A friend writes:
Western University of Health Sciences‘ President, Philip Pumerantz, sent out a campus-wide email on February 7th inviting the campus community in joining him to welcome “Sgt. Benjamin Anthony from Israel, as he shares his experience in the Israeli army.”
The email noted that a free lunch will be provided and asked those interested in attending the event to RSVP to WesternU’s Hillel Club. The event is co-sponsored by WesternU’s Hillel Club and Military Medical Students Association, the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, Hasbara, and Our Soldiers Speak.
The university’s Military Medical Students Association sent out an email on February 10th stating that it is a university-wide event and that President Pumerantz and the Mayor of Pomona will both be in attendance.Western University of Health Sciences is a private non-profit health sciences university located in Pomona, California.
Here is President Pumerantz’s email:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Philip Pumerantz <ppumerantz@westernu.edu>
Date: Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 12:44 PM
Subject: Sgt Benjamin Anthony
To: “WesternU Students Pomona (on campus only)” <WUSP@westernu.edu>, WesternU Faculty & Staff & Admin – Pomona <WUFSP@westernu.edu>
Hello everyone:
I invite you to join me in welcoming Sgt. Benjamin Anthony from Israel, as he shares his experience in the Israeli army.
Free lunch is provided. Please RSVP to HILLELclub@westernu.edu
Philip Pumerantz, PhD
President
Western University of Health Sciences
309 E. Second Street
Pomona, CA 91766
ph: 909/469-5200
fax: 909/620-5456
www.westernu.edu
The following flyer was attached to the email:
And here is the email from the Military Medical Students Association:
———- Forwarded message ———-
Date: Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 10:40 AM
Subject: Israeli soldier, free lunch 2/15
To: WesternU Faculty & Staff & Admin – Pomona <WUFSP@westernu.edu>, “WesternU Students Pomona (on campus only)” <WUSP@westernu.edu>
Unfortunately there is no such thing as a “free lunch” and the price the students will pay is further indoctrination into the toxic mindset that Israeli and American interests are one in the same, even as US taxpayers fund the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Israel. BTW please, please do not accuse President Pumerantz of dual loyalty, even as he promotes this blatant PR event for the benefit of a foreign military power.
the idf? reached a high achievement of medicine an technology? yeah, i’ve read testimonies of idf soldiers witnessing the kinds of ‘on the field training’ they get with palestinian corpses. this is disgusting.
the mayor of pamona? wtf?
The usual schtick about Israel as the light of the world.
Remember that 1 in 3 Israeli kids goes to bed hungry. There is no money for those kids but the IDF is the 4th strongest military power in the world.
Priorities are pitiful.
There so desperate for attendees they need to post FREE Lunch in bold red underlined words? Cool… wish I could attend. I’d have some questions for Anthony and his motivations. Shouldn’t this be balanced by a Palestinian narrative? They could talk about the effects of white phosphorus launched from Israeli helicopters and such.
Where is the equality on this campus? A mouth full of enthusiastic propaganda, with a free lunch needs to have some balance you’d think. I wonder if they are handing out Israel T-shirts as well?