VOICE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS » Irvine

Irvine 11 Found Guilty For Disrupting Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s Speech

voiceforhumanrights — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 06:18:38 +0000

IRVINE.— Ten of the eleven students involved in disrupting a speech at UC Irvine were found guilty by a jury today. The students were sentenced to three years of informal probation, no jail time is to be served.

The students were convicted of two misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to disturb a meeting and disturbance of the meeting.

Before the trial begun the charges against one defendant were dismissed contingent upon the completion of 40 hours of community service at a local soup kitchen.

The students were charged in February after they stood up one by one and disrupted Ambassador Oren’s speech concerning US-Israel relations at UC Irvine.

Prosecutors said the students broke the law by interrupting the Ambassador’s speech, successfully ending the program.

Reem Salahi, lawyer for two defendants, said the students never set out to end the program entirely, they sought only to express their opinion.

The students reportedly modeled their protest after several others where students interrupted speeches, those students were not arrested.

Prosecutor Dan Wagner presented the argument that the students infringed upon both the free speech of both Michael Oren and the rights of the 700 people in attendance by interrupting the ambassador repeatedly throughout the program.

The defense countered with the argument that there were in fact no set of rules regulating the speech, so therefore the students did not break the law by interrupting the speaker.

The attorneys also argued that the charges should never have been filed since the students were cited and disciplined at UC Irvine at the time of the incident.

Several Jewish community leaders however, supported the verdict.

Shalom C. Elcott, president and chief executive of the local Jewish Federation & Family Services said the disruption, “Crossed the moral, social and intellectual line of civility and tolerance,” he continued, “While we accept the right and requirement of a public institution to provide an unfettered forum for diverse points of view, we do not, nor will we ever, support ‘hate speech.’ “

Approximately 150 people attended the verdict, nearly a dozen walked out of the room when the verdict was read.

Shakeel Syed of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California made the statement, “Absolutely unbelievable. I believe the heart of America has died today. I believe this will be used as precedent now to suppress speech and dissent throughout the country. This is the beginning of the death of democracy.”

Dr. John Esposito to Speak in Support of the Irvine 11 at UC Irvine

voiceforhumanrights — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 07:24:29 +0000

IRVINE.– Dr. John L. Esposito is a Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He is Founding Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding: History and International Affairs in the Walsh School of Foreign Service.

The event will include fundraising for the Irvine 11, all donations help with legal fees and campaign costs. The Irvine 11 is a group of students who peacefully and publicly voiced dissent during a talk by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren.

The event is free to the public.

WHERE: Pacific Ballroom, UCI

WHEN: June 18th at 6:30pm

RSVP ONLINE: http://www.mlfa.org/rsvp

Ethics and Morality Lecture at UC Irvine: The Implications of Drones on the Just War Tradition

voiceforhumanrights — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:04:20 +0000

IRVINE, Ca.– On Friday May 20,2011 the UC Irvine Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality presents The Implications of Drones on the Just War Tradition with speakers Daniel R. Brunstetter, Professor of Political Science, UCI and Megan Braun, Rhodes Scholar, Oxford University.

The aim of Brunstetter’s talk is to analyze some of the ethical issues raised by the use of drones using the just war tradition as a basis. He argues that drones offer the capacity to extend the threshold of last resort for large scale wars by allowing a leader to act more proportionately on just cause. However, while being capable of improving adherence to jus in bello principles of discrimination and proportionality, concerns regarding transparency and indiscriminate strikes (especially with CIA operated drones), may undermine the probability of success in the war on terror.

When: May 20th from 12:30p.m.- 2p.m.

Where: Social Science Plaza B, Room 5250

The Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies at UC Irvine Present the Margolis Lecture: Humanity, Self-Determination and Armed Intervention

voiceforhumanrights — Wed, 11 May 2011 05:30:02 +0000

IRVINE, Ca.– Thursday May 19,2011 the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies host speaker Michael Doyle, Professor of International Affairs, Law, and Political Science at Columbia University; and Former Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The lecture will discuss: what should rules for international nonintervention and intervention be if they are to reflect the modern conscience? Three principles will be addressed. The commitment to humanitarian assistance without regard to international borders; respect for the significance of national self-determination; and the reality of international anarchy and the absence of reliable world government.

When: May 19th from 5:30p.m.- 8p.m.

Where: Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway (SBSG), Room 1517

“Appearing and Disappearing Bodies” Lecture with Claudio Lomnitz at UC Irvine

voiceforhumanrights — Wed, 11 May 2011 04:39:43 +0000

IRVINE, Ca.– On May 11, 2011, the Spanish and Portuguese Department at UC Irvine present Columbia professor of Anthropology, Claudio Lomnitz. Claudio Lomnitz works on culture and politics in Mexico and the Americas. He has published several books on the ideology, culture and politics of Mexico.

The presentation focuses on the appearance and disappearance of bodies in the public sphere. Particularly, the disappearance of the corpses of victims of current narco-violence; the presence of corpses in public space and in the media as a communicative strategy in narco-violence; and the disappearance and re-integration of bodies of undocumented migrants and border-crossers.

When: May 11th, 2011 at 12p.m.

Where: Humanities Instructional Building (HIB) 135