I’ve been all over the story of Mohammad Hammad, the San Francisco State University General Union of Palestinian Students president who has posted about killing Israelis. You may recall his excuse when some of the offending posts came to light.
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.
Remember those words “I do not now, nor have I ever, had any intention of committing violence against anybody”, because more of his posts have come to light – thanks to AMCHA – and judging by them, he is constantly thinking about killing people, especially Israelis but also Americans. In fact, he does not understand those who look for peaceful solutions.
August 7th, 2010 – “The group I was in charge of, from left to right: …….They named our group “The Key to Freedom”, and I was very pleased to find that they were all supporters of the PFLP : )”
May 27th, 2011
August 10th, 2012
Sept 27th, 2012
Nov 17th, 2012
March 7th, 2013
March 8th, 2013 – posting a pic of the GUPS table with a book showing the PFLP logo
March 11th, 2013
March 13th, 2013
March 17th, 2013
March 20th, 2013
April 7th, 2013
April 8th, 2013
April 8th, 2013
May 7th, 2013
May 15th, 2013
May 16th, 2013
May 19th, 2013
June 8th, 2013
June 11th, 2013
June 15th, 2013
June 21st, 2013
June 25th, 2013
July 6th, 2013
July 22nd, 2013
July 30th, 2013
August 7th, 2013
August 14th, 2013
August 20th, 2013
August 26th, 2013
August 27th, 2013
August 30th, 2013
Sept 1st, 2013
Sept 5th, 2013
Sept 6th, 2013
Sept 12th, 2013
Sept 13th, 2013
Sept 15th, 2013
Sept 19th, 2013
Sept 30th, 2013
Oct 1st, 2013
Oct 12th, 2013
October 15th, 2013
October 17th, 2013
October 20th, 2013
October 25th, 2013
October 26th, 2013
Nov 10th, 2013
Notice also the dates of these posts. They are hardly “old personal blog posts.” Nor do they seem like sarcastic, sardonic dark humor. He seems to harbor genuine hate for Israelis and Americans.
Does he really sound likes someone who believes “School should be a safe place for everyone to learn”?
I cannot believe this individual is allowed to freely roam the campus – let alone be the president of a student body.
Judging by these posts, it is only a matter of time before he fulfills his promise to kill someone.
Update: According to the Jewish Press:
Although Robert Nava, SFSU’s vice president for university development, initially told The Jewish Press by telephone that SFSU was engaged in the process of discipline with respect to Hammad, he later called back to provide a far more definitive statement. Nava said that the student we had been discussing – Mohammad Hammad – “is no longer a student on campus.” Hammad no longer is in student housing and he is no longer enrolled at SFSU.
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Officer Albie Esparza, the spokesperson for the San Francisco Chief of Police acknowledged that the office had received a packet of material earlier in the day and told The Jewish Press that the office was “looking into the matter.” He said that an investigator had already contacted the person who provided the department with the information.
Esparza focused primarily on whether the alleged criminal acts had been committed within the SFPD’s jurisdiction. But if Hammad is still in San Francisco, and if he is in possession of the knives he displayed in some of his public posts, Hammad may very well pose a serious threat to the safety of individuals and organizations in the Bay area.
The director of communications for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, Alex Bastian, said he was unaware of the delivery, by email and hand delivery, of the materials regarding Mohamad Hammad.
Officer Esparza asked that anyone with information regarding violent threats allegedly made by Mohammad Hammad should contact the San Francisco Police Department at 415.575.4444, or should text the department by dialing TIP411, and put “SFPD” at the start of the message.
