The following is an action call from Jewish Voice for Peace in support of the historic BDS vote at the University of California’s Berkeley campus, which will take place on April 28.
Every so often, we get a moment when a remarkable future starts to unfold before our eyes. And when it happens, it’s our responsibility to do everything within our power to help it along. One of those moments is happening right now, unbeknownst to most of the world, on the University of California’s Berkeley campus.
Berkeley professors and students of every race, religion, and nationality are standing courageously side by side and calling on the university to divest from companies that profit from the occupation of the Palestinian Territories. In March, the student Senate voted 16 to 4 to divest. Then, the Senate president vetoed their vote and last week, after 10 life-changing hours of testimony that lasted through the night, the vote to overturn the veto was tabled.
In six days, on April 28, the students will again try to overturn the veto. That’s how many days we have to demonstrate our support and solidarity with these amazing people who are standing for justice for all people in Palestine and Israel. I urge you to stand with them – to let them know that they are not alone.
What happens over the next week in Berkeley is critical, not just for the movement there but for the burgeoning movement around the country. Once again, Berkeley is a birthplace of a movement that could change the course of history. Students all over the United States are watching closely, learning, and preparing a massive divestment campaign the likes of which hasn’t been seen in decades. Important? World-changing? Without a doubt.
Last week, I was there during the first attempt to overturn the veto when nearly 900 people packed the room. We were Muslims, Jews, Palestinians, Israelis, Christians; grandmothers and students and everyone in between – the majority in support of divestment. This next vote is even more critical. Most of us can’t be in the room when UC students hold their vote, but we can and must be represented. Our diversity, our staunch support, and our commitment must be represented.
Last week, hundreds in the room wore bright green stickers that said “Another (fill in the blank) for human rights. Divest from the Israeli occupation.” We want your name on those stickers next week.
The truth is that the students at UC Berkeley have already won, building on the efforts of students at Hampshire College and the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus. They have secured support from an unprecedented range of people including Nobel prize winners, rabbis, world renown scholars, Israeli and Palestinian peace groups and more. There has never been a debate on an American campus like the debate these students have made happen.
But with your voice, they can make it to the finish line.
Thank you in advance for you help today. These students are making history – and I’m grateful we can count on you to help.
Sincerely,
Dana Bergen
Board President, Jewish Voice for Peace
P.S. We know that those who oppose progress are working to maintain the veto – we need to demonstrate just how widespread support for divestment is. Please spread the word and send everyone to www.StandWithStudents.org. Thank you.
P.P.S: After you sign, please watch this remarkable UC Berkeley testimony from last week by visiting student Ibrahim Shikaki from the West Bank. You can also read JVP’s position on the bill, download some of the statements of Jewish support, and read our report of last week’s hearing.
Posted by psnedmonton 
Faculty for Palestine Statement on York University and the Iacobucci Report
April 13, 2010The conduct of the York University administration around the conference “Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace” clearly constituted a serious attack on academic freedom. We look forward to a full report on this attack which is currently being investigated by the CAUT.
The “Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace” was a scholarly conference designed to elucidate current debates about potential solutions to the current situation in Israel/Palestine. Pro-Israeli advocacy organizations protested against the conference in a manner consistent with their overall strategy of shutting down free expression around Palestine on Canadian campuses. These protests were given undue attention by the York administration, which responded in a way that undermined academic freedom. The conference did go ahead, but organizers were subjected to undue pressure before, during and after the conference. This pressure, and the thinking behind it, is now documented in e-mail correspondence (see links below).
We are deeply concerned that the internal process initiated by the York Administration and presided over by Mr. Frank Iacobucci, former Supreme Court of Canada Judge, does not address these issues properly. We note, in particular, the report’s inattention to the role of the administration in attempting to reshape the conference, despite evidence presented which clearly demonstrates those breaches. Moreover, the Report’s recommendations put special emphasis on “professional responsibility” of faculty members, “civil discourse” and “respect,” which go beyond the generally accepted standards of assessing scholarship, i.e. peer review. These recommendations constitute prior restraint on academic freedom, and as such are a threat to academic freedom. This is all the more so because the Iacobucci Report ignores the context of discussions about academic freedom regarding scholarship on the Middle East, and fails to situate its findings or recommendations in this broader political and intellectual context. This unique context pertaining to Middle Eastern scholarship is one in which scholars are routinely silenced if they are perceived to be critical of Israeli policies.
We urge faculty at York University and across the country to inform themselves about this threat to academic freedom and to take action against it. We encourage scrutiny of the Report from its Terms of Reference through to the Recommendations, and have provided key links below. Frankly, the York University administration is setting a precedent for direct interference in scholarly activities on campus that threatens all of us, and which threatens debate and academic discussion around Palestine in particular. We look forward to working with others to initiate protest actions around this attack on academic freedom.
Read the article in the Globe and Mail.
For details about the violations of academic freedom (including emails that were obtained through FIPPA), visit Fragile Freedom @ York U.
Read the Iacobucci Report.
Visit the “Israel/Palestine” conference website.
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