BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen should be thrown off a case against pro-Palestinian protesters because he called them antisemitic and raised campaign money on prosecuting them, a defense attorney argued today (April 27).
Rosen’s office is prosecuting five students who allegedly broke into the Stanford president’s offices, barricaded themselves inside and spattered blood throughout the building on June 5, 2024.
Deputy Public Defender Avi Singh cited Rosen’s response during a campaign interview to questions about “monetizing” the prosecution. Rosen said he hasn’t faced similar challenges in other cases.
“But in this case, because it’s about antisemitism, and it’s because I’m a Jew, it’s the oldest f***ing antisemitic trope. And that’s exactly what the defense attorney is doing in this case,” Rosen reportedly told the San Jose Mercury News on April 20.
The case would get dismissed if Rosen made a comment like this in a courtroom during a trial, and his allegations of antisemitism are “baseless,” Singh said.
“This is absolutely biased and hostile language,” defense attorney Tony Brass added.
Deputy Attorney General Sharon Lockner said Rosen’s office should remain on the case, and his comments have been neutral.
“There’s nothing wrong with campaigning on a case. That’s been done since the dawn of time,” Lockner said at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
Judge Kelley Paul said she’ll announce a decision on Rosen’s recusal on May 7.
Rosen sent a fundraising email to 621 members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Los Angeles on Dec. 5, according to records subpoenaed by Singh.
Rosen’s email said his father survived three concentration camps and was a refugee in post-war Europe before immigrating to America.
“My parents taught my brother and me to love four things: America, the State of Israel, the Jewish people and Judaism,” Rosen wrote.
The email included a donation button and a link to a Los Angles Times article about the case.
“Felony charges for pro-Palestinian Stanford students? Trump will love this,” the headline said.
Rosen’s fundraising efforts have put his office in a corner and created a financial incentive related to the case , Singh said.
Five protesters — German Gonzalez, Maya Burke, Taylor McCann, Hunter Taylor-Black and Amy Zhai — are facing felony vandalism and conspiracy charges. Six more protesters accepted pretrial plea deals or alternative sentences.
The protesters were “highly organized” and brought food, a ladder, plywood, crowbars, hammers and other tools for breaking in, Rosen said in a press conference when he announced the charges.
One Stanford employee had a photo of her deceased mother and kids destroyed by fake blood, Rosen said.
“Dissent is American. Vandalism is criminal,” Rosen said at the time.
Singh argued the occupation was peaceful and only meant to raise awareness about Stanford’s investments in Israel.
A trial from Jan. 9 to Feb. 13 ended with jurors divided 8-4 for guilt on the conspiracy and 9-3 for guilt on the vandalism.
Following the verdict, Rosen said he would push for a retrial to have the five take responsibility for an estimated $300,000 in damages.
Imagine if the DA, or a surrogate of the DA, hit up crime victims for donations? That’s exactly what Rosen’s predecessor Dolores Carr did? And she was run out of office for it, and replaced by Mr. Ethical, Jeff Rosen.
Since when is a DA obligated to only say nice things about the criminals they prosecute? The DA is not a neutral, like a judge is, but is an advocate for the people against criminals. And the anti-Semitism of much of the pro-Palestinian activists is readily apparent to everyone watching.
You’re absolutely right. The problem is that Jeff Rosen also uses this kind of language with crime victims. When he sought to take murderers off of death row, all of the affected families were against doing this.
When the voiced their opposition, Rosen was reported to say, ” I don’t care f***ing care about your feelings.”
Israel is a country, not religion. Zionism is not Judaism. Opposition to the mass murder and torture of children is not antisemitism. Enough is more than enough.