Press Release by Delegate David LaRock
Hamilton, VA – Several members of the Virginia General Assembly, along with individuals and organizations concerned with anti-Semitic activities, today issued a letter calling on George Mason University (GMU) to prevent the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) National conference from being held on the University’s campus.George Mason University Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA), is the event’s host organization.
George Mason University’s code of conduct states: “The right to free speech and expression does not include unlawful activity or activity that endangers or threatens to endanger the safety or well-being of any member of the community.”
The legislators, and other signers, state that “A group that incites hate, fuels violent behavior and places citizens’ lives at great risk should not be allowed to use any facility in this Commonwealth of Virginia, let alone a taxpayer-funded educational institution. We ask George Mason University to assure us they will not allow organizations whose record includes activity that endangers or threatens to endanger the safety of others to have access to facilities.”
Delegate Dave LaRock (R-33), says “George Mason, a publicly funded institution, is not differentiating between organizations which participate a healthy public discourse and those whose stated goals are to harm innocent human beings. The groups hosting this anti-Israel conference have direct ties to terrorist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Granting them access to public facilities is analogous to hosting a Ku Klux Klan or a neo-Nazi rally on campus: it is antithetical to a free society which respects the rights of all.”
Earlier this year, the Virginia General Assembly passed HJ177, to “…reaffirm their support for the State of Israel and oppose all attempts to economically and politically isolate Israel within the international arena, including promotion of economic, cultural, and academic boycotts, and all efforts to assault the legitimacy of the State of Israel as the sovereign homeland of the Jewish people.”
Signers of the letter include Virginia State Senator Charles W. Carrico, Sr.; Delegates Dave LaRock, C. Matthew Fariss, Mark L. Cole, Christopher E. Collins, Jason S. Miyares, H. F. “Buddy” Fowler, Jr. and L. Mark Dudenhefer; as well as Deborah Weiss, Esq., President, Vigilance, Inc.; Becky Norton Dunlop, Former Director, White House Office of Cabinet Affairs and Former Senior Official, U.S. Department of Justice; Allen Roth, President, Secure America Now; Joel Anand Samy, Co-Founder, International Leaders Summit; Natasha Srdoc, Co-Founder, International Leaders Summit; Rev. Chris Edmonds, Founder, Roddie Edmonds Foundation; Sarah N. Stern, Founder and President, Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), and Gil St.John, ActNoVA Chapter Leader.
Any additional signers who are added to this letter can be found at http://www.votelarock.us/news/legislators-and-leaders-oppose-hate-group-conference-at-gmu
