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Anti-Semitism at Cooper Union Goes Unaddressed
Dear Editor:
My son Joseph attends Cooper Union School of Architecture. He has experienced discrimination repeatedly as have other Jewish students at this university. After several communications to the administration by parents and students over the course of weeks following October 7 regarding the rhetoric, posters, and violations of school policy, nothing was done to insure the safety and well being of the Jewish students.
The culmination of this occurred on October 25 when a mob entered the building with the intent of intimidating and harassing the Jews. It became apparent after my discussions with some alumni that President Sparks’ lack of action to condemn anti-Semitism is a direct result of taking direction of Board Chair Malcolm King who did not feel that the blatant hate speech and repeated breach of code of conduct needs to be addressed. Six 911 calls by students trapped in the library went ignored as per instructions of Sparks.
Below are my two letters to Malcolm King. The first dated December 11 is addressed to him and an additional trustee. No response from either.
The second dated January 2 is referencing a New Years message that King sent to the community with NO mention of the obvious issues at hand. Included in the second email are secretary and treasurer of the board as well as representatives I’ve spoken with from Congressman Goldman, Stefanik, and Foxx’s office.
Respectfully,
Emilie Hedaya
New Years’s Message from Malcolm King
Dear Mr.King,
While I appreciate the acknowledgment of positive aspects in the leadership’s accomplishments, the content of your New Year’s message to the Cooper Union Community seems to sidestep the pressing issue of rising anti-Semitism against Jewish students and falls short of addressing the matter adequately. It is crucial that the administration not only celebrates academic achievements but also addresses and actively combats discrimination on campus. I urge for a more comprehensive response to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all students, specifically addressing the concerns of anti-Semitism. More importantly, that the Cooper leadership adheres to the policies set forth in their charter. As Chair of the Board of Trustees, your words and actions set the tone for the direction of the University. It is at volatile times such as these that substance and clarity are imperative. I’ve written to you outlining areas where the administration can enforce rules and regulations. I am hoping that you can provide accountability and closure for those community members who experienced trauma, hate, and intimidation on Cooper’s campus on the days leading up to and following October 25th. I am including other members of the Trustee Board so that we can work collaboratively to address these issues and hopefully find a resolution.
I’ve taken the liberty to attach the email I sent to you on December 11, 2023 addressing these exact concerns as well as the specific Codes of Conduct that were violated. I fear it may have gone to an incorrect address given that I did not receive a response.
I close with the hopes that 2024 brings peace and healing to people across the globe.
Sincerely,
Emilie Hedaya
Anti-Semitic Crimes Rise After Hamas Attacks
Dear Editor:
Following the horror of October 7th, antisemitism is running rampant across the world. Rallies call for the slaughter of Jews and the destruction of Israel.
Clearly, anti-Zionism is antisemitism.
Antisemitism is a pathological disorder affecting radical Islamists and a wide swath of those who see themselves as progressives. It is axiomatic that the more left one is, the more likely they are to be anti-American, and antisemitic.
For centuries, Christianity persecuted Jews for their supposed transgressions against a Jew from Judea, 2,000 years ago.
Muslim superiority regards all infidels as dhimmi. The dhimmi must be humiliated and treated as an inferior. Abeed (slave) is the Arabic term for Blacks.
In 1928, in Egypt, Hussein al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood, promoting pan-Islamic nationalism with the goal of replacing the West with a caliphate. In Europe, Nazism was taking hold.
Britain named Haj Amin al-Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Al-Husseini organized pogroms in the Middle East from the 1920s into the 40s. In Europe, he established Bosnian Muslim Waffen SS units and personally sent 4,000 Hungarian Jewish children to the gas chambers. He rejected the UN suggestion that the mandate be partitioned between Arabs and the Jews and instigated, with five Arab armies, the Nakba, the attempt to destroy Israel and ‘drive the Jews into the sea’.
Radical Islam manipulated our open, western democracies. Saudis and Qataris bought their way into academia, funding chairs in Middle East studies and other related specialties, using their power to demonize and delegitimize Jews and Zionism. They flooded academia with money and activist Muslim students.
CAIR, Hamas and the Muslim Students’ Associations (MSA) are part of the Brotherhood. CAIR is tasked with influencing governments. MSA sponsors the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions and the Israel Apartheid Week movements. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is Hamas’s representative on campus. Hamas’s charter calls for killing every Jew in the world. SJP has over 3,000 chapters.
Pro-Palestine groups exist solely to promote an antisemitic agenda. They present a clear and present danger to Jews and the population at large.
Sincerely
Len Bennett, Author of ‘Unfinished Work’
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
Will Gaza Be Controlled by a Terrorist Regime?
Dear Editor:
After Israel’s war against Hamas is over, the possibility that Israeli politicians will put Gaza back into the hands of another terrorist regime haunts me. Hamas invaded our homes, raped our women, slaughtered our children. The mistakes that were made that led to bloodthirsty terrorists inflicting such pain and horror upon our nation are mistakes that must not be made again. Israeli soldiers are giving their very lives in Gaza. The people and the government of Israel owe it to these soldiers, as well as to all of their comrades, that we learn from our past mistakes. These fallen are the Jewish People’s best and brightest. We must pledge that when we say Never Again that we mean it.
The idea that Gaza can be trusted to be in anyone’s hands but Israel’s is worse than naive. Israel completely surrendered Gaza in 2005, forcefully ripping thousands of Jews from their homes. Tragically no Israeli military presence was left inside the territory. We are living with the results. In just two years Gaza changed from a territory where Jewish communities once thrived to a breeding ground for Islamic terrorists.
Former Jewish owned agribusinesses (that were left intact for the Gazans by the Israeli government) were destroyed by those Gazans. Gazan living conditions drastically changed for the worse and all development that was made by Israel in the territory was quickly erased. Egypt and Israel were forced to blockade this new terrorist statelet in an effort to hinder the growth of terrorism. On October 7th we saw just how badly that blockade failed.
Israel made these mistakes: why make the same ones again? Pundits say that if only Gaza was provided with modern technology and education, then maybe with the help of the United State and/or the UN perhaps decades of brainwashing can be reversed. This is a chance that Israel cannot take.
Sincerely,
Joe Ben Malin
Jerusalem
FDR’s“Indiscriminate Bombing” During WWII
Dear Editor:
Your December 27 news article reported that “Israel’s critics, including a growing number of congressional Democrats in the U.S., have accused the IDF of indiscriminately bombing Gaza.”
Well, isn’t that ironic? The most revered Democrat president in American history, Franklin D. Roosevelt, carried out indiscriminate bombing of Germany and Japan in World War II, in order to undermine their morale. I doubt these Congressional Democrats would say that President Roosevelt was a war criminal. No, they would rather say to Israel, “Do as I say, not as I do (or as FDR did).” That’s not a principle Israel can, or should, live by.
Sincerely,
Moshe Goldman
Brooklyn
The Silence on Hamas Sexual Assaults
Dear Editor:
According to your December 27 edition, Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Chair of the Civil Commission on Oct. 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children, believes that “the United Nations might be in need of an overhaul, but Israel still has many allies in the West, “ I think Dr. Elkayam-Levy is a little too optimistic, especially when it comes to the issue of the Hamas sexual assaults. The UN is not the only agency that has been silent on this issue. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have not yet acknowledged the Hamas rapes, either.
Cordially,
Devorah Cohen
Boro Park
The Weak Response of Jewish Organizations
Dear Editor,
I’m disappointed by the weak response of many of our Jewish organizations to the anti-Israel campaigns that we are seeing. The pro-Hamas groups are staging marches everywhere, disrupting traffic, and making a spectacle of themselves. As a result, their cause is on the front pages and everyone is afraid of them. By contrast, the Jewish organizations staged one rally in Washington and not much else. I’m not saying we should be disruptive and extreme like the pro-Arab groups, but we should be much more active. History will judge our generation.
Sincerely,
Yechezkel Himmelfarb
Flatbush
