South African student bodies slam "Israeli Apartheid Agents" and endorse nationwide Israel boycott

At:

http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1682

PRESS STATEMENT:

South African student bodies slam "Israeli Apartheid Agents" and endorse nationwide Israel boycott

This afternoon at a joint press conference held at the student center of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, national representatives of the South African Union of Students (SAUS), the South African Student Congress (SASCO) and the Young Communist League (YCL) slammed the pending trip of "Israeli Apartheid agents" to South Africa.

The Israeli mission to South African campuses is expected to arrive on the 11th of August 2011. Palestinian students have written to South African colleagues asking them to challenge and boycott the Israeli delegation.

Today's press conference was hosted by South Africa's oldest, largest and most representative student bodies - the South African Students Congress* and the South African Union of Students**. Furthermore, members of the University of Johannesburg and University of the Witwatersrand's Student Representative Councils were also present.

An extract of the press statement is produced below:

"We, students and youth of a post Apartheid South Africa, who bear the scars of a racist history and who continue to fight for complete liberation, have a duty and responsibility to stand in solidarity with those facing oppression worldwide. Israeli apartheid is one such form of oppression.

"Israeli media boast that a mission of 150 Israeli propagandists will be sent to universities in 5 countries to fix Israel's "serious image problems". The Israeli mission will begin on South African campuses on the 11th of August, with a delegation that includes at least two aides from the Israeli parliament. A delegation member was clear about the intention of their trip: "We have to create some doubt in their [South African students'] minds."

"Don't patronize us! We lived apartheid, we suffered apartheid, we know what apartheid is, we recognise apartheid when we see it. And when we see Israel, we see a regime that practices apartheid. Israel's image needs no changing; its policies do! We urge Israeli students to instead join the growing and inspiring internal resistance to their regime, particularly the boycott from within movement, rather than waste time and money on these propaganda trips to deceive us Black students, South Africans have no need for these Muldergate-like trips.

"A "major focus of the Israeli trip will be the University of Johannesburg (UJ). On 1st April 2011 UJ's Senate, with the full backing of UJ's Student Representative Council, terminated its institutional relationship with Israel's Ben-Gurion University. Indeed, UJ set an academic boycott of Israel precedent that all other South African and international universities can follow.

"Following UJ's decision, and in response to a letter sent to us by Palestinian students, we urge all SRCs, student groups and other youth structures to strategize and implement a boycott of Israel and its campaigns. We declare that all SA campuses must be Apartheid-Israel free zones.

"As with the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, international solidarity is key in overcoming Israeli Apartheid. In Nelson Mandela's words: 'It behooves all South Africans, erstwhile beneficiaries of generous international support, to stand up and be counted among those contributing actively to the cause of freedom and justice. We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.'

FOR THE RECORD

A. On Education

1. The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has had disastrous effects on access to education for Palestinians. Palestinian students face poverty, harassment and humiliation as a result of Israeli policy and actions.

2. Israel mounted direct attacks on Palestinian education, including the complete closures of two Palestinian universities in 2003 and the targeting and bombing of more than 60 primary and secondary schools during the Israeli attacks on Gaza in 2009.

3. Israel's assault on the education of Palestinians is illegal under international law. The right to education is a fundamental human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments.

4. The Israeli blockade of Gaza has had a detrimental impact on students. Gaza's electricity supply is controlled by Israel and shut-down for several hours most days, making it difficult for students to study. Moreover, the blockade means insufficient quantities of educational equipment, such as paper, desks and books, reach students.

B. On Israeli Apartheid

5. Several of our senior leaders have compared Israel to Apartheid South Africa, including Comrades Kgalema Mothlantle, Blade Nzimande, Zwelinzima Vavi, Rob Davies, Jeremy Cronin, Ahmed Kathrada, Winnie Mandela, Ronnie Kasrils, Denis Goldberg, the late Kader Asmal and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

6. Both the former and current United Nations Special Rapporteurs for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have requested that Israel be investigated for the crime of apartheid.

7. In an official report commissioned by the South African government in 2009, the Human Sciences Research Council confirmed that Israel, by its policies and practices, is guilty of the crime of apartheid.

8. In November 2010, South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation called upon the Israeli government to cease their activities that are reminiscent of apartheid forced removals.

C. On Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)

8. Palestinian civil society, including student groups, have called for a policy of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel until it abides by international law.

9. This call has the endorsement of the largest and most representative coalition of civil and political society in Palestine. The call also has the support of a growing number of progressive Israeli groups.

10. In 2010, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Professor Richard Falk, said: It is politically and morally appropriate, as well as legally correct, to accord maximum support to the BDS campaign.

11. COSATU, South Africa's largest trade union federation was one of the first unions to endorse the BDS call. Subsequently, numerous other international trade unions have also adopted a pro-BDS position.

12. Several international groups have began to advance the BDS call in the cultural, consumer, sports, economic and academic spheres. Earlier this year the largest student union in Europe, the ULU, passed a motion in support of BDS."

ISSUED ON THURSDAY THE 4th OF AUGUST 2011 BY

South African Union of Students, South African Student Congress and the Young Communist League of South Africa

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Themba Masondo +27 (0) 791993421 - masondothemba@gmail.com

Mbuyiseni Ndlozi +27 (0) 11 7174450 - mbuyiseni@gmail.com -

Kate Joseph +27 (0) 722299613 - Katejoseph3@gmail.com

Muhammed Desai +27 (0)842119988 - mdesai.work@gmail.com

* SASCO is South Africa's oldest and largest student organization.

** The SA Union of Students (SAUS) comprises all South African university Student Representative Councils and is the most representative student union in the country.

www.bdssouthafrica.com/2011/07/student-campaign.html

http://www.bdssouthafrica.com/2011/07/student-campaign.html

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Students demand divestment against Israeli occupation, at Evergreen State College:"We will push you until you divest."

"Board of trustees told to divest"

COOPER POINT JOURNAL (Evergreen State College)

by ERIN FINCH

THURSDAY, 12 MAY 2011

At: http://cooperpointjournal.com/news/board-trustees-told-divest

The Evergreen State College Board of Trustees’ May 11 meeting was mobbed with students and community members full of opinions on the campus divestment movement. The Library boardroom was at capacity, with students and faculty standing along the walls, spilling out of the room to outside of the doors, straining to hear the comments.

The public comment section of the board meeting was not designated as a discussion of college divestment. However, all but two of the comments voiced during the hour-and-a-half related to this issue.

Those who signed up to make a public comment were given roughly two minutes to speak their piece, while the board remained silent for the duration.

The overwhelming majority of speakers voiced varying levels of support for the divestment resolution passed in 2010 by campus-wide election. While some gave tentative support, calling upon the board to take the vote seriously and debate it openly, others took a more radical position.

Evergreen alum Anna-Marie Murano vehemently demanded that the Trustees obey the student election supporting divestment. “So far, the board of trustees has failed us. The president [of the college] has failed us,” she said.

“I ask you, as people in power, to follow our lead. You don’t need to lead, just follow us. There are plenty of us that will stand in front of you. Look at all the people here today,” continued Murano.

“This is the beginning. This is not the end, this is the beginning, and we will push you until you divest. We will divest. I will tell you: Red Square will start looking like Tahrir Square unless you start doing something,” said Murano, wrapping up her comment dramatically.

Some voiced concerns about divestment and the possible effect it could have upon the academic atmosphere at Evergreen.

Senior Josh Levine said that he did not think divestment would serve Evergreen’s goals. “The end goal of the college is the educational opportunities it provides its students,” said Levine.

“I’m afraid that if Boycott Divest Sanction has its way with this campus, it will curtail the faculty. It will curtail the students,” said Levine. “It will not allow them the full variety of studies that might otherwise be permitted. If a student is going off into the middle east to do a contract, or a faculty person chooses to invite an Israeli philosopher or scientist to campus, would we have to go through an approval process because we’re putting money into the Israeli economy?”

The only other issue brought to the board related to the ongoing classified staff contract negotiations. Evergreen employee Lin Crowley, who is on the union negotiation team, expressed her frustration with the process, which she described as “at an impasse.” She then reiterated the union’s demand that administrators agree to the same level of pay cut endured by classified staff.

At end of the comment section, Nathan Brockett, the student member of the Board of Trustees, expressed his desire to take some kind of action even if divestment is not an option.

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Stanford University campaign for divestment against Israeli Apartheid:

This flyer announced an April 14, 2011 event for divestment at Stanford.

Notice the photo from the 1980's, showing Stanford students demanding "Stanford out of South Africa":

Click on the flyer to enlarge it.

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"Quakers to boycott products from Israeli settlements"

While declaring the boycott, the Quakers stated:

“In the face of the armed oppression of poor people and the increasing encroachment of the illegal settlements in the West Bank, we cannot do nothing,”

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QUAKERS IN BRITAIN

05 April 2011

On the Web at: http://www.quaker.org.uk/quakers-boycott-products-israeli-settlements

Quakers in Britain have agreed to boycott products from the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The settlements are illegal under international law. Quakers consider that this boycott is a nonviolent move for peace for Israelis and Palestinians. The decision makes clear that Quakers are not boycotting Israel.

Half a million Israeli settlers live illegally in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem). The settlements and infrastructure on Palestinian land are protected by the Israeli government and military and prevent or restrict Palestinians access to their land, water supplies, education, health services and more. Extensive settlement infrastructure divides up Palestinian land, creating obstacles to peace.

Palestinian Quakers are calling for Quakers around the world to consider boycott, divestment and sanctions because of the worsening situation caused by Israel’s occupation. The decision was made on Saturday (2 April) by the representative decision-making body for Quakers in Britain, Meeting for Sufferings. The Meeting has not yet considered a Quaker view on divestment and sanctions.

The Meeting heard that most Jewish Israeli peace groups support boycotts of settlement products.

“People matter more than territory” says the minute from the Meeting. And, “We pray fervently for both Israelis and Palestinians, keeping them together in our hearts. We hope they will find an end to their fears and the beginning of their mutual co-existence based on a just peace. And so we look forward to the end of the occupation and the end of the international boycott.”

“In the face of the armed oppression of poor people and the increasing encroachment of the illegal settlements in the West Bank, we cannot do nothing,” the minute continued.

“We are clear then that it would be wrong to support the illegal settlements by purchasing their goods. We therefore ask Friends (Quakers) throughout Britain Yearly Meeting to boycott settlement goods, until such time as the occupation is ended.”

Quakers consider that this boycott builds on their other nonviolent moves for peace in the region. Since 2002 Quakers in Britain have trained human rights observers for the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). The observers, called ecumenical accompaniers, work with Palestinians and Israelis to promote nonviolence by their protective presence, to monitor human rights abuses and to advocate for an end to the Israeli occupation.

The full text of the minute follows:

Boycott, divestment and sanctions (Israel/Palestine)

Further to minute S/11/02/4 of 5 February 201, we receive minutes on this matter from the following Area Meetings: Southern Marches (paper S/11/04/mc i a), Sussex East (i b), Surrey & Hampshire Border (i c), Swarthmoor (i f), North London (i g), Cambridgeshire (i h), East Cheshire (i i), Ipswich & Diss (i j), North West London (i k), Bristol (i l), Hampshire & Islands (i m), Devon (i n), Manchester & Warrington (i o) and North Cumbria (i p).

Our assistant clerk has summarised the 14 Area Meeting minutes received, and we have returned to our consideration of the issues raised in the papers received at our last meeting (paper S/11/02/A prepared by Marigold Bentley, Assistant General Secretary of Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW), the Kairos Palestine Document A moment of truth (paper S/11/02/B), and the Quaker Council for European Affairs Discussion Paper entitled Responses to the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (S/11/02/C)).

We have heard of the responses of Jewish Peace Groups within Israel. We hear these Israeli citizens risk being criminalised by their government if they actively support the Palestinian call for cultural and economic boycott. We were informed that most Jewish Israeli Peace Groups support the boycott of settlement goods, and only some support a boycott of Israel.

A just peace for Palestine means security for Israel too, and nonviolent protests by both Israelis and Palestinians for the end of the occupation are heartening to observe.

For nine years Quakers have been witnessing individually and through the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) to the human rights abuses of the military occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Today we have considered whether we should add nonviolent action to our witnessing – not as punishment or revenge, but as an external pressure to achieve change.

We understand the history and the trauma of the past, but it is Israelis who are the stronger and they need to make the changes.

John Woolman's words (Quaker faith & practice 26.61) remind us of the powerful sense we have of being brothers and sisters with people of other faiths. There are three main faiths in this part of the world, and we want to proceed in ways which allow dialogue to continue. We consider we should now act publically and, well-informed, be able to explain our action to others - because people matter more than territory, and because we approach others with a desire for peace.

Difficult decisions taken by us today can be reversed. The request for boycott comes from those who will suffer most, but a decision for boycott will give hope to Palestinians and support to those in Israel who are working for peace.

In the face of the armed oppression of poor people and the increasing encroachment of the illegal settlements in the West Bank, we cannot do nothing.

Our hearts are full of compassion for Israelis and Palestinians, all of whom are suffering from the effects of the occupation.

We are clear that it would be wrong to support the illegal settlements by purchasing their goods. We therefore ask Friends (Quakers) throughout Britain Yearly Meeting to boycott settlement goods, until such time as the occupation is ended.

We are not at this time proposing to boycott goods from Israel itself, being unwilling to jeopardise continuing dialogue with Israelis and British Jews.

We pray fervently for both Israelis and Palestinians, keeping them together in our hearts. We hope they will find an end to their fears and the beginning of their mutual co-existence based on a just peace. And so we look forward to the end of the occupation and the end of the international boycott. We envisage our future relationship with both peoples as one of loving and generous co-operation.

Although we unite in this decision we recognise that Friends have different views, and we must treat one another tenderly.

ends

Notes to editor:

• For interviews contact Anne van Staveren on 020 7663 1048.
• Approximately 23,000 people attend Quaker Meetings for Worship in Britain, and there are more than 475 Meetings.
• Quakers are known formally as the Religious Society of Friends.
• Meeting for Sufferings has authority to speak on behalf of Quakers in Britain (formally known as Britain Yearly Meeting). It brings together representatives of the 70 Area Meetings across Britain, and the Trustees of Britain Yearly Meeting. About 180 Quakers were present on Saturday.
• The World Council of Churches set up a programme called the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) in response to a call for international help from church leaders in Jerusalem. The aim of this programme is to end the Israeli occupation and bring a just peace based on international law. Since 2002, on behalf of British and Irish churches and church organisations, Quakers in Britain have trained more than one hundred human rights observers for the EAPPI. Read more on EAPPI at www.quaker.org.uk/eappi
• Read more about boycotting produce from the Israeli settlements at www.quaker.org.uk/settlement-produce
• The minute refers to Quaker John Woolman. In 1762 he said: “There is a principle which is pure, placed in the human mind, which in different places and ages hath different names; it is, however, pure and proceeds from God. It is deep and inward, confined to no forms of religion nor excluded from any where the heart stands in perfect sincerity. In whomsoever this takes root and grows, of what nation soever, they become brethren. (Quaker Faith and Practice 26.61)

Media Information
Anne van Staveren
0207 663 1048
07958 009703
annev@quaker.org.uk
www.quaker.org.uk

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At New York University:"Students for Justice in Palestine rally for divestment from Israel"

"Students for Justice in Palestine rally for divestment from Israel"

by Amy Zhang
Published April 6, 2011
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS (NYU)

At: http://www.nyunews.com/news/2011/04/06/06protest/

Students for Justice in Palestine called for divestment from Israel in a rally on West Fourth Street on Tuesday. But their voices didn't go unopposed: Gesher: Israel club at NYU and Violets for Israel set up their campaign right across the street.

The issue of contention was the ongoing Isreali-Palestinian conflict, which pits mainstream Palestinians, who demand a state in the West Bank and Gaza strip, against right-wing Israelis, who claim that a creation of a state would destabilize a peaceful Israel.

Shouting war cries while battling the wind and rain, both sides caught the attention of passers-by strolling through the middle of their skirmish.

"Hey Israel, just face it. Apartheid is racist," shouted members of the SJP. "Resistance is justified when people are occupied!"...

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Pushing to dump Israeli investments at the University of Colorado

"CU grad lobbying university to pull investments from Israel:

"Board of Regents has no plans to take up the issue"

By Brittany Anas, Staff Writer

Daily Camera (University of Colorado at Boulder)

Posted: 03/30/2011 08:13:53 PM MDT

At: http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_17737840

A University of Colorado graduate is lobbying the school to pull its investments from Israel.

Activist Michael Rabb has started a grassroots movement and has submitted a proposed resolution to the Board of Regents, asking CU to examine its investments and endowments and divest from companies that he says support "immoral occupation and apartheid in Palestine."

"Some of these companies provide weapons and covert surveillance supplies that maintain the occupation by force," says the petition he's circulating at CU. "Others take or exploit Palestinian resources, including scarce water and even the land itself."

But Jewish organizations say Rabb's proposal would divide the university. And so far, the regents haven't taken up the matter.

"For us to get involved in the politics of Palestine and Israel isn't practical," said Regent Steve Bosley, R-Broomfield.

In the past, CU has divested from Sudan and South Africa.

CU system spokesman Ken McConnellogue said CU hasn't researched what investments would be affected by the activists' proposed divestment from Israel, but officials believe it's "minimal." The regents have not requested the university to report that information to them.

The proposed resolution Rabb is asking the board to consider says: "The Arabs in Palestine continue to suffer under Israel's illegal and immoral regime of military occupation, colonization and apartheid, and ... the University of Colorado has a proud tradition of non-discrimination and commitment to human rights."

The Jewish Community Relations Council -- an umbrella coalition representing 37 local and national Jewish organizations in Boulder and Denver -- sent a letter to the Board of Regents calling Rabb's resolution outrageous. In their letter, Janet Sherman, director of the group, and Rick Kornfeld, chairman, say the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not be compared to apartheid and the government-sanctioned racial segregation in South Africa.

"While it is tempting to look exclusively at one side or the other to shoulder the blame, one-sided reactions do not serve to improve complicated circumstances," the letter says. "Instead, they exacerbate them. Therefore, we condemn all calls and campaigns for boycotting, divestment and sanctions of Israeli academic institutions, professors, products and companies that do business with Israel. We believe that any and all of these actions are counterproductive to the goal of peace."

In the 1980s, a student-led push and ultimately a national movement prompted the regents to selectively divest from certain companies doing business in South Africa. By 1988, more than 150 universities had participated in the anti-apartheid divestment campaign.

In 2006, CU regents unanimously agreed to pull investments from Sudan after a student activist raised the issue. At the time, board members said they were concerned that investments could support genocide in Darfur, and CU became among several universities to divest from the civil war-torn region.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com.

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"Edinburgh University Students Vote Overwhelmingly for Boycott of Israeli Goods"

"Edinburgh University Students Vote Overwhelmingly for Boycott of Israeli Goods"

At: http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/economy-of-the-occupation/3418-edinburgh-university-students-vote-overwhelmingly-for-boycott-of-israeli-goods-

A motion to boycott Israel was overwhelmingly passed at the Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA) General Meeting on Monday 14th March. In what was described as a ‘landslide’, the motion, ‘Boycott Israeli Goods in EUSA shops and supply chains’ received around 270 votes in favour, with only 20 students voting against...

...After the motion was discussed for around 15 minutes, it was put to a vote and the result was so comprehensive that no count was required. The passing of the motion led to rapturous applause in the George Square Lecture Theatre, where the General Meeting was held, and was by far the most welcomed result of the night.

Similar motions have been passed at SOAS, Manchester, and Sussex Universities in recent years. This latest result seems a clear indication that students in the UK are continuing to play a prominent role in the campaign for a just peace in Palestine.

The motion came in the wake of recent protests against Israeli officials speaking at the University. In February, student activists shut down a talk by Ishmael Khaldi, advisor to Israeli foreign minister Avidgor Lieberman, and, two weeks ago, over 100 students protested against the invitation of Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor to the University.

The proposer of the motion, second year Maths and Music student Daniel Beesley said “I am overwhelmed with the outcome of the General Meeting. It is great to see students of Edinburgh University once again standing up against injustice, just as they did during Apartheid South Africa. EUSA represents that views of students and we are sure they they will take on board what was clearly the opinion of the vast majority who attended the GM, and endorse the boycott.”

The motion’s seconder, Liam O’Hare, a student of International Relations, said: “Israel has occupied, ethnically cleansed and practised apartheid against the Palestinians for 63 years. The BDS movement seeks to force Israel to abide by international law and is gathering huge momentum year on year. I think the General Meeting proved that the student population at Edinburgh University do not want goods from an Apartheid state on campus and, despite the meeting narrowly not being quorate, I fully expect EUSA to act upon this motion.”

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Hundreds of Students Demonstrate for Divestment against Apartheid Israel--

March 29, 2011


At: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Carleton+board+meeting+cancelled+students+block+access/4524452/story.html




Carleton University administrators were forced Tuesday to abandon a meeting of the board of governors when some 200 students, yelling, chanting and shouting slogans about democracy, blocked access to the meeting room....


...The students claimed to be protesting the administration’s decision to prevent them from attending the board meeting, and to debate a motion that calls on the university to divest pension funds from companies that do business with Israel. A campus group, Students Against Israeli Apartheid, which was involved in organizing the protest, says the executive committee of Carleton’s board of governors blocked a motion seeking debate on the issue from being added to the meeting agenda, and notified them that only a prearranged group of students would be allowed to attend the public meeting.


The administration has taken the position that its pension fund committee has already reviewed the university investment program. Last fall, Carleton amended the rules governing the plan to state that “environmental, social and governance factors should be considered in investment decision-making.”


SAIA, however, wants Carleton to divest money from companies that deal with Israel, which they claim is violating international law in its relations with the Palestinians. The board’s executive committee turned down the student motion because it felt the pension committee had already addressed the issue.

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"UJ severs ties with Israel's Ben Gurion"

MAIL & GUARDIAN (South Africa)
March 23, 2011

At: http://mg.co.za/article/2011-03-23-uj-severs-ties-with-israels-ben-gurion/

"The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has cut all ties with Ben Gurion University (BGU) in Israel.

"In a heated debate that led to a secret ballot, the senate voted on Wednesday by a strong majority to sever all ties with the university....

"...'Israeli apartheid'

The vote follows a UJ petition in September last year, calling on UJ academics and students to cut ties with BGU. According to Dasantha Pillay of the UJ Petition Committee, "As the UJ senate met today, over 400 South African academics, including nine vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors [highest non-ceremonial university positions], had joined the campaign..."

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