Edition 2: No. 55
Historic UC Irvine divestment vote deals stinging defeat to Zionist bullying on campus
Editorial comment
Clearly the Zionist appetite for bullying is running out of steam. The historic UC Irvine divestment vote deals stinging a defeat to the Zionist threats on campus. (See article below).
The sheer arrogance and immorality of the Zionists is being countered with measures that show contempt for Zionist tactics. The message is clear-cut – End the Occupation based on a just blueprint. Not any Bantustan-style formula.
In country after country the BDS movement is gaining momentum and raising eyebrows among those who did not care until now. If the current level of energy is sustained by civil society everywhere, and governments act in concert as they did in the recent UN vote, one can hope to see the Zionists cracking.
President Abbas must verify the convictions he set out in his UN speech with actions on-the-ground that demonstrate he has courage to add to his stated convictions. This must include adopting a political breadth and vision that allows space for political reconciliation. If the latter fails, then much of what was achieved at the UN, and all the BDS labours can be scuttled.
Israel thrives on public relations – selling a narrative that portrays them as victim. It has won them sympathy regardless the criminal nature of their occupation. Their PR blitz is, however, receding in the face of their own intransigence and stubborn refusal to concede the obvious and get to the negotiation floor and chart out a time table to do what it takes to forfeit all they have illegally acquired. It makes little or no sense to outlaw those who seek justice – such as the punitive legislation that makes fighting for sanctions a crime. It is not a crime. It is a non-violent weapon- probably the very last one- in the hands of those who want justice but through peaceful means. The BDS campaigns have the potential to expose the Zionist sympathy platform as bankrupt and deceitful.
Israel reacted to the UN vote by announcing the construction of 300 settlement homes. There is more to follow, they have threatened. Those settlements have neither legal nor moral foundations. They will fall and that is only a matter of time – however agonizing the time gap between now and then is going to be for the Palestinians. Israel counts some 35 discriminatory laws that are the edifice around which they carry out their apartheid practices. They will be dismantled not because the Palestinians are urging them to. The hand of justice will always be stronger than the dispensation of injustice.
Until then the resistance must grow and the BDS is an unbending tool that people and governments must pursue with obduracy. The subjugation must end and as Bishop Desmond Tutu has said: Justice requires action to stop subjugation of Palestinians
In solidarity,
Ranjan Solomon
Historic UC Irvine divestment vote deals stinging defeat to Zionist bullying on campus
UC Irvine vote marks milestone in student-led divestment initiatives. (UC Berkeley SJP)
Just over a year since an Orange County jury, in a politically-motivated prosecution, convicted the “Irvine 11” students for disrupting a lecture by Israeli Ambassdor Michael Oren, the Associated Students of UC Irvine voted unanimously tonight to call for divestment from companies that profit from Israeli occupation.
The vote deals a major blow to intense efforts by Israel and allied organizations to suppress Palestinian solidarity activism on campus, particularly at UC Irvine, part of the University of California system.
The resolution, passed by 16-0 with no abstentions, calls on the University of California to divest from companies, including Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, General Electric, Sodastream, Raytheon and L-3 Communications, that assist or directly profit from Israeli occupation and human rights abuses.
In a press release, the campaign group Irvine Divest called the vote, “an historic move that could initiate a domino effect across America’s campuses.”
Sabreen Shalabi, the student representative on the legislative council for the school of social science and co-author of the legislation said, according to the press release, “I am very proud of my fellow council members and of the students at our University. Our work today stands tall in the noble tradition of students advocating for justice, joining the ranks of those brave and visionary students who demanded that our Universities divest from the terrible crimes of South African apartheid.”
A complete failure for Israel’s sabotage efforts
The UC Irvine vote will come as a sharp blow to Israeli organizations such as the Reut Institute, which celebrated the conviction of the Irvine 11 as a “price tag” victory in Israel’s campaign to “sabotage and attack” Palestine solidarity activism.
It is particularly embarrassing that just a week ago, Israel’s Ynet presented UC Irvine as a success story for Israel’s propaganda efforts in an article titled “Israel shines in California campus.”
The article claimed that there had been a “drastic change” in attitudes and that thanks to the efforts of the Israeli consul general in Los Angeles and other Zionist groups, “Pro-Israel activity flourishes in Irvine University merely two years” after what Ynet called the “attack” on Oren.
Israel and Zionist organizations have focused particular efforts on UC Irvine, including inviting the university’s president to Israel.
As The Electronic Intifada has reported, organized intimidation, bogus lawsuits and civil rights complaints and other forms of bullying of students who engage in Palestine solidarity work, have been used to try to shut down activism across California and the United States.
The unanimous support for the divestment resolution among the elected representatives of the student body will be seen, rightly, as a complete failure for these intense Israeli-sponsored hasbara – propaganda – efforts, and serve as confirmation that no amount of intimidation can prevent student bodies from following their consciences and pushing complicit university administrations toward action.
“The decision made by ASUCI’s legislative Council tonight clearly shows the strength and integrity of students utilizing their collective power to protect human rights on a global scale, Traci Ishigo, President of the Associated Student of UCI and a member of the UC Irvine Foundation, was quoted as saying by Irvine Divest, “I stand firmly by the students who believe it is their responsibility to have a voice on matters that urge the UC to be an institution that treasures human dignity.”
In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom without the help of people around the world, and musicians who are central to our struggle. Through music and art, we speak to a common humanity — one which transcends political and economic interests. For this, I am proud to support Freedom for Palestine by OneWorld … Let’s send a message to governments that a critical mass of people want to see an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the oppression of its people. (Desmond Tutu)