bds

UC GRADUATE STUDENT-WORKER UNION BECOMES FIRST MAJOR U.S. LABOR UNION TO SUPPORT BDS

From the UAW 2865 BDS page:

For Immediate Release – December 10th, 2014

HISTORIC: UAW 2865, UC STUDENT-WORKER UNION, BECOMES FIRST MAJOR U.S. LABOR UNION TO SUPPORT DIVESTMENT FROM ISRAEL BY MEMBERSHIP VOTE

IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINIAN WORKERS AND STUDENTS.

65% of VOTING MEMBERS APPROVE CALL FOR DIVESTMENT;

52% pledged to support academic boycott

“This is a decisive victory for justice for Palestinians. After months of campaigning, we are inspired that so many members participated in this vote and made their voices heard. This is a testament to our membership’s engagement with matters of social justice. This vote was a first step in our commitment to solidarity with Palestinians under occupation and facing discriminatory laws, and we will continue to take steps to make that solidarity concrete as part of our involvement in anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles broadly.” –Kumars Salehi, member

“We are committed to linking student and labor movements in the United States to student and labor movements in other parts of the world, including Palestine. As student-workers fighting the attacks on education here in California as well as the decades-long crackdown on labor in the U.S. generally, we know that international labor solidarity makes us stronger and we support Palestinian students, workers and broader society in their decades-long struggle against dispossession, occupation and apartheid.” –Loubna Qutami, member

UAW 2865, a labor union representing over 13,000 teaching assistants, tutors, and other student-workers at the University of California, has become the first major U.S. labor union to hold a membership vote responding to the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli occupation and in solidarity with Palestinian self-determination. The vote passed, with 65% (almost 2/3) of voting members in support. Over 2100 members voted, a testament to union democracy.

The measure calls on

  1. the University of California to divest from companies involved in Israeli occupation and apartheid;
  2. the UAW International to divest from these same entities;
  3. the US government to end military aid to Israel.
  4. 52 % of voting members also pledged not to “take part in any research, conferences, events, exchange programs, or other activities that are sponsored by Israeli universities complicit in the occupation of Palestine and the settler-colonial policies of the state of Israel” until such time as these universities take steps to end complicity with dispossession, occupation, and apartheid.

1136 members pledged to observe the academic boycott, a reflection of the ways student laborers are taking concrete actions to practice solidarity.

In July, the union’s Joint Council, comprised of 83 elected officers across nine UC campuses, published an open letter outlining support for the Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) “against public institutions and corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid and occupation of Palestinians.” This open letter announced it would seek a membership vote on the matter in the coming academic year. The UAW 2865 Joint Council took these steps in response to a call for solidarity from all major Palestinian trade unions, including the Palestinian University Teachers’ Association, The Joint Council’s open letter was followed by four months of internal debate prior to the election and deep engagement by members statewide.

The goal of the non-violent global BDS strategy is that Israel will end land confiscation and human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, recognize rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel as over 50 Israeli laws currently discriminate against them, and respect the right under international law of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

UAW 2865 joins several labor unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland, UNITE New Zealand, CUPE in Canada, COSATU in South Africa and many dockworker unions around the world. It also joins growing grassroots voices in the U.S. labor movement including rank and file members of the International Longshore Workers’ Union Local 10 that supported community pickets and successfully blocked Israeli ships from unloading goods similar to their historic involvement in the anti-South African apartheid movement, and hundreds of labor organizers who signed onto the Labor for Palestine statement. Within the UAW itself, Local 2865 follows the precedent of Arab-American auto workers in Detroit in 1973 who protested the union’s purchase of Israeli bonds financing the seizure of Palestinian lands. Just as black workers at Polaroid in the U.S. launched a boycott of their company for helping make apartheid passbooks for South Africans, we support workers in other UAW-unionized industries in pressuring their employers to commit to socially responsible business practices so that the illegal occupation of Palestinians comes to an end.

The mostly graduate student worker union joins the undergraduate student governments of UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, and UCLA which have passed resolutions in support of divestment.

We are immensely grateful for the tremendous support from numerous individuals and organizations, including letters of support from over 700 supporters from Jewish communities, feminist and queer workers linking the campaign to repression against Palestinian-American feminist activist Rasmea Odeh, among letters from many other groups which were posted on a Facebook page in support of the measure.

For more information, please visit uaw2865.org.

Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA Hails Divestment Victory, Thanks all Supporters

November 19, 2014

Divestment organizers at UCLA, representing a wide coalition of students from all backgrounds and sectors of campus, celebrated a milestone victory for social justice with the passage of “A Resolution to Divest from Companies Engaged in Violence against Palestinians.” The resolution, sponsored by Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed, Conrad Contreras, and Manjot Singh, passed by an 8-2-2 margin. It was sponsored by 15 student organizations and endorsed by an additional 17, making for 32 total student groups in support of divestment. UCLA’s vote marks the 6th of 9 undergraduate University of California campuses to have taken a majority vote in support of divestment from corporations that violate Palestinian human rights.

Council members from a variety of political affiliations voted in favor of the resolution, including independents, progressives, and a member of the campus’ moderate party. Before the vote, council members expressed their admiration and respect for the coalition building, education, and outreach by SJP-UCLA during our campaign. Also notable was the positive tone of the hearing and discussion, wherein most council members affirmed their support for one another regardless of their votes.

The resolution could not have been successful without the support of the students from many communities who came out to speak in its favor and who stayed at the hearing until it passed. Alaa Abuadas, the programming director for SJP-UCLA said, “as a Palestinian, I want to thank every single person who helped us pass this bill, for getting us one step closer to a free Palestine.”

This resolution’s victory does not mark the end of SJP’s efforts. SJP sees the passage of divestment as a chance to help other communities use this tool as an avenue to attain more political agency. On that note, the organization sees this vote as laying a principled foundation from which students from myriad backgrounds can continue to educate and organize in support of not just Palestinian rights but all causes of social justice.

For more, see: http://www.sjpbruins.com/

UC Berkeley rejects bill condemning boycotts of Israeli academic institutions

[caption id="attachment_175009390" align="aligncenter" width="563"]From the Daily Cal, Photo by Arielle Hayat From the Daily Cal, Photo by Arielle Hayat[/caption]

From the Daily Cal: More than 100 students, professors, UC alumni and other community members gathered in Anna Head Alumnae Hall to voice their opinions on Senate Bill 11, titled “A Bill in Support of the Free Flow of Ideas and International Academic Collaboration,” which was sponsored by Student Action Senator Ori Herschmann.

The bill called for the ASUC to endorse “academic freedom” and to support academic exchanges such as those between UC Berkeley and Israeli academic institutions.

In particular, the bill called for the ASUC to reject academic boycotts against Israeli academic institutions, such as those by the American Studies Association and the Association for Asian American Studies. The American Studies Association voted to boycott Israeli academic institutions on the grounds that these institutions are subject to state policies that allegedly violate human rights.

The bill also called for the ASUC to denounce a student-organized event scheduled for next week that, among other points, advocates an academic boycott of Israel. The International Day of Action on College Campuses for Palestine, scheduled for Tuesday, calls for no “academic complicity” with the Israeli government, according to the event’s Facebook page — including no study abroad programs in Israel and no joint research or conferences with Israeli institutions.

Such academic boycotts, the bill asserts, are violations of academic freedom.

When the committee floor opened for public comment, many opponents of the bill brought up the institutional academic roadblocks for Palestinian students under Israeli law.

Viveka Jagadeesan, a campus junior and member of Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Berkeley, opposed the bill, saying its language was problematic. She said it failed to clarify that the academic boycott applies only to Israeli institutions with “discriminatory policies,” not to individual Israeli academics.

Additionally, she said the contents of the bill contradicted its claim to support free speech.

“When I read the bill, I was quite struck that the bill claimed to support the free flow of ideas when one of its calls to action was to condemn a student-organized event on campus,” Jagadeesan said.

Resources:

Kumars Salehi in the Daily Cal: Anti-BDS bill would have stifled free speech on campus

Letter from prominent academics against the bill

SJP at UCLA defeats “anti-divestment” bill

In October of 2013, a bill supporting “positive investments” and denouncing divestment was presented to the UCLA student government. It was eventually struck down by a 7-5-0 margin, preserving the ability of the council to engage on the question of divestment from companies that profit from the occupation of the Palestinian territories. Below is SJP at UCLA’s press release on the issue, as well as the following links to statements and reference materials:

1. Op-Ed in Daily Bruin on the irrelevance of “positive investment”

2. Berkeley president DeeJay Pepito’s solidarity statement

3. Irvine External Vice President Melissa Gamble’s solidarity statement

4. Stanford Students for Palestinian Equal Rights solidarity statement

5. Sam Bahour letter to UCLA regarding positive investment

6. Letter from Jewish solidarity activists

7. Letter from JVP-LA activist Estee Chandler

 

STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 23, 2013
SJPUCLA1 @ GMAIL.COM

ANTI-DIVESTMENT RESOLUTION DEFEATED AT UCLA UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

With 7 votes against and 5 in favor, the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council voted last night to defeat a resolution that threatened the ability for students to pursue divestment from companies tied to the Israeli occupation.

The resolution, entitled “A Resolution In Support of Positive Steps Towards an Israeli-Palestinian Peace” framed divestment as a source of tension on campus, while also calling for “positive investment” in a basket of companies loosely affiliated with both Israelis and Palestinians.

Over a hundred students attended the hearings, which lasted until 3am on October 23rd. Over the course of two and a half hours of public comment, over 40 students from a variety of campus communities spoke against the bill, arguing that its claims to support community engagement were hypocritical given the exclusion of SJP from the bill’s writing process; wide ranging criticism by Palestinians of “positive investment,” and criticism of the attempt to bar divestment from public debate. Two council members admitted to having taken free trips to Israel sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, which has actively opposed divestment bills at the University of California system and campaigned against SJPs.

Council members responded by systematically removing clauses that spoke on behalf of Palestinians or limited their ability to engage in divestment activism. Eventually the bill lost support and failed when put to a vote. Students for Justice in Palestine board member Angélica Becerra commented “I am very happy with tonight’s outcome. It shows great resiliency on the part of SJP and that our community support is very strong.”

Members of SJP expressed hope that efforts to prevent debate around divestment would continue to be unsuccessful, while the statewide campaign against efforts to remove university investments from companies enabling the occupation would continue to gain momentum across the state.

Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA was founded in 2005 and is a coalition of students working in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. 

Sadia Saifuddin’s confirmation as UC Regent is a defeat for anti-BDS lobby

Recently, anti-BDS groups Stand With Us and The Simon Wiesenthal Center attempted to defeat the nomination of divestment advocate Sadia Saifuddin to the position of Student Regent of the University of California. This attempt at punishing students for supporting BDS backfired, as Saifuddin was confirmed by resounding vote. We strongly oppose these McCarthy-ite tactics and the interference of lobbying organizations into student affairs.

The Los Angeles Times recently editorialized against the attack on her for supporting Palestinian rights. Supporters recently placed the following op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News:

Muslim UC regent: Sadia Saifuddin’s confirmation is heartening

Sadia Saifuddin’s confirmation as student UC regent designate is a landmark moment in the struggles of both the Middle Eastern Muslim South Asian (MEMSA) community and the wider community of Palestinian rights activists. Saifuddin, a 4th year social welfare major, demonstrated remarkable grace, composure and courage throughout the nomination process, even in the face of Islamophobic hate speech.

Outside political groups attempted to derail her nomination by unfairly smearing her as an extremist linked to terror. While David Horowitz railed against her in FrontPage Magazine, other groups such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center and StandWithUs organized petitions and asked their supporters to make public comments against her nomination.

This is not the first time that groups opposing divestment from companies that profit from the occupation of Palestinian land have tried to change the course of political debates and votes on UC campuses by intimidating students. But this direct attack on a student leader and the attempt to disrupt her career marks an escalation. However, we can take heart in the fact that her nomination received all but one vote.

The opposition to Saifuddin’s nomination was exclusively external. Saifuddin enjoyed near unanimous support from the student body at large. Students from a broad array of identities on campus wrote letters and spoke at public sessions. Students representing the MEMSA, Jewish and fraternity/sorority communities testified to Saifuddin’s tolerance and commitment to fighting hate speech of all kind.

Saifuddin was nominated as Regent not despite her political position but because of it. Among many other admirable qualities, her commitment to fighting Islamophobia and principled support for Palestinian equality is a significant reason so many students across the system supported her. Her divestment support is not seen as a liability but as an expression of her values. Students trust that she will uphold these values in her new position.

What does Saifuddin’s confirmation say about the intimidation campaigns to silence student speech?

It shows that intimidation has not stopped the growing student political movement. As last year’s political activity indicates, support for Palestinian rights is becoming a consensus on UC campuses, and attempts to portray the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement as anti-Semitic have become increasingly outlandish.

On the other hand, the chilling effect of this public Islamophobic campaign against a student leader has insidious effects we may never be able to measure. How many young Arab and Muslim leaders will now decide to stay out of politics to avoid being smeared as a terrorist?

Hopefully, Saifuddin’s shining example will inspire them to risk it, because it can be overcome.

Her rise to the position of UC Regent is another indicator of the growing prominence and political consciousness of the Middle Eastern Muslim and South Asian community. In the last year, student governments at Berkeley, San Diego and Irvine, as well as the UC Student Association, all passed resolutions supporting divestment. Similarly, the European Union last week made it official policy to refuse economic cooperation with any entities in Israel’s illegal settlements. Saifuddin’s confirmation is another signal that it is no longer a question of if the UC Regents will divest from companies facilitating human rights abuses against Palestinians, but when.

Sabreen Shalabi on the California Legislature, Appointment of Napolitano as UC President

UC Irvine SJP member Sabreen Shalabi was interviewed by the Electronic Intifada about SJP-West’s response to the California Legislature’s anti-BDS letter and the recent appointment of Janet Napolitano as UC President. You can hear the interview here:

 

Read more about the California Legislators letter here and find our more about the Napolitano appointment at The Electronic Intifada.

Students Respond to California Legislators’ Censorship

July 8, 2013

SJP West (Students for Justice in Palestine)

For Immediate Release:

Billions of US tax dollars and millions of University of California tuition dollars are invested in documented human rights violations in Palestine and Israel–including but not limited to acts of collective punishment, contributing to the illegal separation wall that annexes Palestinian land, operating in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and discriminating based on race, ethnicity and religion. Over the past year, seven UC campuses brought measures to divest from these documented human rights violations in Palestine before our student senates, including UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego. These divestment measures–which achieved a majority of ‘yes’ votes in 5 of 7 campuses–represent a growing movement around the state towards accountability to international human rights law and a basic standard of justice.

Yet over the past year, the California State Legislature has taken an increasingly anti-democratic stance against students organizing for universal rights and justice across the state. On May 31, over 30 legislators from the California State Senate and Assembly signed a letter to the University of California Board of Regents and Chair condemning and discouraging divestment measures on our campuses. This is not the first time members of the California State Legislature has tried to silence student democracy: last summer, the State Assembly passed the HR 35 resolution, which labeled criticism of Israel’s illegal and discriminatory policies against Palestinians as “anti-Semitic” and recommended broad censorship measures of UC students and faculty advocating for Palestinian rights and justice.

Our campaigns for justice have been supported by a multitude of groups with actual concerns for these human rights, including but not limited to Arab, Asian, Black, Chicana, Christian, Filipino, Latina, Muslim and indigenous student unions, groups representing justice for queer, working-class, and impoverished people, as well as Jews and Israelis who believe in realizing universal human rights for the Palestinians. To allege that “all sides” are not being heard and that divestment and human rights are “divisive” to our campuses is a cynical erasure of the coalitional unity that all of our campaigns maintain and of the multi-million dollar lobbying apparatus and multi-billion dollar industry involved in US support for Israel’s illegal policies.

The Legislature’s letter was anti-democratic and left us with no time to respond, coming during graduation and the end of the school year for most UC students. We now feel compelled to offer our response. In an effort to demonstrate the duplicitous and deceptive actions of the Legislature, we offer the following signed letter in the words of the Legislature itself (original letter included at the bottom), with alterations when appropriate:

 

July 8 2013

Dear Chair Varner and University of California Board of Regents:

As university students across the State of California, we denounce the California State Legislature for attempting to stifle student movements to divest from companies complicit in documented human rights violations in the occupied territories of Palestine.

We are concerned with the divisive impact on our university campuses caused by the California State Legislature and encourage efforts to engage the community in a more balanced and civil discussion on this issue. We are greatly embarrassed by the statement issued in May 2010 by the UC Regents’ Chair and Vice Chair in conjunction with the UC President, firmly rejecting the notion of divestment from companies complicit in documented human rights violations against the Palestinian people.

The statements and resolutions such as HR 35 that have been sent or passed by various bodies of the California State Senate and Assembly fail to foster dialogue and understanding among those with different opinions. We fear that such campaigns deepen the amount of power levied against the occupied Palestinians by the occupying Israeli military, drawing Palestinians and Israelis further away from universal justice and human rights. We believe that the California State Senate Legislature’s time and resources would be better invested not meddling in student democracy and encourage the legislature to work together in a productive manner.

We believe in free speech and encourage our state legislators to embrace a “true marketplace of ideas,” where all voices on this important issue are adequately weighted. There are so many voices across all of our campuses that have come together in unity around the call for human rights in Palestine. We believe that young leaders in the UC system have tremendous opportunities and motivation to build a better tomorrow. We believe that the acts of the California State Legislature are stifling that potential. We are empowered to advance initiatives that foster peace, justice and reconciliation; unfortunately, the California State Legislature appears to be creating an antagonistic environment for students who support human rights, universal justice and those opposed to the blatant obstruction of these ideals.

Once again, we are shocked and appalled by our elected officials for standing firm in their refusal to divest from to the violation of universal justice and human rights and present this letter as our response to their divisive and conflict-ridden resolutions and statements.

Sincerely,
Students and citizens of California, including:

UC Berkeley Black Student Union
UC Berkeley CalSERVE Board of Directors
UC Berkeley International Socialist Organization
UC Berkeley Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/xicana de Aztlán
UC Berkeley Pilipino Academic Student Services
UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine
UC Davis Students for Justice in Palestine
UC Irvine Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán
UC Irvine Students for Justice in Palestine
UC Los Angeles Amnesty International
UC Los Angeles Students for Justice in Palestine
UC Los Angeles Muslim Students Association
UC Riverside Students for Justice in Palestine
UC San Diego Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán
UC San Diego Socialists
UC San Diego Students for Justice in Palestine
UC Santa Barbara Students for Justice in Palestine
UC Santa Cruz Committee for Justice in Palestine
Cal Poly Pomona Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán
CSU Fullerton Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán
CSU Fullerton Students for Justice in Palestine
CSU San Marcos Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán
La Mission College Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán
San Diego State Amnesty International
San Diego State Arab Student Association
San Diego State Muslim Student Association
San Diego State Students for Justice in Palestine
San Francisco State General Union of Palestine Students
Santa Monica College Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán
Stanford International Socialist Organization
Stanford Muslim Student Awareness Network
Stanford National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Stanford Students for Palestinian Equal Rights
Stanford Students Say No To War
USC Students for Justice in Palestine

Joined by more than 800 California residents who have signed JVP’s letter.

Download the PDF of the letter here, and view it below:

Students Respond to CA Legislature Censorship by StanfordSPER

In Letter to Student Leaders, UC Berkeley Student External Vice President explains divestment and encourages similar legislation

As part of SB 160, the External Vice President of the Associated Students of the University of California Berkeley has written a letter to other UC student leaders explaining SB 160 and encouraging similar divestment bills across the UC. Download the letter in PDF form here.

Dear Fellow UC Student Leaders,

I am writing as the External Vice President of the Associated Students of the University of California Berkeley to share with you news of a recent bill passed by our student senate, SB 160, “A Bill in Support of Human Rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” You can find a copy of this bill attached.

SB 160 is a positive step toward increased corporate social responsibility. Specifically, it calls on the Regents to engage in targeted divestment of university funds from companies profiting from human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Companies the UC invests in that are mentioned in the bill include Caterpillar, Cement Roadstone Holdings, and Hewlett Packard. These companies have assisted the Israeli military in the illegal demolition of Palestinian homes, the creation of an illegal separation wall beyond Israel’s internationally recognized borders, and in the systematic and discriminatory violation of Palestinian freedom of movement internal to the Palestinian Territories, as documented by numerous human rights groups cited in our bill and elsewhere. By profiting from these investments our university maintains a relationship of complicity with these crimes, which SB 160 seeks to stop. Not only are we as students benefiting from these human rights abuses, but some students among us also are suffering directly from them as well, notably Palestinian students across the UC system who are put in the discomfiting position of knowing that their school is profiting from the demolition of their own family’s homes and from a violent, discriminatory occupation that harms them and their loved ones.

Our bill is very clear to distinguish between the targeted divestment of international corporations – in this case American and European ones – and divestment from any and all things Israeli; SB 160 specifically demands targeted divestment from international companies that are directly benefiting from human rights abuses. No more. No less. The human rights abuses in question are consequences of Israeli policy, but the continued occupation is not sustained by the Israeli government alone. In fact, the tactic of divestment seeks to emphasize our own complicity in these abuses, and seeks to hold ourselves accountable to the basic maxim of ‘do no evil.’

This bill affirms the common humanity of all students, Israeli, Palestinian and otherwise,
We encourage you to do the same and support similar divestment at your campuses, if you have not yet done so.

All my best,

Shahryar Abbasi
ASUC External Affairs Vice President UC Berkeley