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A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Discussion on Palestine incorporates history as well as recent posters targeting SJP

(Andy Castillo/Daily Collegian)
(Andy Castillo/Daily Collegian)

On the heels of recent posters comparing Students for Justice in Palestine to terrorists and anti-Semites found on several campuses across the United States, including the University of Massachusetts, SJP sponsored an educational lecture on the history titled “Palestine: Professors Speak.”

“The creation of the nation Israel meant a displacement of populations for both Jews and Arabs,” said Mary Wilson, a professor of Middle Eastern history. “Everybody suffered.”

The lecture covered a broad range of history, from the initial immigration of the Jewish population, what would become the nation of Israel and to the current difficulties faced by the minority Palestinian population.

Wilson also commented on the ignorance many Westerners about the ongoing tensions, due to heavily biased portrayal by news outlets.

“Framing is very important,” she said. “It’s very difficult to think outside of what we are being shown in the media – it’s hard to maintain an independent mind.”

At the same time, awareness is getting better. When she began lecturing on Palestine, she described feeling nervous and fielding intense arguments from students.

“In the beginning it was very difficult,” she said. “I used to sweat bullets over any lecture on Palestine.”

After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the American youth became more open minded, she said.

“Students came to class wide open for information instead of stampeding to warmongering,” she said. “That was surprising to me.”

“The lecture is one of a couple of events going on this week,” said Annalise Pforr, vice president of SJP, about the groups first Israeli Apartheid Week, which will be an annual series of events held on campuses around the globe.

According the group’s Facebook page, the aim of the week is “to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaigns.”

“Our main political strategy is built around BDS,” said Evan Scribner, treasurer of SJP.

The boycotts are targeted against companies like HP, who have “been staunchly in favor of the occupation, or SodaStream – all their factories are built on Israeli settlements in Palestine.”

The organization focuses on education, awareness and peaceful activism. Students are encouraged to visit their Facebook page for more information.

Andy Castillo can be reached at [email protected].

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  • H

    Hindy CuptarFeb 26, 2015 at 7:24 pm

    It would of course be neither easy nor desirable to boycott everything remotely involved with Israel; the point is to protest funding of the occupation.

    >>BDS is not going to achieve anything, then.

    Reply
  • B

    BretFeb 26, 2015 at 6:35 pm

    The point is that Israel is NOT an apartheid state. If you go to Israel, you will see that. I’ve been to Israel plenty of times, and can tell you that. It’s a shame to compare Israel to an apartheid state, as you are degrading what so many in Africa had suffered through. Also after having a handful of palestinians in Israel attack pedestrians on the busses, on the streets, run them over with cars, and Bulldozers ( multiple occasions of this), how would you suggest you solve that problem? Just so you know, SJP might not say they support Hamas, but they would 100% tell you they are ok with what Hamas is doing. Also, the SJP on the Umass Amherst campus was chanting at their rally that they want to see Israel fall brick by brick wall by wall. To me that sounds like a hate speech and a threat to anyone on the campus who has roots to Israel, but administration fell short to condemn this. For the record Michael, I personally asked an SJP representative if he condemns Hamas for its actions (Killing innocent palestinians), and the person went silent and didn’t respond. So yes, SJP has no problem with what Hamas is doing to the palestinians and the entire world.

    Reply
  • M

    MichaelFeb 26, 2015 at 4:43 pm

    Bret: For the record, SJP does consider Hamas a terrorist organization and definitely does not support Hamas. The purpose of the BDS movement is to bring attention to Israeli human rights abuses in the occupied territories, as well as the ongoing blockade, by specifically targeting companies that very directly fund these human rights abuses (e.g. Caterpillar, a company that produces bulldozers used in house demolitions in the West Bank. It would of course be neither easy nor desirable to boycott everything remotely involved with Israel; the point is to protest funding of the occupation.

    Reply
  • B

    BretFeb 26, 2015 at 12:43 pm

    I completely agree with Ayumi! SJP is a group of students who clearly don’t know how much Israel helps Palestinians! Israeli doctors and medical groups save so many palestinians for FREE in ISRAELI hospitals, Israel ships food and medical necessities to Gaza that are unable to reach the palestinians because Hamas, a terrorist organization, shoots missiles at such dispensaries that are made to help palestinians. How about SJP stops trying to boycott Israel, and promote the freedom of palestinians from a terrorist run government. No offense but if you are going to boycott Israel, you may as well stop using your cell phones, computers, and basically all of your favorite technologies because they all have components made by Israelis. Maybe we should bring educators to these universities, to educate students on how SJP doesn’t consider Hamas a terrorist organization and that SJP supports Hamas.

    Reply
  • A

    AyumiFeb 26, 2015 at 12:34 pm

    I really liked how this article at the beginning talks about how the Israeli – Palestinian conflict is a very hard topic to discuss and has many factors in it, and that it’s more than a who is responsible matter. BUT then at the end of the article the whole idea of solving the issue, according to SJP, is by a BDS movement on Israel. Nice try to cover up the fact that SJP doesn’t even care about peace, their initiative is actually based upon the attempt of wanting Israel to be destroyed. Nice try attempting to act like you are trying to bring justice, when in reality you are bringing hate into a conflict that can be solved with peace. SJP will never solve anyones issue, and if someone is unable to comprehend that SJP stands for hate and negativity and more conflict, and not peace, then they clearly have no moral values.

    Reply