James Chiavelli, University of California Merced’s vice chancellor of external relations, “offered no comment or condemnation of the antisemitic material pushed by Ghassemi on Twitter,” and “emphasized that the university’s principles include a right to free speech.”
Of course! Free speech! It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if a University of California Merced professor had written on Twitter that Islam is not a religion of peace, or that he opposed jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women. It is likely that if that had happened, the professor in question would be out of a job today, his career ruined by charges of “Islamophobia,” and James Chiavelli would not be piously reminding us of the freedom of speech.
“University of California Merced Sticks by Professor Behind Antisemitic ‘IsraHell’ Twitter Account,” Algemeiner, December 23, 2020 (thanks to Henry):
The University of California Merced’s School of Engineering was on Wednesday sticking by one of its top professors despite a viciously antisemitic and anti-Zionist Twitter account that he maintained for nearly two years having come to light.
A spokesperson for the school said that its faculty member — Abbas Ghassemi, a professor emeritus in its engineering department — had operated the account as a private individual.
“As the now-inactive Twitter account made clear, these were the opinions of a private individual, not the positions of the institution,” James Chiavelli — assistant vice chancellor of external relations at UC Merced — said in a statement.
Ghassemi’s Twitter antics were exposed earlier this week by the J-Weekly, a Jewish news outlet serving northern California.
Police and federal agents were scouring the charred site of a Christmas Day explosion in Nashville on Saturday, trying to…
In one recent post commenting on President-elect Joe Biden’s Nov. 4 victory, Ghassemi tweeted: “Surprise, surprise!! The entire system in America is controlled by Zionist. Change of president is just a surface polish, change of veneer. Same trash different pile!”
Another post on Dec. 13 read, “the Zionists and IsraHell interest have embedded themselves in every component of the American system, media, banking, policy, commerce … just a veneer of serving US interest and population — everyone pretends that is the case.”
Many of the 2,200 tweets posted by Ghassemi since the account was launched in July 2019 referred to Israel with the insulting pejorative “IsraHell,” the J-Weekly reported.
One posting on June 14 included the text “… reality bites!!!!!!” along with an image of a “Zionist brain” with labels such as “frontal money lobe,” “Holocaust memory centre,” “self-pity gland” and “world domination lobe.”
However, Chiavelli, the Merced school’s spokesperson, offered no comment or condemnation of the antisemitic material pushed by Ghassemi on Twitter.
He emphasized that the university’s principles include a right to free speech.
“Under our principles of community, UC Merced is committed to ‘uphold the right to freedom of expression and encourage a culture of dialogue, understanding, and civility in all interactions,’” Chiavelli said.
A specialist in environmental engineering, Ghassemi was a keynote speaker at the 2019 agricultural technology summit in Salinas, California….
LB says
“He emphasized that the university’s principles include a right to free speech. ‘Under our principles of community, UC Merced is committed to uphold the right to freedom of expression and encourage a culture of dialogue, understanding, and civility in all interactions'”
They actually used a “free speech” defense, holy shit! I actually laughed out loud when I read that. Free speech, my ass! More like it’s free speech when it suits them and hate speech when it doesn’t. Try pointing out the race IQ relations, oppose the mass uncontrolled immigration, quote quran and compare it to the actions of ISIS, support President Trump and point out how the elections were stolen from him, etc. and see how fast you get expelled from that “free speech” institution (aka indoctrination facility) known as the US college campus.
Trump should’ve pulled the plug on federal funding for colleges while he had the chance. Let the special foreign interests, lobbyists and islamic countries fund them as they have been so for.
David Longfellow says
The left = Nazis
It’s pretty obvious. Not an overnight phenomenon.
SJ says
This guy is not a leftist either. He just hates America.
Michael Copeland says
“…. civility in all interactions,” Chiavelli said.
Yes, for civil apes and civil pigs, and civil vilest of civil beasts.
When the Muslim Action Forum in the UK said it was “inviting the world to civility in any form of expression”, what it meant was, “Comply with Sharia or be murdered”. Very civil.
https://gatesofvienna.net/2020/12/assembly-with-menaces/#more-51347
mortimer says
The university would not tolerate a professor who criticized Islam’s doctrines and jihad, but they tolerate anti-Semitism.
SJ says
So true.
Rarely says
What restrictions should be placed on “Freedom of Speech”? What about on “Freedom of Religion”?
gravenimage says
The limits of both are prettry much the same–threats of violence.
Ghassemi sees to have pretty much tipped over the edge here.
You can sneer quotes on freedom of speech if you want to, though.
Rarely says
Who’s sneering? The breadth of “Freedom of Speech” is being, and will continue to be, problematic in a world where the most fanciful lies and historical revisionism are so easily spread to a limitless and often ignorant and superstitious multitude.
Outrageous conspiracy theories can gain traction in the blink of an eye.
BTW. The Moon is neither a balloon nor is it made of green cheese but I’m sure that, properly worded by Dr. So-and-so half the World could be convinced of both before 2021 rings in.
gravenimage says
University of California Merced stands by Muslim professor with anti-Semitic Twitter account
…………………..
Just appalling. And despite this cringing dhimmitude, UC Merced has been the victim of a Jihad terror attack:
“UC Merced stabbing attacker praised Allah, authorities search for motive”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/11/uc-merced-stabbing-attacker-praised-allah-authorities-search-for-motive