5 Highlights of Black-Palestinian Solidarity in 2014-15
In the summer of 2014, an Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip ended the lives of over 2,100 Palestinians, igniting worldwide protests in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Simultaneously, the murder of Mike Brown at the hands of the Ferguson Police Department in August 2014, sparked protests across the country, and gained international attention, calling for accountability and an end to police violence. The coinciding times of these tragedies resulted in momentous solidarity between Palestinian and Black people.
There have been several events that have been pivotal to the overall movements of both demographics. This article will analyze five significant highlights in the Black-Palestinian solidarity movement that have occurred in the past year, and explain the significance of Blacks and Palestinians standing together.
1. Solidarity on US Campuses
In adherence to the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), until the Israeli government complies with international law, solidarity groups across the country launched divestment campaigns. These campaigns called on respective religious and academic institutions to remove their investments from corporations that profit from human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
There was overwhelming support for divestment from multicultural and ethnic groups across the board. In fact, coalitions became so strong, that the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) warned in a report that a student organization called Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) “and its allies continue to deepen their involvement with social justice-oriented organizations on campus.”
Divestment campaigns arose at a plethora of universities across the country, including but not limited to Loyola University Chicago, DePaul University, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, UCLA, UC Davis, Marquette University, and UC Riverside.
Divestment surrounding the Israeli occupation was not the only campaign to take heed this year on college campuses. Columbia University became the first university to divest from prisons following a year-long student-run campaign, under the name of Columbia Prison Divest. SJP at Columbia endorsed the campaign. A letter on SJP Columbia’s website, in support of Columbia Prison Divest, states “it is communities of color, international communities, LGBTQ communities and working class communities who are disproportionately targeted by all levels of the United States penal system, from police profiling to biased conviction patterns.”
Columbia Prison Divest demanded that the university remove its investments from G4S, a British multinational corporation, that was also a major target of SJP divestment campaigns across the country. G4S provides security systems for detention, interrogation facilities, checkpoints and high-security prisons and profits from mass incarceration globally, including Palestine.
This type of coalition building on U.S. campuses is expected to continue.
2. Palestine 2 Ferguson Contingent
Community leaders and organizers in Ferguson called on people of conscience to join them for the Weekend of Resistance in October 2014. In response to this call for solidarity, USPCN led the Palestine 2 Ferguson contingent, which consisted of 11 organizations, including the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee, and the Palestine Youth Movement.
“The Black community has stood next to the Palestinian community in their time of need. The events in Ferguson exposed that the repressive tactics that law enforcement use here was from training they received in Israel,” said Nesreen Hasan, a Palestinian youth organizer on the Southside of Chicago who traveled to Ferguson with the contingent. She continued to explain the importance of the contingent by saying “the US and Israel collaborate on mechanisms to oppress both Blacks and Palestinians. That it is why it is our duty as Palestinians to speak up against police violence and answer our Black brothers and sisters call to action.”
The contingent stood with the protests that evolved after the murder of Mike Brown, and demanded an end to police violence and militarization of law enforcement. The demonstrations challenged systemic racism faced by black and brown communities across the nation. More than 100 Palestine activists joined the demonstrations with signs that read “From Palestine to Ferguson: End Racism Now.”
3. Dream Defenders, BYP100, & Ferguson Reps Take Historic Trip to Palestine
Renowned black community organizers from the Dream Defenders, Black Youth Project 100, and Ferguson representatives took a trip to the occupied territories of Palestine. The trip lasted 10 days, following the 2014 summer bombing attacks on Gaza, high profile repression in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and a high profiled case of the killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson.
Ebony magazine described this historical event as “another chapter in the recent history of Black-Palestinian solidarity.” The black organizers on this trip were very enlightened and were able to draw many parallels between their struggle and the Palestinian fight for freedom.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers that are killing and torturing innocent Palestinians are the same soldiers that are responsible for the training and militarization of police departments across the United States.
4. USPCN in solidarity with the Black community of Baltimore
Following the death of Freddie Gray, as a result of spinal injuries caused by the Baltimore Police Department, massive protests erupted in Baltimore demanding the indictment and sentencing of the police officers responsible for his death.
Mainstream news outlets maligned the protests, created an illusion that Freddie Gray died independently from police custody, and valued the property of Baltimore over Black life. The United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) issued a statement voicing support for the Black community of Baltimore.
In the statement, USPCN declared, “Enough is enough. That is what Black people in Baltimore are saying, and what they have every right to say. Police are killing Black people at an alarming rate, and the response from mayors, governors, even presidents, is nothing more than a call for calm. USPCN is not calling for calm. We are calling for unqualified support and solidarity with Black people in Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Detroit, Oakland, Ferguson, Miami, Milwaukee, and everywhere else police are killing their sisters, brothers, mothers, and fathers.”
5. 2015 Black Solidarity Statement With Palestine
More than 1,000 Black scholars, activists, writers, artists and students signed onto a statement declaring “solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and commitment to the liberation of Palestine’s land and people.” Signatories include Angela Davis, Cornel West, Charlene Carruthers, and Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors.
The statement recognizes that the racism towards Palestinians by the Israeli government is “also directed against others in the region, including intolerance, police brutality, and violence against Israel’s African population.” Discrimination directed to dark skinned people is also prevalent in Israel. For example, asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea that flee to Israel are referred to by Israeli officials as “infiltrators,” and are systematically discriminated against.
There needs to be unified action against anti-Blackness, white supremacy, and Zionism.Posted in: Solidarity
Source: www.theblacktribune.org