Other items in today’s column include:
* Political bytes
* Coming our way
* Recommended reading
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – At a lunch-and-learn session Tuesday, Jan. 21, at the offices of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, Elisa Alloul, the campus strategy coordinator for StandWithUs, told how she as a student at York University in Toronto overcame anti-Semitism and got herself elected in 2016 to a two-year term on the university’s Board of Governors, a body similar to the Board of Regents for the University of California.
A big part of her success was overcoming her nervousness about being confronted by anti-Israel and anti-Semitic students, she told San Diego Jewish World during a phone interview. There were times she asked herself should she continue, was she putting a target on her back? “But then I realized that is what they (anti-Semitic students and faculty) want us to do. They want us to be afraid, and silence us, so that we will hide and not have a voice, which makes it a lot easier for them to spread these inaccuracies about us (Jews) and about Israel.”
The student government at York University has long been known as a bastion of anti-Semitic sentiment, she said. Before she became a student there, “at one point, Jewish students were actually barricaded in the Hillel.” A group calling itself Students Against Israeli Apartheid had successfully campaigned for the student government to endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and Jewish students so often complained of bullying that many removed their Jewish stars or other identifiable Jewish clothing or jewelry before coming on campus.
In contrast to the student government was the York University administration, which Alloul said was opposed to anti-Semitism. In Canada, she said, the university and the student government are separate jurisdictions, with the university unable to control student decision-making.
Having worked on campus as StandWithUs’ Emerson Fellow – a student leadership position which receives a $1,000 stipend for organizing a sufficient number of pro-Israel events – Alloul was approached about running for the university’s Board of Governors in an election in which the 53,000 students of York University would be eligible to vote online for an undergraduate representative and a graduate representative
She had five undergraduate opponents in that election, all of them having made support for BDS a plank in their platforms. With no such plank in Alloul’s platform, supporters of her opponents began posting negative messages on Facebook pages and election pages, saying such things as she was a Jewish propagandist, not to be trusted. But Jewish students and other members of the pro-Israel community rallied behind her, as did neutral students who wanted their school needs attended to. She campaigned for recognizing students for their extracurricular activities, and honoring students who bring their grade point averages up by more than 1.5 points between sophomore and junior years, and junior and senior years.
The result: Alloul received 40 percent of the vote, winning by a landslide over her opponents who divided the other 60 percent.
Asked if she ever was physically assaulted on campus, she said it occurred just once, when during a multicultural parade, she and a few friends carried Israeli flags. When the parade ended, students carrying the flags of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries surrounded them, waving their flags in their faces, and chanting “Free Palestine! Free Palestine!” While it was a bit scary, no one was physically hurt.
She had some advice for pro-Israel students on campuses across North America who face violence from Israel-haters. First, she said, be sure to have someone prepared to videotape any possible incident, to be used as evidence in any disciplinary proceeding, whether that be at the university level or in a court of law. Secondly, she said, be aware that StandWithUs has a legal department to help pro-Israel students involved in any such situation. Finally, she commented, StandWithUs also has arranged for krav maga (Israeli martial arts) training to instill confidence in students who might face on-campus bullying.
Alloul is now based in Toronto.
*
Political bytes
*A poll commissioned by the San Diego Union-Tribune and Channel 10 News finds Assemblyman Todd Gloria leading the March 3 mayor’s race with 29 percent of the voters, City Councilman Scott Sherman with 18 percent, and City Councilwoman Barbara Bry with 13 percent. A combined total of 9 percent was accumulated by Tasha Williamson, Rich Riel and Gita Applebaum Singh, with the biggest percentage going to undecided voters: 32 percent. In the City Attorney’s race meanwhile, 28 percent of the voters favored incumbent Mara Elliott, 18 percent Cory Briggs, 6 percent Pete Mesich and undecideds accounted for a whopping 48 percent.
*San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry, a candidate for mayor, critiques the way business is done at City Hall: “I have learned that much of the conventional wisdom at City Hall is just plain wrong, “ she says. “And, I’m going to change that. I’m going to challenge myself. This is what I mean by ‘data-driven decisions.’ I have learned that politicians fall in love with slogans. They know the names of programs, but very little about either their substance or their track record. They campaign on talking points rather than insight.”
*Assemblyman Todd Gloria has released his first TV commercial in the San Diego mayoral campaign. Amid photos of him making himself breakfast at home, walking on a sidewalk, and meeting with constituents, he says: “My parents were a maid and a gardener. They worked every day to give my brother and me a shot at a brighter future. Today, skyrocketing housing prices and homelessness mean we are leaving too many San Diegans behind. I’m Todd Gloria and I’m running for mayor to fight for people and neighborhoods, not those who stand in the way of progress. Let’s make San Diego a city that thrives for all of us.”
*The Voice of San Diego reports that former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is picking up endorsements in San Diego County for U.S. President, among them: San Diego City Councilman Mark Kersey, Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas, and Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina. Voice of San Diego also reported that San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer had endorsed former Congressman Darrell Issa in the open 50th Congressional District race.
*San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez has been endorsed in the 53rd CD, from which Susan Davis is retiring, by the Latino Victory Fund. The group’s executive director said Gomez has kept polluting industries out of her district, was the first LGBTQ Latina unanimously elected as a city council president and “will continue fighting for a better future for San Diego’s hardworking families.”
*State Sen. Brian Jones (R-Santee), a candidate in the 50th Congressional District, won unanimous approval on the Senate floor to revise a bill that would have automatically made a felon out of a gun owner for whom warrants were outstanding. Jones’ revision required that the gun owner must first be aware that such a warrant has been issued.
*
Coming our way
* In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Yiddish Academics and Arts Association of North America, will teach love and erotic words of Yiddish at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 14, at the House of Israel, 2156 Pan American Plaza, in Balboa Park. Cost of the course $15, with chocolates and champagne included. To register, contact Jana Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh via this email. info@yaaana.com
*
Recommended reading
The Jerusalem Post carried a story about the governor of Idaho recognizing 125 years of Jewish history in his state.
*
In Memoriam
Jeffrey Freedman, 84, died Jan. 21 on the birthday of his late wife, Frances. Graveside funeral services will be conducted at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the Olam Hamess Orthodox Lawn of El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, by Rabbi Mendel Goldstein of Chabad of Poway. A family remembrance of Mr. Freedman may be accessed by clicking here.
Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com