Asian-Pacific Student Org Says Jews Commit Genocide; Denies Jewish Existence in Israel

A new contestant in the ring of campus antisemitism has arrived.

Having flown under our radar since their initial October 24th post celebrating the killing of Jews on 10/7, thus aligning themselves with UCF’s coalition of neo-Nazi organizations, UCF’s Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC) posted an Instagram story on December 7th linking to a post titled “Helpful Context for Frustrating Conversations About Gaza,” a PDF version of which is linked below.

The post, like their statement on October 24th (transcribed below), characterizes Jews as European colonists, a blatantly false claim which erases the entire history of the Jewish people and legitimizes our deaths as “resistance.” The statements additionally complain that the Palestinian people are being ignored by the Western world, a claim not based in reality and which reeks of “All Lives Matter” rhetoric in the wake of our deaths on October 7th.

The October 24th statement peddles more disinformation: that Palestinian voices are being censored, which is at best a conspiracy theory (for every instance of Palestinian censorship, UCF Jewish Monitor could name 10 instances of Jewish censorship) and at worst an antisemitic canard directed at social media giants accused of being controlled by Jewish money; that the Nakba was entirely the responsibility of Israel, even though Israel did not engage in the mass expulsion of Palestinians; that Israel seeks to “erase” Palestinians, even though prior to the Second Intifada the Israeli government hoped for peace and its civilians were killed for pursuing it.

APAC’s violent rhetoric is in keeping with the actual violence one of its board members is alleged to have perpetuated on their domestic partner. While the specifics are not known to us — as the information of the perpetrator may be labeled as “protected” information under FERPA — APAC created an Instagram post on November 3rd saying, in part, that an “instance of domestic violence… committed by one of our General Board members toward an individual active in the APIA community” was reported to them and referred to Student Conduct. While details are scarce, it has been known to the anti-extremist community for some time that white supremacists often engage in domestic violence.

We will keep you posted on the activities of neo-Nazi/white supremacist adjacent organizations at UCF.

Full post made by APAC on December 7th:

Official Statement

TW: mentions of genocide, death, and war

A Call to Action for Solidarity with Palestine Against Occupation

October 24th, 2023

Dear UCF Community,

We, the board members of APAC, stand aligned with the goals of the Palestinian people and condemn the brutality that the settler colonial state of Israel is exercising, which has resulted in the displacement of residents at Sheikh Jarrah, raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the bombing of Gaza, among others. We are deeply disheartened by the one-sided, inflammatory, and dismissive responses we have seen from positions of power on the global stage, the U.S. government, and also, notably, within our local community. The dehumanizing language and imagery used against the Palestinian people and absolute disregard for the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous peoples of the area exposes our world’s disconnect and continued lack of accountability for inhumane acts of mass genocide and oppression.

United as APAC, a body of student advocates for the Orlando APIA community, we recognize and sympathize with the country of Palestine’s harsh realities of land occupation under the oppressive militarism of a settler colony, as many of our APIA histories share parallel traumas of colonization. We must also recognize, however, that while our communities still bear scarring impacts from colonial oppression, we must not be complicit in the oppression of others. Silence from the APAC community only shows we have learned nothing from our pasts.

While UCF has made significant progress in embracing diversity, we recognize there is a striking underrepresentation of our SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) community members, which is unacceptable. This is why more than ever we believe the APIA community cannot be silent and must stand by the side of the Palestinian people — to amplify the voices which are now being censored and silenced. At this time, APAC would like to center our Palestinian students’ voices and lived experiences. We stand by our fellow students who are worried about their loved ones in Palestine, whose family homes are being wiped out and whose dispossession has been ongoing for the past 75 years. We affirm their pain and anger and support their ability to share their stories.

During the Nakba from 1947 to 1949, the Israeli military occupation of Palestine issued forth a mass expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland. Since then, we have witnessed a continued displacement of over 7 million Palestinians. As of early October 2023, over 5,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more injured due to the genocidal Israeli military forces and their bombings across the Gaza strip. Palestine has been inhumanely cut off from vital medical care, food, water, gas, and electricity. In real time, the colonial state of Israel and the global powers of the west seek to erase Palestinian lives and histories as indigenous peoples to the land. What we are witnessing in Palestine is Israeli structural violence and ethnic cleansing. We demand an immediate ceasefire from Israel and we implore our student body to join us in doing so.

As we all reflect upon the occupation of Palestine, it is imperative that we confront our own complacency and indifference. Now is the time that we unite as a community, fostering compassion and taking action in response to the current situation. We urge you all to educate yourselves, reach out to your respective partisans, and not let inaction take part in history once more. We must take a stand and make our voice heard in order to set history on the right path. Our complacency enables the U.S. government to use our taxpayer money to fund and supply the military of Israel. We as a society are not innocent in bloodshed.

Finally, we express our disappointment and concern regarding UCF’s response to these incidents, marked by the use of insensitive and biased language, complete erasure and lack of regard for Palestinians, and the lack of distributed resources allocated at this critical time. We demand that first, UCF apologize for previous statements released and make a commitment to promoting a more just and equal community in the future. Additionally, we call for the establishment of crisis policies which include but are not limited to: expedited booking processes for hosting vigils, an emergency crisis fund for necessary materials at said events, and furthering accessibility on resources for education, mental health, and peer support, especially for the affected Palestinian, SWANA, and Muslim communities.

A document which APAC references is available in PDF format here.