Jewish Student Blasted for Wearing Mock Arab Outfit
A Jewish student government senator at the University of California, San Diego was accused of insensitivity for dressing in Middle Eastern garb at a costume party.
The senator, Ashton Cohen, was blasted by Amal Dalmar, a co-chair of the Student Affirmative Action Committee, and Noor El-Annan, a member of the Arab Student Union and Students for Justice in Palestine.
Cohen told JTA that the outfit was not intended to make light of anyone.
The criticism was reported in an article published last week in The Guardian, a campus newspaper.
El-Annan said that she was “offended and disgusted” by the photo because “something that my grandparents would have worn was funny to him.”
The criticism centered on a photo posted to Facebook of Cohen posing in traditional Middle Eastern attire with three women who were described in a caption as Cohen’s “three wives.” Cohen said that the caption was written by a Muslim friend of his.
Cohen, who is of Middle Eastern descent, said that he bought the outfit in Dubai. He said that the criticism from the Students for Justice in Palestine member was “an intimidation tactic because of my vote against divestment” from Israel in the student senate.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
