David N. Myers
Role at the time: Professor of Jewish history at UCLA, writing a signed guest opinion column co-authored with Salam Al-Marayati, president and co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council
Statement summary
In a co-bylined Los Angeles Times opinion piece with Salam Al-Marayati, UCLA Jewish history professor David N. Myers wrote that the summit became a platform for anti-Muslim hate and placed significant responsibility on the organisers who gave Yousef the stage.
“Rather than a celebration of Jewish life, the summit turned into a platform for anti-Muslim hate.”
Co-bylined guest opinion. Myers is a professor of Jewish history at UCLA; Al-Marayati is president and co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. The piece quotes three of Yousef's lines directly, says significant responsibility rests with the organizers who gave him a platform, and describes the crowd as applauding his remarks.
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Myers and Al-Marayati condemn both Yousef's remarks and the summit's response to them. They describe the remarks as a "vulgar tirade" giving voice to "deep contempt" for Islam and Muslims, and they extend the criticism to the organizers and to the applauding audience.