Unlawful conduct of a SFSU professor
Dear Chancellor White,
We are 80 civil rights, religious and education organizations, deeply concerned about the unlawful use of the name of California State University or any of its campuses to promulgate anti-Zionist propaganda and promote a boycott of Israel.
Many of our organizations wrote to you last year about a hateful, discriminatory and threatening posting that appeared on the official Facebook page of the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diaspora’s Program (AMED) in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. That posting, written by AMED’s director Professor Rabab Abdulhadi, stated that she considered “welcoming Zionists to campus, equating Jewishness with Zionism, and giving Hillel ownership of campus Jewishness to be a declaration of war against Arabs, Muslims, [and] Palestinians.” Although you responded to our groups’ letter by affirming that the post was unacceptable and corrective action would be taken, disturbingly, the hateful posting remains on the official AMED Facebook page.
We are writing to you today regarding yet another egregious posting to the AMED Facebook page by its director. On July 3, Prof. Abdulhadi re-posted to the AMED page a message previously shared on her personal Facebook page containing a photograph of a large banner that included the words “Zionism = Racism” and “Boycott! Divest! Sanction!”, which was displayed at an anti-Israel rally that she had recently attended. Further postings on Abdulhadi’s personal Facebook page make crystal clear that the banner’s anti-Zionist, pro-BDS message is one which Abdulhadi whole-heartedly embraces and is eager to promote at SFSU. (See here, here, here and here).
While Prof. Abdulhadi has the right to express religious, ethnic or political hatred on her personal platform, it is a flagrant breach of academic conduct for her to use her administrative position and the Facebook page bearing her academic unit’s logo -- which includes the name “San Francisco State University” — to do so. Moreover, unless the CSU Trustees provided their permission to use the University’s name in this way, Abdulhadi’s posting appears to be a clear violation of California Education Code section 89005.5, which states:
"All of the following names are the property of the state: California State University...San Francisco State University...No person shall, without the permission of the Trustees of the California State University, use this name…in connection with...propaganda, advertising, or promotional activity of any kind which has for its purpose or any part of its purpose the support, endorsement, advancement...of any...boycott or of any political...movement, activity, or program...Every person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
Prof. Abdulhadi’s flagrant and unlawful conduct requires your immediate attention, and we look forward to hearing how you will address this matter.
Sincerely,
Academic Council for Israel
Academic Engagement Network
Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity (AEPi)
Alums for Campus Fairness - National
Alums for Campus Fairness - UC Davis
Alums for Campus Fairness - UC Riverside
Alums for Campus Fairness - UCLA
AMCHA Initiative
America Israel Cooperative Enterprise
American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
American Council of Trustees and Alumni
American Institute for Jewish Research
American Truth Project
Americans Fighting Antisemitism
Americans for Peace and Tolerance
B'nai B'rith International
Bobcats for Israel at Ohio University
Boston Israel Action Committee
Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law
Bulldogs for Israel (Brooklyn College)
California Association of Scholars
Campus Anti-Semitism Task Force of the North Shore
Center for Combating Antisemitism
Christians and Jews United for Israel
Club Z
Coalition for Jewish Values
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA)
CUFI on Campus
Davis Faculty for Israel
Eagles Wings
Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET)
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)
Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors
Hasbara Fellowships
Herut North America, U.S. Division
Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel
Iranian American Jewish Federation
Iranian Jewish Women’s Organization
Israel in NYC
Israel Matters
Israel on Campus Coalition
Israel Peace Initiative (IPI)
Israeli-American Civic Action Network
Israeli-American Civic Education Institute
JAM
Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana
Jewish War Veterans of the USA
Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA)
Middle East Forum
Middle East Political and Information Network (MEPIN)
National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel
National Conference on Jewish Affairs
National Council of Young Israel
NCSY
NH4Israel
North Carolina Coalition for Israel
Proclaiming Justice to the Nations
Rabbinical Alliance of America
Rhode Island Coalition for Israel
Russian Jewish Community Foundation
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Simon Wiesenthal Center
Slugs for Israel (University of California Santa Cruz)
StandWithUs
StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department
Stop Anti-Semitism Now
Stop BDS on Campus
Students and Parents Against Campus Anti-Semitism
Students Supporting Israel at Columbia
Students Supporting Israel at Drake University
Students Supporting Israel at San Jose State University
Students Supporting Israel at UCLA
Students Supporting Israel National
Swarthmore Alumni Against Antisemitism on Campus
The Israel Christian Nexus
Tufts Friends of Israel
WoMen Fight Antisemitism
Young Jewish Conservatives
Zionist Organization of America
ZOA’s Fuel for Truth
Cc: California State University Trustees
California State University General Counsel Andrew Jones
San Francisco State University Outgoing President Leslie Wong
San Francisco State University Incoming President Lynn Mahoney
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra
Senator Connie M. Leyva, Chair California Standing Committee on Education
Assembly Member Jose Medina, Chair California Assembly Higher Education Committee
Senator Ben Allen, Chair Jewish Legislative Caucus
