On Ferguson

American University Students for Justice in Palestine expresses solidarity with the family of Michael Brown and the countless other families who have lost their loved ones to police brutality. We want to also express our support for protesters worldwide decrying the lack of retribution officer Wilson will receive for his actions and demanding that the world pay attention to police brutality and to our country's broken justice system.

From Ferguson to Palestine, the same systems of oppression maintain racially disparate power structures that we work to take down. We hope that everyone who's disturbed by this denial of justice joins activists everywhere calling for change. You can find a list of actions here: fergusonresponse.tumblr.com.

In cases like this, it is so important that we do not look the other way. We need to speak out against injustice everywhere. Black lives matter. Palestinian lives matter.


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Why We Walked Out

If you were at the Bipartisan Discussion on the US Israel Relationship event, you might have noticed a group of people walking out around 15 minutes in.

We were there so you'd pay attention to an issue that consistently gets pushed aside by our country and by our university.

It seems as though a lot of attention is put on Israel for its technical advancements, false democracy, and mask of progressiveness. This event, highlighting Israeli achievements and the Israeli struggle, failed to mention the numerous struggles Israel causes.

What about the occupation? What about segregated roads and schools, military brutality, administrative detention, and the rising death toll?

You cannot have a productive conversation about the US Israel relationship if you fail to mention Palestine and talk about it in an honest way. Mentioning Palestinians as if they're demographic threats doesn't count.  

Let's a talk a little bit about Palestine, a land under colonization and oppression.

A major part of the Palestinian economy is agriculture. Last year, Israeli settlers uprooted 11 thousand olive trees from Palestinian land. 12.3 million dollars in profit yearly is lost in the olive harvest because of these aggressions, which go unpunished by Israeli forces.

Every year, 500 to 700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12, are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system. The most common charge is stone throwing. 

Water access to Palestinians is restricted, rationed, and unequally accessible. 

Why should you care? If the fact that this is a humanitarian issue isn't enough, it's worth noting that as Americans, 3.1 billion of our tax dollars annually are sent to Israel for its military alone. That's 8.5 million dollars every day.

It's up to us to speak out because we directly fund this ongoing injustice.

If we got your attention last night and if you find these facts upsetting, we encourage you to learn more. Question what you know and strive to learn more. Visualizing Palestine, Humanize Palestine, If Americans Knew, and Electronic Intifada are some great resources to start with.

As Students for Justice in Palestine, we aim to spread information about the Palestinian narrative that is largely missing from conversations about the issue. 

Please contact us if you want to know more about how you can help.

Signed,

American University Students for Justice in Palestine

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