Arizona State University’s undergraduate student government elections are underway and, unsurprisingly, a radical slate of candidates has emerged. United Voices for ASU is a coalition claiming to be fighting for ASU students when in reality they are fighting for their own political interests.
It’s no coincidence that the notorious campus hate group Students for Justice in Palestine has endorsed the slate. At least one of its candidates, Alexia Isais, is a vehement anti-Semite. She hero-worships Leila Khaled, a Palestinian terrorist, infamous plane hijacker, and member of the U.S.-designated terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
She calls Khaled an “idol” and posts her quotes as inspiration. Khaled is not a “freedom fighter”. She is a terrorist with innocent blood on her hands. This is no role model for a would-be public servant.
Aside from her poor choices in personal heroes, Isais has some disturbing views of her own. She has repeatedly tweeted that “Israel shouldn’t even exist,” including by invoking the genocidal call for a free Palestine “from the river to the sea”. Don’t be mistaken – this is not a call for freedom or democracy. It is a call to exterminate all 6 million Jews living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, the entirety of the land of Israel. Her advocacy for violence against Israel and the Jewish people doesn’t stop there.
Isais is also a vocal supporter of an “antifa-like” student, Ben Cooper, who was arrested last year for aggravated assault. This is a violent anti-Israel agitator who was arrested in part for an assault on a Tempe police officer and was charged with a felony. He is also a member of the Young Democratic Socialists of America at ASU and used the group’s platform to bash the Tempe police department. Well after his conviction of a violent crime, Isais shared an op-ed Cooper wrote in which he endorses the idea that “Israel and the United States share that common imperialistic ideology of border militarization [and] human rights abuses” and that “U.S. actions globally have inflamed conflict.” Isais called it “awesome”.
The admiration appears to be mutual because Cooper also endorsed the United Voices for ASU slate. Why should the ASU student body support a slate that is so anti-American?
The politicization of college campuses is nothing new, but it’s time student governments focus on education and put broader politics aside. The students of ASU deserve better than to serve as pawns of the left’s political agenda. United Voices for ASU’s platform is full of platitudes like a “universal pass” policy for the spring semester when in reality they want to impose a radical anti-Israel agenda and lift up their violent allies. Reject this slate and vote for candidates who are truly ready to advocate for ASU students’ interests.
Julie Houtman & Nina Sarappo
President & Vice President of College Republicans United