From: gross@befvax.uchicago.edu
Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast
Subject: Re: Jewish Students Assaulted
Date: 15 Apr 92 19:44:25 GMT
Article-I.D.: midway.1992Apr15.194425.17244
Reply-To: gross@befvax.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago, Dept of Molecular Genetics

In article <1992Apr15.184524.13857@noose.ecn.purdue.edu>, souissi@ei.ecn.purdue.edu (Ridha Souissi) writes:
>In article <slater.703309719@envius> slater@cs.uiuc.edu (Rob Slater) writes:
>>
>>                          Jewish Students Assaulted
>>
>>                            For Immediate Release
>>           [N.B. This press release was written by Howard Rosenburg.]
>>
>>
>>	URBANA, IL -- Two Jewish students, University of Illinois Senior in
>>Engineering Rob Slater, 22, and William Dubin, 23, were assaulted on Saturday
>>by a participant at an Islamic Culture Society event entitled "Jerusalem: Still
>>Under Zionist Occupation."  The assailant, a Muslim man in his 30's, was
>>selling books on the University of Illinois campus, where the program was
>>taking place.
>>
>>	The assailant was approached by the two students who had noticed that
>>he was selling anti-semitic materials.  Titles included "The Case Against the
>>Little White Slaver" by Henry Ford Sr., "The Greatest Hoax of the Twentieth
>>Century" by Arthur Butz, and "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." All three
>>of these works contain highly antisemitic material.
>>
>>	The Jewish students wanted to take a photograph of the table to show
>>others that these materials were still being bought and sold.  When they
>>attempted to take the photograph, they were informed by the assailant that he
>>would have no part in it.
>>
>>	The students proceeded to explain that why they were allowed to take
>>the photographs and why they wanted to take the pictures. When the picture was
>>finally taken, the assailant responded by wrestling for the camera and finally
>>breaking it by throwing it onto the ground. He then began punching Dubin, the
>>photographer, and chasing him into the lecture hall.
>>
>>	The assailant then went back outside and punched Slater four times
>>sending him to the ground.  He then tried to leave the scene claiming that
>>his "civil rights of privacy were violated and that he would do it again
>>[strike the Jewish students]" given the opportunity.  His efforts to leave
>>the scene failed when another student verbally detained him.
>>
>>	A few minutes later, the University Police arrived to restore order
>>and to take statements. The matter has been turned over to the State's
>>Attorney for further action.
>>
>>	While the camera sustained serious damage, neither Slater nor Dubin
>>were seriously injured.
>>
>>--
>> Rob Slater                                     | "When all else fails, try
>> Choices/Tapestry -- Dept. of Computer Science  |  reading the directions!"
>> University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign       |    --Rob's guiding
>> Internet: rslater@uiuc.edu                     |      philosophy
>
>
>I think that the two Jewish students were asking for trouble.
>They don't have the right to take pictures of other people
>without their consent.  

The man wasn't in his home.  He was at an event that was on University
property, sponsored by a univeristy organization.  If it's open to the
public, then that includes newspaper reporters from the school newspaper
or anything else.  Usually, organizations do want press coverage for
their events.  If they had a sign that said "no cameras", which would
be appropriate, maybe at a play or at religious ceremony, then that
would be one thing.

But if I sit a table, on campus, with literature, (like I have done before)
I am implicitly consenting to having my picture taken.  And when I do
this I have nothing to be ashamed of.  

Someone participating in a public event becomes a public figures, while
they are participating, meaning people can write about them or take 
pictures of them.  It's that simple.

>Who gives them the permission or the
>authority.  The man selling the literature might have been
>also asking for trouble by selling these kinds of books.
>But are these books outlawed/censored? doesn't he have the
>right to do it?  Please keep us informed on the process of this
>case.

People have rights.  Someone can stand in the street and say the Holocaust
never happened; that's his right.  I can take his picture, or write a story
about him, and say what it is that he does and says.  That's my right.
It's not about censorship.  People do not have the right to say anything
they want and not have people say negative things about them.

The person who is distributing anti-Semitic literature, but won't have
his picture taken is like the KKK, who protest but hide their faces,
or the people from B-CPU who post this shit from pseudonyms.  They
are cowards.  They should either stop saying what they are saying, or
take full responsiblity for what they are saying.

Leon Gross
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.
Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast