Mock parking tickets on the windshields of cars in a University of Michigan at Dearborn (UM-Dearborn) lot last month — which accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and other crimes – were placed there by two people in “Muslim garb,” a witness told The Algemeineron Wednesday.
UM-Dearborn student Amanda Gosline said that on March 22 she saw the individuals distributing the fake tickets, reminiscent of the mock “eviction notices” posted on dorm room doors by anti-Israel students at New York University, Connecticut College and others.
The “tickets” also advertised two events on “illegal settlements and Israeli apartheid,” hosted by the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) — the group behind the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) resolution passed March 10 by the student government.
Gosline, who is currently in the process of converting to Judaism, said, “I knew this was falsified information, but not everybody is very well-versed on either Israel or Palestine. My concern was that these fliers would create a bias in people without a firm background on the issues.”
Miriam Starkman, executive director of the Hillel of Metro Detroit — which services UM-Dearborn — said that if SJP was behind the stunt and was in “knowing violation of the rules; there need to be consequences.”
“We are in close contact with the chancellor and vice chancellor on this issue,” she added. “They are considering if there were any violations of the student code of conduct, and they are making sure that this issue moves forward.”
“The administration really wants to help promote a civil discourse and inclusive environment,” Starkman said, adding that achieving that goal was doubly important given the ongoing campus tension over the BDS campaign.
A university spokesperson confirmed that the administration is “still working to determine who is responsible.”
Sebastian Parra, the Midwest campus coordinator for Israel education group Stand With Us, said, “First Jewish students were made to feel unsafe in their dorms, and now in their cars. If the administration takes no action, it’s a result of willful blindness on their part.”
SWU’s legal department has send UM-Dearborn a letter demanding SJP’s “unlawful” behavior be investigated and disciplinary measures be enforced.
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