Olivia Taha’s Antisemitism Comes Back to Bite Her on the Ass
David Lange
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Remember vile antisemite Olivia Taha (Hazin)?
Following my exposés of her, she would stalk me on Twitter, tagging me on nasty tweets, until her account would again be suspended and she would appear under a new name. Rinse and repeat. She would also periodically leave nasty comments on this website.
Then silence. I have not been tagged in a long time, and I noticed her Facebook account was either suspended or removed voluntarily.
Now I think I know why.
It turns out that last month, Taha ran for Associated Students president at Santa Monica College. And her antisemitism – first exposed here but later amplified on Canary Mission – was brought up by her opponent.
An Associated Students Board of Directors meeting was derailed this Monday when A.S. Presidential Candidate Kamiko Greenwood brought concerns of antisemitism against her opponent Olivia Taha, a move which may be in violation of the A.S. Election Code of Conduct.
The two presidential candidates for Santa Monica College (SMC) Associated Students (A.S.), current Director of Student Advocacy Kamiko Greenwood and Inter-Club Council Vice-Chair Olivia Taha, clashed at a A.S. Board of Directors meeting on Monday, April 4. During the meeting, Greenwood asserted that an unnamed student at SMC had emailed her about an alleged online profile about Taha on the website Canary Mission, under the name Olivia Hazin. The anonymous site claims to document “individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.”
This profile alleged that Taha made several antisemitic remarks on past social media posts via Facebook and Twitter. Board members questioned Taha on the veracity of the alleged posts. “If these are not your quotes, then you can definitely have a case against them,” A.S. Director of Instructional Support Denise White-Odimo said.
Board members also questioned the timing of the released information from Greenwood. “It seems to be quite convenient that it’s been brought to the attention of the Board now, which I think is strange, it’s too strange to be serendipitous or circumstantial,” A.S. Vice President Dominic Prendergast said.
Despite efforts by the Board to affirm that the meeting was not the appropriate channel to issue such allegations due to conflict of interest, the heated discussion continued for several minutes.
Greenwood claimed during the meeting that she brought forth this alleged information to honor the unnamed student’s wishes. “This has nothing to do with my candidacy, that’s irrelevant in the sense of what has come forth,” she said.
“As of now, statistically, your next president will be elected by Friday, but it may not remain your next president, if there are any official complaints filed,” A.S. President Joshua Elizondo said to The Corsair. He explained that the Election Committee cannot take action against either candidate to determine if there was any violation unless a formal complaint is filed. As of April 5, no student has filed a formal complaint against Taha or Greenwood.
Section 5, articles A, B, and C of the A.S. Election Code of Conduct all forbid slander and libel in its various forms, with the potential for disqualification from the race. Whether or not Greenwood was in violation of the A.S. Code of Conduct is unclear.
In the event of a complaint, the Elections Committee would deliberate on the proper course of action, such as investigation into the legitimacy of the alleged posts and possible conflict of interest on the part of Greenwood.
Taha denied the allegations made against her. “These things that are being said about me are not true in any way, shape, or form,” she said.
Taha also expressed discomfort because the allegations of antisemitism against her at the meeting took her by suprise. “It was embarrassing. I was humiliated. I was crying,” she said. “I don’t appreciate being accused of something, and the only evidence is a website dedicated to doxxing students,” Taha said during the meeting.
Due to a pending legal matter, Taha could not confirm or deny if she was responsible for the antisemitic posts alleged by the Canary Mission profile.
Greenwood did not respond to The Corsair’s request for comment.
Note how she did not confirm or deny the existence of the antisemitic posts “due to a pending legal matter.” But here she claims they were “photoshopped” and “altered”:
Taha told the Corsair that “the images being used have been cherry-picked, photoshopped, and altered to make posts appear as if they were posted by me.” Taha also said during the meeting that many of the posts were photoshopped and that Canary Mission is a site dedicated to doxxing students in favor of Palestine
This is an absolute lie and not even the first time an antisemite I exposed has claimed it. Their cowardice knows no bounds.
In any event, Taha’s antisemitism did not disqualify her from running:
According to Dean Isaac Rodriguez Lupercio, “As stated in the A.S. Elections Code, a candidate may only be disqualified through the student discipline process. This would occur after the conclusion of an election so that the election is not disrupted.” He went on to describe the precedent for disciplinary action in cases of hate speech, “The allegations concern speech in non-College forums, and we have no legal authority to take action against Santa Monica College students or others engaged in constitutionally protected speech.”
But unfortunately for her, it seems she got her ass handed back to her on a platter.
I am not sure if the antisemitism revelations impacted the final vote, but I am pleased to see that my posts on her has made life uncomfortable for her.
It is yet another example of how we can fight back against antisemitism – legally and effectively.
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David Lange
