Students for Justice in Palestine has a right to exist.
It’s Day 5. Fifty years ago today, Israel was near completion of its occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip, which continues today, a half century later, on top of Israel’s acquisition of the rest of historic Palestine in 1948.
Yesterday, Defense for Children International – Palestine and American Friends Service Committee held a powerful Capitol Hill briefing about 50 years of occupation and life for Palestinian children. Speakers included USCPR Steering Committee member Nadia Ben-Youssef, who testified about Umm Al Hiran Bedouin village in the Negev, capturing the reality that the occupation is but one component of Israel’s ongoing settler colonial project.
Extraordinary actions have been unfolding every day from coast to coast as part of an inspiring Week of Action #Marking50, including this subway poem-reading action by member group Librarians and Archivists with Palestine, and much more!
To complement these actions on the ground, here’s the fifth online action in our six-day series supporting policy advocacy, faith-based work, corporate accountability, and more…
ACTION 5 on DAY 5:
For months, Fordham University has denied Students for Justice in Palestine the right to be an official club on campus, prompting a lawsuit by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Palestine Legal on behalf of the students. This week, Fordham moved to dismiss the lawsuit and, in its response, betrayed the true motivation for its ban: SJP’s commitment to justice in Palestine.
NOW is the time to send the strongest message possible to its administration demanding an end to its ban! Please take these quick actions:
1. Click here to instantly tweet the following message: Stop denying Students for Justice in Palestine’s right to exist! @FordhamNYC @dk_eldredge @FordhamAAUP @FordhamUSGLC @FordhamAlumni
2. CALL Fordham President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. at 718-817-3000 and demand that he permits the students to establish an SJP.
3. CLICK TO INSTANTLY EMAIL the President and Dean!
4. Post the click-to-email action on Facebook and Twitter.
According to international law, Israel’s settlements and apartheid wall do not have a right to exist. Israel’s discriminatory laws targeting Palestinian citizens and denying refugees’ return do not have a right to exist. Israel’s practices of torture and collective punishment do not have a right to exist.
Yet in today’s backwards world, it is Students for Justice in Palestine — which supports justice and liberation — that is fighting for its right to exist on Fordham’s campus.
SJP has always stood for those fighting discrimination. Today, let’s stand with them.