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SJP Conference 2012: Photos of the first half

November 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The second annual National SJP Conference is hosted at the University of Michigan. Here are some photographs of what we’ve been doing the last day and a half. Special thanks to Danya Mustafa, Sara Jawhari, and Debbie Southorn for collecting and sharing these photographs.

Students at the opening plenary of the National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Conference 2012 discuss ways to address and tackle dynamics of oppression within campus solidarity movements. Photo credit: Sara Jawhari

A plush panda, which belongs to an SJP conference organizer, dons a traditional Palestinian keffiyeh. Photo credit: Sara Jawhari

One conference attendee’s face is illuminated by a computer screen as she excitedly takes notes during Nada Elia’s opening remarks. Elia spoke on the importance of liberating ourselves from within. Photo credit: Sara Jawhari [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism, Photo Set, Visual Arts Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Exciting news: Israeli military opens up to vegans, offers them special boots to commit human rights abuses in

November 1, 2012 By 10 Comments

Foodwashing? Dietwashing? We’re running out of names to categorize the Israeli military’s absurdity but here’s their latest attempt at improving their image. Basically, vegan occupation soldiers should now feel grateful that they finally get to tromp through Palestinian homes in really neat faux leather boots.

Vegan accommodations are great and they are absolutely necessary. But the exploitation of veganism is unacceptable, especially when done as part of a comprehensive campaign to frame a human rights abuser as a human rights protector.

Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With:

When +972′s privileged journalism belittles the Palestinian struggle

October 31, 2012 By 7 Comments

Effort can be appreciated. But when the effort is spent on lazy, privileged journalism that belittles a struggle and an entire population, that is when the effort needs to be stopped in its tracks and addressed.

+972 Magazine co-founder and contributor Yuval Ben-Ami recently published a piece recounting an evening he spent watching over Gaza’s skies as Israel shelled the territory from above and as Palestinian fighters returned fire, arguably in response to the four Gazans that had been killed earlier in the day.

He had bravely chosen to leave behind his cappuccino that morning and make his way from Tel Aviv to a kibbutz just beyond Sderot, about as close to Gaza’s border as a civilian could get.

There he joined a group of likeminded photographers hoping for the best shots. In essence, they were banking on human tragedy, a military assault, quite possibly the deaths of innocent civilians, to give them a photograph and a story they could use for their own personal gain.

They waited, “looking down at impoverished, futureless Gaza and at neglected southern Israel, secretly hoping for them to burn for our amusement,” Ben-Ami writes. It is a chilling sentence. What is worse, though, is that this problematic language, its self-righteous tone, and its patronizing attitude toward Palestinians is reflected in virtually every letter of every word of every sentence in this piece.

One can easily — word emphasis: easily — make the argument that this privileged and rather offensive reportage is common to +972, because it is. But Ben-Ami has provided us with an excellent example and that is what we will examine for the time being. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Analysis, Commentary, Media & Journalism, Opinion Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The goat that wore no clothes

October 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Here’s a short and cute Eid story for you. I’m related to a little diva from Gaza City who gets very excited at the idea of doing grownup things, like choosing an outfit or staying up late or out-dazzling other adults, her parents and grandparents included.

On the eve of Eid Al-Adha, she brought out her fanciest dress and socks and matching shoes and laid them out on the living room couch. Tomorrow, she thought, she would be the best dressed kindergartner in the city.

Out of the window, she spotted the neighbor’s newly purchased goat. She knew what was going to happen to it tomorrow but that didn’t faze her. For Muslims who have the means to do it, a goat is sacrificed and its meat distributed to the disadvantaged.

What did grab her attention, though, was the goat’s bare body. “It’s nice and all but the goat doesn’t even have any underwear on!” she told her mother, scoffing at the goat down below.

“That’s because it’s going to celebrate Eid in your clothes tomorrow,” her mother teased. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: ,

Goodbyes are never easy

October 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“One Occupied Gazan Summer” is a three-part personal narrative by Mariam I. who explores her thoughts and retraces her steps during her most recent visit to the Gaza Strip. Read part one here and part two here.

Part three of three. One of the most painful moments of my summer was sharing a tearful farewell with my mother the morning she was set to leave Gaza through Egypt, one week before her flight to the United States. I woke up, got dressed for work, and went to the side of her bed to tell her two months was not long enough to be sad about not seeing each other and that before we’d miss each other, I’d be rejoining her in the United States.

Before I could say any of those things, my mother’s tears were streaming down her face. I knew that as hard as it was for her to leave Palestine, it was harder for her to leave me there, uncertain of my safety. I hugged her, told her I’d miss her, and asked her to have a safe trip before I ran out of the room as quickly as I could. She couldn’t see me cry; I had to be strong so she wouldn’t worry. Goodbyes are never easy.

I cried in the stairwell and as I walked down the unpaved road in front of the house. I was able to compose myself in time to not look crazy before I had to hail a taxi. That was a difficult day of work. I found myself constantly searching the news for information on the status of the Rafah Crossing. How many busses were let through, how may were sent back, how many people were trapped in the lobby waiting to cross into Egypt?

I was terrified; my mother’s flight was approaching and she needed to get through as soon as possible, but also, I didn’t want to have to deal with another painful goodbye. I went home from work that day in the same depressed state that I arrived in. I entered the house and went straight for the kitchen, but oddly, I imagined my mother’s laugh. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Contribution, Personal Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Debate Tweets 2012: You’d think Israel didn’t have a friend in the United States

October 23, 2012 By 1 Comment

Twitter’s latest crop of political pundits and Middle East experts took the internet by storm during the final Presidential debate of 2012. The “Foreign Policy Debate,” as it was largely mischaracterized, was essentially a boast fest with both Presidential candidates vying over who has and who will give more of their shoulder for Israel to rest its head on.

But even amidst such absolutist pro-Israel fervor, our experts have fallen under the illusion that Israel does not have a friend in the United States. It’s as if the billions of U.S. tax dollars handed to Israel’s military is not support enough. Or the exclusive Israel-customized F-35 fighter jets Obama sold at a bargain to Israel just after repurposing over $55 million on “resettlement” projects to help Jews move to Israel — that is what being a bad friend and an even worse ally is all about, ladies and gentlemen.

So here’s what they had to say.


[Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary, News Tagged With: , , ,

Thank you, Israel, for your lifesaving diet

October 23, 2012 By 2 Comments

Guest contribution

To Israel,

Thank you, Israel, for helping us avoid a humanitarian crisis. Without your help in calculating how many calories I as a Gazan should consume, I would probably fall victim to some unexpected calamity. Imagine what would happen if all 1.7 million of us were left to live on our own without knowing exactly how many calories and how many grams of food are allocated to us. We’d probably overeat ourselves to death. And just like that, an entire population of natives would be gone — a thought, I am sure, that has never once crossed your mind.

You really saved us this time, didn’t you.

I learned that a district court ordered your Ministry of Defense to release the documents detailing how you calculated these lifesaving diets. Why’d they have to pry it out? Why did you keep it such a secret? If I was saving someone from the brink of humanitarian disaster, I’d be excited to share the news. Who knows, maybe others would follow.

But you. You kept your noble mission secret. Just the kind of humility and selflessness we’ve come to expect from the Israel that despises the fancy lights and the glitter and the global attention. You consistently redefine the concept of altruism and the way you interact with Palestinians should be a model for worldwide social interaction. It’s not every day that a country voluntarily dedicates its top officials to meticulously calculate, outline, and enforce a way of life for millions of others. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Contribution Tagged With: , ,

“Red lines”: Official document shows Israel calculated Gaza food intake to avoid ‘humanitarian crisis’

October 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Israeli government calculated the minimum number of food calories necessary to keep Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from becoming malnourished during Israel’s siege on the territory, an official document released by court order reveals.

The government of Israel did in fact calculate the minimum number of food calories necessary to keep Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from becoming malnourished during Israel’s siege on the territory.

The 2008 document shows that Israel’s Ministry of Health, in conjunction with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), worked to restrict Gaza’s food intake along a series of “red lines” designed to avoid a “humanitarian crisis”.

One of the “red lines”, and probably the most stark example of Israel’s virtually limitless control over the coastal enclave, demands that Gazans be supplied, on average, with 1,838.6 grams of food per day. Based on an average Israeli diet modified to account for the “culture and experience” in Gaza, this food would account for the 2,279 calories needed to keep Gazans from starving.

The document also contains information on how Israel controlled the flow of food goods through the border. [Read more...]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , ,

One of the things I learned at last year’s National SJP Conference

October 16, 2012 By 1 Comment

At the present moment, there is a woman sitting at the table in front of me, furiously pecking at her keyboard with one hand and munching on a sandwich with another. To my right are nine men from the community gathered around two chessboards. Their chess pieces roll along the dark brown wooden table. The woman in front of me just picked up her backpack and left. Either she caught me staring too hard or her class begins in a few. Let’s hope it’s the latter.

These are your everyday people, each going about his or her own day with his or her own priorities in mind. But I’ve been taught to recognize the proverbial everyday person as a friend and a valuable asset — not to me, per se, but to the millions everywhere who face oppressions that prevent them from becoming everyday people or even from doing everyday things. It’s a bit abstract but the “line theory” does a good job of explaining what I mean, specifically within the context of the Palestinian narrative and even more specifically within the context of the upcoming Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) National Conference.

One year ago someone asked me who I target when helping to organize actions or events centered around the occupation of Palestine. My initial answer, The Americans Who Don’t Know, was too narrow and my second answer, The Opposition, was a waste of a breath. It wasn’t that I was targeting the wrong audience but, technically, I was.

Imagine a line. Or if you’re reading this after a busy day, let me imagine one for you. Presently, the line represents nothing. So let us quickly define the line’s boundaries with visible points.

One point represents you, the organizers or the educators, the ones who already Know. The other point represents the opposition, in this case the ones who, for example, insist that human rights laws are meant to be broken and that oppression is actually a protective maneuver. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism Tagged With: , ,

No clearer reminder of the occupation than the raining of missiles on its land

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“One Occupied Gazan Summer” is a three-part personal narrative by Mariam I. who explores her thoughts and retraces her steps during her most recent visit to the Gaza Strip. Read part one here and part three here.

Part two of three. Oddly, while I was in Gaza, even the moments of national celebration reminded me of how occupation and siege shaped our lives. I remember the end of the prisoners’ mass hunger strike that began on April 17 and ended on May 14. It was my first day in Palestine. I was thrilled, smiling uncontrollably, suppressing gleeful giggles, and using my utmost restraint to keep from flipping cartwheels up and down the alleys of my refugee camp. Then news of the end of the hunger strike broke and as all of the televisions in the densely populated camp were turned to the same channel and poor insulation, open windows, and gaping roofs allowed the sound to escape into the alleys, it felt like the women on the news ululating in celebration were with us in this very camp. Their cries of celebration were as real and present as the Israeli drones circling above our homes.

I remember when Thaer Halahleh decided to end his hunger strike. I remember exactly where I was when the radio news reporter announced that Halahleh was being released to his family. I had just spent several hours with my uncle’s family at a Gaza beach and we were in a taxi on our way home to our central Gaza Strip refugee camp. We were driving past al-Mughraga village and I was choking on the rancid smell of sewage and rotting garbage. I don’t know if I was holding my breath from the excitement of Halahleh’s release or from my disgust of the smell forcing itself down my throat. Either way, I was sitting between my thirteen year old cousin and my mother whispering to each of them about how incredible Halahleh’s heroism was and how thrilled I was to receive the news of his release, all the while excited giggles escaped from me and I held myself down to the backseat to keep from jumping through the roof of the car from my joy.

The next morning was another story. On my way to work, the car radio was playing the message of a prisoner’s mother to her son. She was telling him how much she missed him, how she prays for him often, how she is proud of him, how he is a hero, how his entire family is awaiting his release, how he must remain patient and steadfast. And as she indirectly shared with her son, through the ears of the entire nation, messages of motivation, love, and encouragement, I wept silently and uncontrollably in the backseat of a taxi at 7:45 in the morning. I arrived at work face red, swollen, and lined by streams of tears. The plight of the prisoners and their families was no longer just a news story; it was a real mental and emotional struggle that countless Palestinians had to live through every day. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Contribution, Personal Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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