Muslim Group Wants Investigation Into Students Arrests at Speech

A prominent Muslim group is calling on UC Irvine to investigate the arrests of 11 students during a raucous lecture where Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren spoke about U.S.-Israel relations earlier this week.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council {snip} says schools should not discourage students from expressing their First Amendment rights.

Oren’s speech was interrupted by shouting and protests multiple times Monday night.

Eleven students were cited for disturbing a public event and released.

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At least 11 students were arrested for interrupting a lecture by Israel’s U.S. ambassador at a California university.

Michael Oren was interrupted repeatedly during his speech Monday night at the University of California, Irvine, which for years has been at the center of campus wars over Israel.

Oren was removed from the stage for a period because of the outbursts, prompting a university faculty member to take the podium and admonish the crowd, calling the incident “embarrassing.”

Oren returned to finish his speech but did not take questions from the audience, as was scheduled, Haaretz reported.

In a statement received by the Orange County Register, the university’s Muslim Student Union said, “We condemn and oppose the presence of Michael Oren, the ambassador of Israel to the United States, on our campus today.”

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[A video of this incident can be viewed here.]