Mohammad Hammad, the San Francisco State University General Union of Palestinian Students president who has expressed his wish to kill IDF soldiers and longs for the destruction of Israel, has reacted to the exposure and unwanted publicity these posts have brought him.
Needless to say, he’s unrepentant.
Personal Statement of Mohammad Hammad Concerning Recent Events*
December 15, 2013
I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the past couple weeks as I have faced these attacks in the media. Everyone who knows me knows that these attacks are inaccurate, dishonest, and not at all reflective of my character or beliefs. An organization with a track record for hyperbole and misrepresentation has taken some of my old personal blog posts out of context. The style of my posts has ranged from sarcastic, sardonic dark humor, to passionate and indignant reactions to current events. Sometimes they were immature, or driven by pure emotional reactions to the terrible injustices committed on behalf of Israel against my fellow people. Although this does not negate the fact that the posts were immature, the way they have been portrayed, through selective quotations and other misrepresentation, is so over-the-top, irresponsible, and disingenuous, that I have received numerous death threats as a result. It should be noted: all my blog postings were and always have been mine and mine alone, and not related to other students or GUPS in any way.
These attacks are meant to suggest that I have a propensity towards violent actions, and that I harbor hatred towards the Jewish people. Let me be clear: I do not now, nor have I ever, had any intention of committing violence against anybody. School should be a safe place for everyone to learn and, most of all, express constitutionally-protected views without fear of punishment or smear campaigns. Furthermore, I stand firmly against racism, regardless who the target is. My views about Israel and its military are based on the government’s history, policies,practices, and personal experience gained from living in Palestine, not on any perceived affiliation with Judaism or Jewish people. It is deeply offensive to suggest, as my attackers have, that a reaction to the Israeli military’s actions is somehow directed at all Jewish people, as if all Jewish people identify with and condone the state of Israel and everything it does.
I cannot help but note that the group attacking me for expressing my outrage at human rights violations by the Israeli military has nothing to say about the actual violence committed by Israeli troops against Palestinians on a daily basis. That should go to show what this is really about: the crime of being Palestinian and the crime of refusing to accept the way Israel treats the Palestinians. The best way for me and others to overcome this ordeal is to keep speaking truth to power and not to let them silence us.
I am very grateful for the continued support of fellow students and allies both on campus and across the globe.
– Mohammad Hammad
* This is my personal statement only, and does not represent the General Union of Palestine Students, which will release a separate organizational statement.
So Hammad’s argument is basically the posts were old, personal and taken out of context, since their style was either sarcastic, sardonic dark humor, or passionate and indignant reactions to current events. He has no intention of committing violence against anybody, and does not hate Jews.
Now let’s revisit the offending posts in light of this letter.
Are they “personal”? Well, yes, in the sense that he is representing himself. But they are clearly meant for the consumption of others, not like a personal diary that only the author himself would read. In fact, his Tumblr and FB page (notice his user name is Dr Sexy) reveal someone who seems to be very extroverted and loving the outside attention.
Are the posts “old”? One is from August, and the other from late October. So while technically they are “old” in the sense they are not from this month, they are very recent.
As for claiming they are “sarcastic, sardonic dark humor, to passionate and indignant reactions to current events”, let’s examine the first post.
“I seriously can not get over how much I love this blade. It is the sharpest thing I own and cuts through everything like butter and just holding it makes me want to stab an Israeli soldier….”
I don’t sense any sarcasm nor humor in this post. He seems pretty serious about it. There’s also no indication it is a reaction to a current event, not that this constitutes any excuse for such a threatening post.
Regarding the more recent post, again no hint of sarcasm nor humor.
Stories of children killed by IDF soldiers, as in there being an altercation and the soldier responds by firing on the kid and kill them
They make me so, so, so incredibly angry
Of course every death of a Palestinian at the hands of an Israeli piece of shit is going to make me angry, but these more personal stories [not that others are not personal, but you know what I mean]
Like I’m sitting here looking through pictures of that fucking scum xxxxx xxxxx who murdered Mohammad Sulayma back in December of last year, and she was praised for it and faced no fucking repercussions and just
Back when it happened, I sent her a very long winded, angry letter complete with pictures of the boy she killed:
And how’s she doing?
Well, here’s her fucking Facebook:
—
That cover photo
that cover photo
She murdered the boy on his 17th birthday as he was going out to get some cake.
He was hard of hearing, and when asked to stop, became frightened and jumpy
After an altercation [which the IDF posted an *edited* video of], Nofar opened fire on Mohammad and murdered him on the spot, and then refused to allow any Palestinians near the body to offer him any aid or assistance
Yet she has the audacity to post a peace sign as her cover photo?!
They ask why it is that we as Palestinians hate them so much
They ask why it is that we are so “violent”
They as why it is that we will always refuse peace with these fucking animals
They act surprised when we fight back, when we lash out in frustration, anger, and despair
and we’re still seen as the animals
WE’RE the “uncivilized” ones, WE’RE the ones who are making this all into a “problem”
Anyone who thinks there can be peace with animals like this is absolutely delusional, and the only “peace” I’m interested in is the head of this fucking scum on a plate, as well as the heads of all others like her, and all others who support the IDF
The Liberation of Palestine can only come through the destruction and decimation of this Israeli plague and it can’t possibly come soon enough.
The post definitely falls under “indignant reaction, ” but what he is reacting to can hardly be termed a “current event”, since the killing of palestinian Mohammad Sulayma was in December of last year. He rather seems to be driven by sheer hatred.
I think a reasonable person could read the posts and doubt Hammad’s claim he does “not now, nor ..ever, had any intention of committing violence against anybody”? Again..
I seriously can not get over how much I love this blade. It is the sharpest thing I own and cuts through everything like butter and just holding it makes me want to stab an Israeli soldier
—-
Anyone who thinks there can be peace with animals like this is absolutely delusional, and the only “peace” I’m interested in is the head of this fucking scum on a plate, as well as the heads of all others like her, and all others who support the IDF
The Liberation of Palestine can only come through the destruction and decimation of this Israeli plague and it can’t possibly come soon enough.
I certainly don’t think it is worth the risk of finding out.
