker. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2011-03-08 21:06 |
| #13 No. But the clashes have been on going, altercation is the pre-existing climate between Paleos-Israelis in the ME and on Berkeley. She had to have known it was a possibility, unless she is delusional. Either way, file under "shit happens" and go forward...to court where now lots of lawyers can make a living. Yay! Next! |
| Posted by: Fire and Ice 2011-03-08 18:12 |
| #12 According to an article at the time of the original incident Felber was holding a sign that read “Israel Wants Peace” when Zakharia intentionally slammed her from behind with a shopping cart filled with toys donated for the welfare of Arab children in the Hamas-controlled Gaza region. Felber told Israel National News that she responded to the incident by immediately placing her attacker under citizens’ arrest. Police arrested him later that day and Felber expressed hope that the District Attorney will see the case through and file charges against Zakharia. Felber said that Friday’s incident was not the first time Zakharia used violence against pro-Israel advocates. According to her, physical intimidation has frequently been employed as a tool by SJP to silence students opposing their anti-Zionist activities on campus. “SJP students have been terrorizing us for three years with intimidation, accusations and threats. This incident is simply the culmination of it all and we are not going to tolerate it anymore.” SJP’s tactics backfired on at least one occasion when, in November 2008, the group attempted to disrupt a concert organized by the Zionist Freedom Alliance during “Israel Liberation Week” on the UC Berkeley campus. After striking a ZFA activist in the head, Zakharia found himself beaten to the ground. Following the incident, Zakharia and two fellow SJP members, along with two Zionist activists, were cited for battery but no charges were officially filed. Were Ms Felber and her fellows black instead of Jewish, would this be ok? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-03-08 18:07 |
| #11 The other thing here is the statement I find puzzling: "A student has brought a federal civil suit against the University of California, Berkeley, say the University did not protect her from being attacked because she is Jewish." Does the University afford protection to any type of protesters at all times? What do they protect the protectees with? Personal Bodyguards? Human shields? I'd like to direct your attention to the time I protested rainforest deforestation at my university dressed as a tree stump. I was almost ran over by a motorist. To feel owed protection is a nice theory, but it doesn't hold water. Just ask my dead Jewish relatives. They wanted police protection but instead they were murdered. So it falls to the individual to cooly assess risk. If Ms. Felber had done a risk assessment, she would not have been standing there if she eshews bodily harm, because she would have realized it was a likely outcome. |
| Posted by: Fire and Ice 2011-03-08 17:45 |
| #10 Or in other words. Theres how it "should" be and how it is "actually" is. As I recall the last time I was robbed the Police didn't arrive for almost thirty minutes. Should it have been that way? No. Was it? Yes. |
| Posted by: Fire and Ice 2011-03-08 17:29 |
| #9 Are alternative viewpoints allowed here? Greenpeace activists, all activists have to realize that protesting something on a premises, somewhere, anywhere where it pisses someone off and to not be hassled while doing it, civilly, is not an automatic guarantee. I respectfully think that Ms. Felber was naive to not realize she was in a situation rife for a problem, which, as the saying goes in logging communities' "Uncle Jethro sez you stand in front of a logger you might get sawed in half" |
| Posted by: Fire and Ice 2011-03-08 17:24 |
| #8 Injun Gluck7122, the trailing daughters both have black belts: td #2 is a third degree in Tae Kwan Do, plus plays Kendo, Capauiera (spelling? the Brazilian one), and Jujitsu; td #1 has only a second degree in TKD, but is actually more dangerous. I suspect neither would have been prepared for ramming with a metal cart. The bullshit is that the perpetrator went unpunished for two attacks. But they don't like uppity, pro-Zionist Jews at the University of California, where this is only a more extreme version of common behaviour. There is a nasty history of blatantly closing eyes to violence against Jews right in front of official faces, campus police refusing to intervene, and so forth. I hope Ms Felber uses her settlement to fund the next couple of cases. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-03-08 16:18 |
| #7 This is Hella bullshit. The helpless female act doesn't apply in 2011. Not that Zakaria is right either. If you're gong to start agitating on campus it matters not what religion or gender you hail from, when you start waving signs, you open yourself up to violence in this day and age. Woman or not she should have known better, and that is the sad truth of how low the bar has dropped here in the US. If she were my own daughter, I would be telling her to stop unless she is a black belt and can back up talk with walk, which she can't. Women. Wise up. |
| Posted by: Injun Gluck7122 2011-03-08 15:57 |
| #6 Been there since at least 2008? Sounds like a common parasite to me. Perpetual student. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2011-03-08 09:52 |
| #5 Husam Zakharia, a fellow student and the head of Students for Justice in Palestine Hey genius, yes Mr. Zakharia. Didn't you know "Tikvah" is Hebrew for 'Legal Trip Wire, here come a thousand NYC lawyers?' |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-03-08 09:30 |
| #4 CrazyFool: There should be. I've met some NextGen young Jewish men in the US who are tall, muscular, and not to be messed with. They tend to pull at least one tour with the US military, and have a good attitude about life and things. Put several of them on a pro-Muslim campus and the Muslims will take a wide berth around any Jewish groups. Or they will get royally thumped. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-03-08 09:19 |
| #3 Pro-Israeland anti-Israel students have clashed before on the Berkeley campus. Has there ever been an incident where a pro-Israeli student attacked an anti-Israeli student? Somehow I didn't think so. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2011-03-08 08:10 |
| #2 "Zakharia was arrested for battery but later released" and that was after an arrest for the same back in 2008? Oh yes, being Muslim makes HIM the victim, stoopid me. |
| Posted by: kojack 2011-03-08 06:27 |
| #1 Oy. Even the Muslims and Hindus from South Asian get along when they live in America. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2011-03-08 00:24 |