#solidarity for palestinian human rights

[eretzyisrael]

by Dion J. Pierre

McGill University in Quebec, Canada has banned its Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) chapter from using the school’s name after the campus group posted on social media a statement that cheered Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.

SPHR described Hamas’ atrocities — which included the murder of 1,200 people, numerous rapes, and taking 240 people hostage — as “heroic.”

“The university cannot be, or seen to be, associated with a celebration of the taking of civilian hostages,” university spokesperson Susan Murley told The Montreal Gazette. “This post by SPHR was antithetical to the university’s values and stands to undermine the important work aimed at bringing our community together through the Initiative Against Islamophobia and Antisemitism.”

Murley added: “The university has clearly indicated to the SSMU [Students’ Society of McGill University] that the revocation should not be interpreted as the university taking a position on the Middle East and emphasized that the university would act in exactly the same manner in regard to any club that used the McGill name when posting content of a similar nature.”

SPHR — a Canadian equivalent of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) that earlier this month accused school officials of having “the blood of 20 000 [sic] Palestinians on their hands” — is refusing to abide by the university’s order. In a statement, the group told the Gazette that it is “rejecting this name change” and charged that the ban “is just another blatant way to smear the only group on campus which is representing Palestinian students.”

McGill University has made numerous attempts to combat antisemitic speech on campus, threatening even to disaffiliate with SSMU, the school’s student government, over a referendum it scheduled to declare that Israel is conducting “genocidal bombing campaigns” in Gaza and demand that the university end partnerships with businesses described in the referendum as “complicit in genocide, settler-colonialism, apartheid, or ethnic cleansing against Palestinians.”

Tensions between the university and its student government resulting from extreme anti-Israel activism have persisted for some years. In March 2022, McGill officials threatened to defund SSMU after its members voted to approve a policy accusing Israel of imposing “settler-colonial apartheid” against Palestinians and backing a boycott of “all corporations and institutions complicit” in the supposed practice. SSMU advanced the measure against the objections of its own judicial board, which had repeatedly ruled that joining the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel would violate both the SSMU constitution and university’s policy on equity and inclusion.

Later, a McGill University student sued the school for allegedly reneging on its pledge to defund SSMU, and last month he won a victory when a court ordered an injunction to halt ratification of the resolution.

In the latest controversy, SSMU is charged with officially withdrawing the group’s affiliation with SPHR. The student government has so far not chosen to contest the university’s decision, according to a statement issued on Monday.

“We regret to announce that SPHR will no longer be able to use the McGill name,” its executive committee said. “We continue to take our role as liaison between student groups and the administration seriously and will continue to investigate avenues for remedial action.”

As of Wednesday, SPHR has not published new content on its accounts using the McGill University name.

[intersectionalpraxis]

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

[agentfascinateur]

The Rafah coverup preparations:

Getting rid of the witnesses..."democratic" "allies", undemocratic accomplices.

[fairiedance]

I've been working very hard on my fundraising shop, and I just realized I have 100 designs now, in time for the 100th day of war. I plan to keep going until everyone my friend loves is safe and financially secure. Here are some of my designs (displayed on stickers):

You can find all my designs here. Redbubble will display them with a random product, click on each to see all product options (pins, shirts, stickers, bags, hats, etc). Edit: collections cap out at 100 products apparently, so from now on see my full range of designs here on my main page (I have temporarily removed all designs not related to Palestine).

ALL PROCEEDS from my shop go to my Palestinian best friend to help him support his girlfriend in remaining safely in America until things calm down and to help his other loved ones around the Levant who are being hurt directly and/or financially by the attacks on Gaza, the raids in the West Bank and the collateral damage in surrounding countries. He will donate anything his family doesn't need to the Palestinian charities he works with. He's been heavily involved in a lot of charity work (for Palestine and for other causes, he's one of those super nice people who's always trying to fix the whole world) for years and I trust him to put the money where it's most needed.

Thank you to everyone who has helped out so far!

[the-secret-garden1]

PALESTINE UPDATES 🇵🇸

Columbia University under federal investigation

The Office for Civil Rights announced that Columbia University is under federal investigation for anti-Palestinian racism. Including by inviting NYPD officers in riot gear to arrest Palestinian and associated students protesting Israel's genocide in Palestine.

Less than 48 hours after Shafik, President of Columbia. Called in the NYPD, which violently arrested and brutalised dozens of the students protesting.

While the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) looks into all complaints it receives. It only opens a formal investigation when it determines the facts warrant a deeper look.

Check out @pal_legal on instagram for more information.

[takow]

I'm not Palestinian

I'm Algerian-Tunisian. My family survived and didn't survive the french colonialism, occupation and attempted genocide while the West was looking away. Israel was supporting France during our independence war. I've heard stories from my Algerian grandmother. I saw how horrified she was when I explained to her what they were doing in Gaza. I listened when she told me that she lived that too. But my family's tragedy was just one in millions. And when I see bloodlines erased in Gaza, I tell myself "oh it lasted 132y for us it could've been your family" and because I can't stand by when history is repeating itself I stand with Palestine

In that way, I'm also Palestinian

[alwaysbewoke]

being anti-genocide is not allowed on meta

like i said before, i don't mess with shaun king like that, but that being said, many things about one thing can be true at the same time. it is very clear that there is a wave of censorship happening across social media against pro-palestinian content in favor of israeli propaganda. so whether or not you like shaun or not, it is very clear what is happening and why. there is clearly a genocide happening in gaza that is being perpetuated by colonizing power. a genocide against an indigenous population for land, resources, and power. basically the same thing america did to the natives here. had it not been for people like shaun king (flawed as he may be), many people would not be aware of the heinous acts of israel against the palestinian people right now. so even as someone who is not a shaun king fan, i am not so myopic in my view of things to not realize that he served a positive purpose when it comes to the israeli genocide of palestinians.

on a much larger scale, whenever a platform or a power attacks someone popular, one of the goals is to send a message to everyone else that they are not safe and that they should back off. it's like a football coach picking on and cursing out their hall of fame quarterback. when everyone else who isn't as popular or powerful sees that on the team, they immediately realize that they must fall in line or worse can happen to them. that's the goal of banning shaun king from ig. however as a black man who understands how connected all oppressive systems are, we cannot slow down. may i remind all my brothers and sisters that israel is where police forces like the nypd go and train in abusive violent tactics, which they then come back to america and overwhelmingly exercise on black and brown bodies. so if you think this does not affect you, you are sadly and deeply mistaken. additionally, this kind of censorship is going to spread. if we don't fight back, it won't be long before you will be arrested for speaking out against israel. this is what israel wants, and they have the money and political power to make it happen. you can either sit back and let it happen or you can fight back. however, make no mistake, it's coming, and this is the first major blow that the enemy has struck in their offensive against our free speech.

[capybaracorn]

Is this a watershed moment for Jewish solidarity with Palestinians?

We look at whether there is a shift within the Jewish community against Israel’s actions and policies.

Israel’s war on Gaza rages on, now in its sixth month, causing mass devastation and resulting in the deaths of more than 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. With mounting humanitarian crises, Jewish groups across the world have rallied in large numbers to denounce Israel’s actions and policies.

This is not the first time Jewish communities have come together to criticise Israel. A growing number of progressive Jewish groups have been organising against Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians for years.

This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill talks to the founder of Rabbis for Ceasefire, Rabbi Alissa Wise, and the national spokesperson for IfNotNow, Eva Borgwardt, about the Jewish communities mobilising for Palestinian liberation.

[intersexfairy]

Hi friends; I do not have many spoons right now to give you a very detailed post, but I just came across a person from Gaza, @accmohm on TikTok, who is struggling to raise funds. He is being rejected by TikTokers who platform GFMs and it is heartbreaking to see.

His name is Mohammed and he has 2 daughters, a months old baby and a 10 year old girl. His GFM (linked below) is only at €2,910 out of €42,500. I don't know how to properly verify these but the account has TikToks from prior to the genocide. Please view it for yourself.

If all my followers donated $6-$7, he could reach his goal. If you can't help monetarily, boost with reblogs; likes and replies do almost nothing on tumblr.

Help Mohammed and his family here

€2,910 / €42,500

[eretzyisrael]

A Jewish and Zionist McGill student is suing his student union, a pro-Palestinian campus club, and the university administration for allegedly failing to protect him from the discrimination and harassment he suffered as a result of a referendum  condemning Israel this past semester.

In his deposition in Quebec Superior Court, Jonah Fried names as defendants the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) and McGill. He is seeking a declaratory judgment that the Palestine Solidarity Policy advocating boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel proposed by SPHR is “inconsistent with and contrary to the constitution, bylaws and policies” of the SSMU.

That policy, never ratified, is “discriminatory, biased and antisemitic,” it is alleged, because it is “designed to create a climate of fear and intimidation against Jewish students attending McGill.”

Besides advocating BDS, the policy accused Israel of “settler-colonial apartheid,” which Fried claims is coded language for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Fried further argues the policy violates the Quebec Human Rights and Freedoms Charter.

He hopes to block any attempt by SPHR to re-introduce a similar motion.

The action is being financially underwritten by B’nai Brith Canada.

[retmodbranding]

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

This #WorldKeffiyehDay I finally got to visit the last active #GazaSolidarityEncampment in the greater Boston area at my alma mater, Harvard. All the rest have been violently attacked by their administrators who have weaponized the police. Interim President Garber was recently spotted on campus with the ADL’s president Jonathan Greenblatt, and the ADL is basically an anti-Palestinian hate group at this point, so who knows how long until he uses police violence against these bright, brave young people, too.

Visiting the Refaat Alareer Memorial Library felt, quite honestly, like visiting Notre Dame Cathedral or a great museum - except this holy place is a humble monument built with love and reverence in memory of a man of exceptional warmth and grace is far more moving.

The peaceful camp demonstrated a focus on community care, honoring the intersectional nature of our fight for liberation. These students are showing us what is possible when we act out of radical solidarity. They were even making screen-printed shirts and tote bags, one of which I am now a proud owner of!

This is the first time since I learned about Harvard’s investments in Israel that I’ve been a proud alum.

[agentfascinateur]

U of Ghent Divests 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Belgium's University of Ghent (UGent) is severing ties with three Israeli educational or research institutions which it says no longer align with UGent's human rights policy

#students winning !

[fairiedance]

I put this on a bunch of shirts and stickers and stuff, I figure it'll be good for protests and campus activism. Found here. As usual ALL PROCEEDS are for my Palestinian best friend, to help take care of his loved ones. He'll donate any his family doesn't need to the charities he works with.

To my fellow grad students: this friend and I are working with our department on making it easier for grads to bow out of research they have a moral objection to. We're also working on putting together a statement on Palestine. If you have a lot of colleagues on your side and particularly if you're in a program like engineering, physics, astronomy or applied math (with a lot of military applications) you should try to see where your funding is coming from and support grads in divesting from ethically questionable research. I won't say too much about what we're doing because I don't want to risk doxing my friend, but here are some examples of statements from grads at the Goldman School of Public Policy and the UCSC Astronomy Department. We (STEM students in particular) are the next generation of minds behind the military-industrial complex. It's up to us to make it clear we will not be complicit in work that supports genocide.

You can also find my full shop here. To see a design on different products click on the display product and scroll down or go here to browse by design. Here's a small sample of some of my other work, I make stuff in a bunch of different styles so there's something for everyone:

Thank you to everyone who has helped out with my fundraiser so far!

[vyorei]

Things are getting worse, power is being lost everywhere and lives are at stake, gonna fall into an information/media blackout if fuel doesn't get in fast