Or, the time AIPAC took a page out of Tumblr's playbook.

Three years ago, UC Berkeley sophomore Sumayyah Din announced her candidacy for student government with this Facebook post, in which she included a fateful hashtag:

I am honored to have the opportunity to run for ASUC Senate as an independent candidate. I believe it is tremendously important for ALL students at Cal to have a voice in our student government and I want to represent my communities in this space. My vision encompasses a collaborative force on campus that utilizes our collective identities for an inclusive campus climate. I hope to move forward with the utmost transparency, compassion, and vigor. Vote the Independent Voice for an Independent Choice! #DIN4THEWIN #DINASTY #DINTIFADA #DOIT4THEDIN

Here is an article detailing the ensuing meltdown. The header pic is of the girl at the center of the controversy. Apparently she's Muslim, but she's clearly not a hijabi. (NOTE: I know Mondoweiss is popular with chapotards, but I can't help that).

An inflammatory call to arms like this will inevitably generate backlash. That backlash came in the form of a student newspaper op-ed written by Becca Berman of the student group Bears for Israel, titled Campaign hashtag ignores realities of Jewish students’ experiences. It's about 700 words, but I know your time is valuable, so here are key excerpts:

Free speech does not exempt anyone from using tolerant language, and ignoring the connotations behind words with double entendres is not a loophole for their use. [...] For that reason, I find it necessary to highlight the issue that exists on this campus in addressing triggering language.

and

In order to create a cohesive community, it is imperative that our campus recognize that no group can decide for another what is or is not triggering. It is critical to recognize that for some students, “intifada” does not just mean resistance.

and

Those Jewish students who were affected by the casual appearance of “intifada” on their newsfeeds have the right to be upset and unsettled, regardless of any other interpretation of that word. To tell those students that they are wrong is to neutralize and disrespect the wounds of their pasts and of their heritages.

I'm gonna keep the agenda to a minimum in my commentary, because any post about this topic at all is inherently an agendapost, but: just compare this to any student newspaper screechpiece about, say, cultural appropriation. They're the exact fucking same article. See also the official Bears for Israel Facebook post responding to Sumayyah Din's hate crime:

On a campus that prides itself on the power of free speech, it is so disappointing to see that power being used in such a destructive, triggering way.

“Intifada”—uprising, resistance.

For many, this word seems innocent enough. But for the Jewish community, it immediately sparks memories of death, destruction, and some of the bloodiest scenes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last night, a UC Berkeley student announced her candidacy for ASUC Senate using the hashtag ‪#‎DINTIFADA. #DINTIFADA does not create an “inclusive campus climate”—it ruins it. #DINTIFADA does not “utilize collective identities”—it marginalizes a minority group. Jewish students have the right to feel safe at all times on this campus, and election season is no exception.

In the wake of the pasage of the UC system’s first anti-Semitism bill, it is critical for the student body, its leaders, and its administrators to recognize how damaging and terrifying rhetoric such as #DINTIFADA really is.

UC Berkeley is a place of learning, not of hatred. Its Senate candidates should promote dialogue between groups, not violence.

Bears for Israel is appalled by this candidate’s words. We have a responsibility to hold our elected officials and those running for office accountable, and we ask that Sumayyah Din publicly apologize for and denounce her offensive language.

The drama escalated as pro-Israel group StandWithUs took a photo of the aftermath of a suicide bombing from 2002, a collage of the Israelis killed in the attack, and put Sumayya Din's name under it. The comments (source: Mondoweiss) included:

a frustated ,sexually repressed woman

Obama promotes this kind of anti Semitism.

[I]ts all from the moslems going to the school and spewing their hate at which the stupid liberals feel sorry for the moslems. And since Moslems are allowed to lie, the libs eat it up and not doing there own research..

It seems to me that are immigration quotas should be looked at for others NOT just Hispanics

Sumayya Din? Sounds like a good American name. Her folks must have come over on the Mayflower then.

So can this dingo, Sumayya Din do the same in her country and not get penalized if not something worse?

I'm not gonna focus on the rest of the Mondoweiss article, because firstly, lol Mondoweiss, and secondly, when they contacted Sumayyah Din for her response to the drama, she was reasonable, well-spoken, and not dramatic. But in case you're wondering, the Dintifada prevailed, Din won her student senate seat, and six months later, conservative watchdogs were still complaining about her hashtag