NOTE: Faculty, if you are interviewed and quoted by news media, or if your work has been cited, and you have an online link to the article or video, please let us know. Contact us at news@csusb.edu  

CSUSB professor comments on Congressional hearing on Iran and the possibility of war
Press TV
June 19, 2019
 
David Yaghoubian, CSUSB professor of history, was interviewed for a segment on the testimony of Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism on June 19. Hook testified about the Trump administration’s Iran policy, as well as outlining the four key areas that any future nuclear deal with Iran should address.
 
Much of the testimony scrutinized the potential for the U.S. engaging in a conflict with Iran, though administration officials have sometimes expressed conflicting views on the matter.  
 
Yaghoubian said the testimony showed that the Trump administration “continues with its agenda to either engage in what they refer to as regime change in Iran or to foment a war to achieve that end.”
 
As for the possibility of the Trump administration waging war with Iran, Yaghoubian said that he didn’t think that it was likely, though the rhetoric would continue. “This is due to two basic factors. One, Iran’s geography and its defensive capabilities … it’s industrial capacity, its strong level of patriotism and societal cohesion. But then the United States is completely isolated, and this was actually something that … (U.S. Rep. Tom) Malinowski talked about, that the U.S. is essentially isolated in relation to its European allies and much of the world. … The United States is simply in a weak position.”
 
Watch the segment at “U.S. lawmakers concerned about military action against Iran.”

Press TV is a 24-hour English language news and documentary network affiliated with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

Today’s extremists likely to ‘cross-pollenate with a variety of anti-social and bigoted platforms,’ CSUSB professor says
Phoenix (Ariz.) New Times
June 19, 2019
 
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, was interviewed for an article about a man charged with assaulting a police officer and terrorism. The suspect adhered to radical Islam and the alt-right.
Radical Islam and the alt-right are at odds — leaders of the latter often express racism toward Muslims — but the disparate ideologies share a few unifying principles: hatred of women, Jews, and the LGBT community.
 
With the proliferation of hate groups congregating on social media platforms — particularly YouTube, 4chan, and Reddit — it's not uncommon for young men and women to dip their toes in multiple forums for bigotry, according to Levin.
 
'Extremists today, particularly when they are part of a virtual community, are much more likely to cross-pollinate with a variety of anti-social and bigoted platforms,' Levin said in a phone interview. 'They not only have shared hatreds, they also look at other extremists as a source of information and tactics.'
 
Read the complete article at “Teen charged with terrorism shared videos from Al-Qaeda and alt-right.”

CSUSB hate crime research cited in column about rise in anti-Semitism and threats against a Seattle City Council candidate
The Jerusalem Post
June 18, 2019
 
Kenneth Bandler, the American Jewish Committee’s director of media relations, wrote a column in The Jerusalem Post that quoted Brian Levin, director of CSUSB’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. Bandler’s column was about threats made against a Seattle City Council candidate who is Jewish, and the rise of anti-Semitism.
 
Bandler wrote: “‘Last year was the worst year for anti-Semitism homicides that we have ever seen,’ Brian Levin – director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino – told the AJC Global Forum in early June. ‘The only thing that stopped this year from being worse was the fact that a violent anti Semite’s gun jammed,’ referring to the April fatal attack at the Chabad in Poway, California.”
 
Read the complete article at “On my mind: Jewish insecurity.” 

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