Students for Palestine

On Tuesday evening, over 20 LSE students silently occupied a meeting of LSE’s governing body for over 30 minutes in protest at LSE Director Howard Davies’ implicit support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Holding up banners stating “Academic Freedom for All” and “Equal Rights for Palestinians”, the students peacefully entered an LSE Council meeting, the monthly meeting of LSE’s 25 directors, bringing it to a halt, and reissued a request for a meeting with Davies to discuss the issue, as well as that a statement be displayed on the LSE website recognising the right to education for Palestinians. After lengthy deliberation, and threatening to ask security to forcibly remove the students, Davies and Council Chair, Lord Grabiner, reluctantly agreed to attend a meeting and that a statement would be issued that acknowledged Palestinians’ right to education.

LSE staff and students had twice written to Davies to protest his stance against any debate of a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, as proposed by the UCU (University and College Union) in May 2007. In two subsequent responses (22 June 2007 and 5 September 2007) Davies had refused outright to meet with student representatives. He also declined to address or recognise the desperate condition of Palestinian academic institutions, stating that the School “has no corporate position” on this matter.

Widespread student outcry emerged after Davies posted a controversial statement on the LSE website condemning the UCU resolution and any debate on the issue, ignoring entirely the plight of Palestinians.

LSE students, staff and alumni wrote a joint letter to Davies in response. The letter, signed by most of the LSE Students Union Executive and more than 100 students, staff, alumni and heads of student societies, expressed concern at Davies’ apparent opposition to the free expression of opinion and debate on campus. The letter also questioned the school’s continued silence on “the massive Israeli assault on Palestinian academic institutions and the fundamental rights and freedoms of Palestinians, including freedom of expression, association and movement and the right to education.”

The letter went on to note that “the speed with which the School appeared to oppose any sanctions on Israeli academic institutions, while remaining silent on the desperate conditions facing Palestinian academic institutions, is bound to have created the impression of bias.”

Seph Brown, spokesperson for the LSE Students’ Union Palestinian Society, stated:

“As a Director of a world-class academic institution, Howard Davies should represent a balanced and fair perspective, especially on the issue of the colonization of Palestine. To condemn the discussion of an academic boycott of Israel, but to then ignore their blatant disruption and devastation of Palestinian academic freedom is entirely hypocritical. Davies is ignoring the existence of the hardships and suffering of Palestinian students all together.”

“We hope now that Davies will keep his promise and attend a meeting with the students who pay his wages and that the subsequent statement on the LSE website will finally recognise the right to education for Palestinians.”

(link)

Gaza – Ma’an – A Palestinian man suffering from a heart attack died Tuesday after Israeli forces twice refused to allow his ambulance to enter Israel where he was to be treated.

A Palestinian human rights group is saying Israeli soldiers fired on the ambulance.

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Seventy-seven-year-old Nemer Mohammed Salim Shuhaiber from Gaza City was admitted to the intensive care unit at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday suffering an acute heart attack. The Palestinian Ministry of Health ordered Shuhaiber to be transferred to an Israeli hospital for further treatment.

By Monday, the Health Ministry had secured Israeli approval for the transfer. When the ambulance carrying Shuhaiber and his two sons arrived at Erez border crossing, PHCR said, Israeli soldiers fired on the vehicle, forcing it to return Gaza City.

Medical officials made a second attempt to transfer the patient on Tuesday. This time, PHCR said, the ambulance was delayed for five hours at the border while Israeli soldiers inspected the ambulance. Shuhaiber, still in serious condition, was laid on the ground in direct sunlight for over an hour. At the end of the inspection, the border guards order the ambulance back to Gaza, where Shuhaiber died.

Shuhaiber also reportedly suffered from diabetes and hypertension.

According to PHCR, this is the fifth death in six months resulting from the obstruction of ambulances at Erez crossing.

Facts about the Cancellation of the Jericho-Tel Aviv Normalization Event
PACBI October 17, 2007
http://www.pacbi.org/announcements_more.php?id=616_0_5_0_M

For Immediate Release

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and all its partners, individuals and organizations active in art, culture and human rights, regard the cancellation of the Jericho-Tel Aviv event, planned by “One Voice” to take place on October 18th, as a substantial accomplishment for the Palestinian boycott movement. A solid partnership between diverse civil society organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has succeeded in thwarting the event’s organizers’ attempt to mislead public opinion and to use deceptive slogans to market a political program that concedes some fundamental Palestinian rights. Without the broad grassroots support among Palestinian and Arab institutions and leading figures for the statement* calling for boycotting the event, the organizers would not have been compelled to cancel this huge production handsomely funded by dubious foreign sources.

PACBI and its partners wish to express their gratitude to all the artists and arts groups that withdrew from the festival after learning the truth about the organizing group’s political program. In particular, we thank Jamil as-Sayeh, Ilham Madfa’i, DAM and Asayel. We also thank everyone who helped spread the word and raise awareness about the event and its sponsors.

The discrepancy in the political language used by the organizers in their Arabic webpage and the main English page was only an indicator of a deeper deception. They falsely claimed, for instance, that the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, was the event’s main patron, a claim that was categorically dismissed in an official statement issued by the President’s office on 11 October; they also included names of well-known national figures as members of various committees of their organization without those individuals’ consent or even knowledge, as was later disclosed.

Most recently, after they were forced to cancel the festival due to the withdrawal of the main artists, the overwhelming support of Palestinian civil society for a boycott of the event, and the President’s distancing himself from the whole festival, the organizers asserted, in Arabic, that the event was cancelled due to “technical reasons,” while the press statement, in English, issued by the main sponsor — who announced the festival cancellation — cited “security reasons” and “threats” by “extremists” against the participating artists as the reason for the cancellation. Despite the obvious falsehood and slander of such assertions, PACBI wishes to stress that, since its inception in 2004, it has embraced civil struggle, non-violent by its nature, in its discourse and action, inside occupied Palestine and outside. Moreover, all of PACBI’s partners who participated in exposing the truth about this event adopted only rational persuasion and awareness-raising in countering the deception and innuendo propagated by the event organizers, a fact that played a key role in widening the circle of public support for the proposed boycott.

This achievement is further proof that a clear majority in Palestinian society continues to insist on the full realization of the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine, paramount among which is the right to self-determination and the right of return for the refugees, as guaranteed by international law. A just peace can only be attained by completely ending the occupation with all its manifestations as well as the various forms of Israeli oppression against the Palestinian people, in compliance with international law and the universal principles of justice and human rights.

Contact:info@BoycottIsrael.ps

The manner in which One Voice dealt with the events surrounding the cancellation of a concert planned to have taken place in Jericho on the 18th of Oct exposed the complete hypocrisy of the organisation. In reality no further proof of the hypocrisy was needed as whilst they claim to be a group working towards a better future in the region they in fact do nothing to improve the situation.

The organisers, as they often do, misled bands that were invited to the concert about their political line. The truth is that when a real grass roots movement called “Another voice” was spontaneously founded to present the voice of Palestinians One Voice attacked the movement very viciously and consistently made many false accusations. Five of the eight performers pulled out from the concert after they had been contacted by Another Voice regarding the political line of the organisation One Voice. The performers released statements confirming their cancellation stating that they had been misled by One Voice. One Voice subsequently cancelled the event claiming that “threats (had been) made against the celebrities”, but no evidence were given with these accusations. We were in fact told One Voice would provide more information regarding these alleged “threats” but we are still waiting. A senior Palestinian official dismissed the claims that threats had led to the cancellation and stated that the Palestinian presidential guard, who would have been responsible for security arrangements in Jericho, “are reliable” and that “no one has ever cancelled an event in Palestine because of the security services”.

The claims from One Voice about Another Voice once more demonstrate that as an organisation they care little for the grassroots they claim to represent and have no interest in empowering Palestinians against extremists. Instead what they have done is undermine a political opponent by making false accusations about a non-violent and grassroots organisation (Another Voice). They also implied that the group is “extremist” and made threats to their own group. One Voice founder Daniel Lubetzky has always referred to any activist or organization which believes in the one-state solution as “extremist” despite the fact that they can make a strong argument for a two-state solution not being able to achieve long term “peace”. Another Voice is an organisation who have worked and cooperated with individuals, such as those who work within Check Point Watch, and organisations who call for a two-state solution. However unlike One Voice this organisation and individuals will work with anyone who is looking and working towards a better future without using the type of tactics that One Voice use to discredit their opponents.

One Voice was first set up as an organisation in 2002 and has been active in the region ever since then. One Voice claims to “empower” the silent “moderate” majority and give a platform for people to voice their opinions and speak out. They do this by asking Palestinians and Israelis to answer a survey about “the ten most” contentious issues regarding the conflict. However this is oversimplified and misleading as if fails to address any of the key elements required for just and lasting peace. Much of the article in fact subordinates Palestinian interests to that of the Israelis by justifying the use of settlement blocs, avoiding the issue of the refugees’ right of return and avoiding the framework of international law. The language on website of Once Voice seems to be similar to that used by many Israeli propagandists, for example if fails to use the word “occupation” anywhere on the website.

Furthermore, many are disturbed by the manner in which One Voice has been gathering support for their campaign. It has been discovered that many Palestinians and Israelis have signed on without access to the 10 pillars or proper understanding of the One Voice initiative. Many individuals and organizations which have been listed as endorsers, including Bishop Atallah Hanna, have pulled out upon closer examination of what One Voice stands for. Also several alleged endorsers, including President Mahmoud Abbas, were listed without their prior knowledge or consent. Their collection of signatures has been proved controversial many times as well and this would have been demonstrated at the concert as people attending the event would have been required to sign One Voice’s mandate before entering.

Many of their high profile sponsors, both individuals and companies, are known supporters of Israel. These include companies that invest heavily in Israel such as IBM and individuals, including people such as Labor Kenesst member and former IDF General Matan Vilnai. This individual was a minister during Operation Defensive Shield and heavily supported the offensive that led to Israeli forces reoccupying all of the areas in the West Bank which had been handed to the Palestinian National Authority as part of the Oslo Accords. This move was seen by many as the ‘final nail in the coffin’ of these agreements and undermined the entire peace process.

One Palestinian economic student who studies at Berzeit University when answering claims made by One Voice that Another Voice does not want peace said that “Of course me and my fellow students want peace…out future relies on it…what would I do with degree after four years of studying if we never get peace”. He further went on to say that “One Voice has always been the Israeli voice….and never tried to speak for Palestinians”. The organisation One Voice has always claimed to represent what the people of the region want but the student above, like many others we talked to, clearly does not agree.

Naji Mohamed
najimohamed@actionpalestine.org