10 Muslim students in CA convicted for disrupting Israeli amb. speech

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ten Muslim college students in California were convicted and sentenced to probation on Friday for disrupting a speech at their university by Israel's ambassador to the United States.

The students, whose case touched off a furor over free speech rights at the University of California at Irvine, were also ordered to perform 56 hours of community service by an Orange County Superior Court judge, Reuters reported

The case stems from a protest organized by the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine of a February 2010 speech there by Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States. Prosecutors said the students interrupted his appearance by yelling insults such as, "It's a shame this university has sponsored a mass murderer like yourself."

The case drew an outcry from civil liberties advocates and Southern California's Muslim community, who said the students were unfairly singled out for prosecution because of their religion.

Shalom Elcott, president and CEO the Jewish Federation and Family Services, which sponsored Oren's visit, called the verdict a "landmark" in the history of anti-Israel activity on U.S. university campuses.

"For years the Muslim Student Union has been perpetrating hate speech on campus and pushing the limit on what is considered acceptable and civil discourse in the university setting," Elcott said in a statement on the group's website.