University of Chicago – Sixteen Minutes to Palestine

BDS campaign leaders convene in Chicago for public lecture

May 10, 2013 By Sami Kishawi Leave a Comment

On Tuesday, May 14, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Chicago will be hosting a lecture panel on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement gaining traction around the world.

Palestinian civil society initiated the BDS call in 2005. Since then, countless high profile figures, artists, institutions, and organizations have cut or withdrawn connections with Israel until Israel complies with international and human rights law. If it’s any indication of how relevant and effective BDS is, Professor Stephen Hawking announced his backing of the boycott movement earlier this week.

The event, titled “From South Africa to Israel: The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement”, features Sherry Wolf, a prominent journalist and activist; Rabbi Brant Rosen, leader of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston; and Andrew Kadi, a digital media specialist involved in regional organizing. The three speakers will relate today’s BDS movement to previous boycott campaigns, showing how BDS can be effectively applied and advocated on campuses and beyond.

For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

The event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Voice for Peace chapter at the University of Chicago and is part of SJP’s annual Nakba Commemoration. The event is free and open to the public.

Filed Under: Activism Tagged With: BDS, Nakba, SJP, Stephen Hawking, University of Chicago

‘I agree with you that everyone is deserving of human rights, however…’: Anti-Palestinian talking points squashed at U of Chicago SJP event

March 9, 2013 By Sami Kishawi 2 Comments

Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Chicago hosted a panel titled “The Question of Palestine” on Thursday to address the viability and practicality of the one and two-state solutions in light of the Palestinian Authority’s recent United Nations bid and Israel’s continued settlement expansion. The panel featured distinguished journalists and thinkers Yousef Munayyer, Mitchell Plitnick, and Ali Abunimah, and was moderated by John Mearsheimer.

During the Question & Answer session, a student identified by the school newspaper as a member of Chicago Friends of Israel, the university’s pro-Israel student group, challenged Abunimah’s position on the one-state solution and accused him of “vehemently oppos[ing] a Jewish state”. The two went back and forth, with Abunimah showing the inherent contradictions in the student’s claim and the student pushing overused talking points about Hamas.

The footage begins just after the student asked her first question and when Abunimah began to answer. She questioned Abunimah’s stance on a Jewish homeland and incorporated “13,000 rockets” into her question.

(Note: When a full version of the footage becomes available, it will take the place of the footage below.)

Ali Abunimah: — questions for me are circulated by StandWithUs. Is that where you got them?

Student from Chicago Friends of Israel: Actually, no. I formulated these on my own.

AA: Sorry?

Student: I formulated these on my own. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Footage Tagged With: Ali Abunimah, Chicago Friends of Israel, John Mearsheimer, Palestine, SJP, StandWithUs, University of Chicago

Walkout: ‘U of Chicago should not sanction drone warfare’

February 25, 2013 By Sami Kishawi 2 Comments

Three University of Chicago departments teamed up with the Jewish United Fund to bring a former Israeli military officer to campus to define the criteria necessary to make drone warfare and targeted killings more ‘moral’. Protestors demonstrated outside and students walked out in the middle of the event.

Amos Guiora, Professor of Law at the University of Utah and 19-year veteran who advised Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip, spoke today about how targeted killings can and should be legitimized. Guiora made the point that he approached the issue of drone warfare from an academic point of view as well as from the perspective of his long career in the Israeli military fighting “for peace”. This is when some audience members chuckled. At the front row, a dozen students and community members turned their chairs the other way and faced the audience, commenting briefly on the absurdity of his statements.

Guiora continued his speech but after alleging that Israel had historically committed itself to peace, the dozen demonstrators walked out while reminding the remaining audience of Israel’s previous commitments, including its invasion of Gaza last November, its invasion of Gaza in 2008-2009, and its occupation of Palestine for six and a half decades. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism, Local Events, News Tagged With: Amos Guiora, Drones, Protest, University of Chicago

Heme synthesis pathway for Palestine-loving nerds

December 12, 2012 By Sami Kishawi Leave a Comment

Hey, what do you know. It’s finals week and our biochemistry professor (who, aside from being one of the greatest professors I’ve ever had, is also known for surviving a Soviet labor camp after being arrested and imprisoned for espionage while traveling) included this heme synthesis pathway in the package of things we should expect to be tested on:

Knowing full well that my mind just won’t process this material, I ran it through Photoshop and did this with it:

I doubt this will help but at least now it’s easier to look at. I suggest giving your work this kind of color treatment if it’s giving you a hard time. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Biochemistry, Flag, Heme Synthesis, University of Chicago

Timeline of SJP-related activity in University of Chicago newspaper

December 6, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 1 Comment

In the days following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, students at the University of Chicago took to their school newspaper to voice their concerns or, in at least one case, their support for the eight-day military assault. Here’s a timeline of the activity the Chicago Maroon has seen in the last two weeks.

November 21, 2012

Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Chicago published a statement condemning Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip and urging students, faculty, and community members to actively work to hold Israel accountable for its actions. The statement, signed and supported by various campus groups and published just after the ceasefire was announced, was sent to the Chicago Maroon and dozens of other university divisions, departments, and administrators.

November 27, 2012

SJP submitted and published an op-ed explaining the importance of working for justice in Palestine. The article gives a brief rundown of the latest invasion and places it within a greater historical context that points to the blockade, the siege, and the overall occupation as clear obstacles to peace. The op-ed was published online and in print.

U of Chicago SJP, MEChA, and other campus groups condemn Israel’s assault on Gaza in statement

November 21, 2012 By Sami Kishawi Leave a Comment

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Chicago drafted and released this statement today calling on students, faculty, and the general public to condemn Israel’s latest invasion of the Gaza Strip as well as its ongoing siege and occupation of the territory. Campus groups, local SJP chapters, and Chicago groups signed on to the statement.

Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Chicago and allied student groups condemn the latest invasion of the Gaza Strip

We unequivocally condemn Israel’s ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip. We join our voices with those who demand an immediate termination of military activity in Gaza as well as a resolute end to the ongoing siege of the territory.

At least 158 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military offensives since Wednesday with over 1,500 reported injured so far. Three Israelis have also been confirmed dead. The deaths come after a two-week lull in violence was broken by an Israeli incursion into Gaza that killed a 12-year old boy while he played soccer. Israel’s launch of Operation “Pillar of Defense” has so far resulted in the indiscriminate shelling of Gazan civilian centers, naval bombardments of coastal refugee camps, the targeting of reporters and medical crews, and the calling up of Israeli reservists for a possible ground invasion.

In light of these events and bearing in mind the atrocities of Israel’s invasion in 2008-2009, we call on you to stand in opposition to the violence and human rights abuse inflicted upon the Palestinian people by the Israeli government and military. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism Tagged With: Gaza Strip, Israel, MEChA, Operation Pillar of Defense, SJP, University of Chicago

Thoughts on the message U of Chicago administration sent to students affected by Israel’s invasion of Gaza

November 17, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 2 Comments

Administrators at the University of Chicago sent the following message to select students on campus following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip:

The Campus and Student Life division of the Office of International Affairs messaged a number of students on campus, including myself, urging us to take advantage of the University’s resources and support networks during these trying times. As the death toll tops four dozen, with so many children and one pregnant woman being among the fatalities, families in the Gaza Strip are calling for an end to Israel’s invasion and ongoing blockade of the territory.

From a campus body that can best be defined with one word — apathetic — and an administration that, quite frankly, hasn’t ever and probably won’t ever present the Palestinian narrative the way it does when Ehud Olmert and Michael Oren are free to speak on the work they’ve been doing to force Palestinians into submission (see: Operation Cast Lead, 2008-9), this is an unexpected and exceptionally thoughtful move that I’m sure many will appreciate. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism, Commentary, News Tagged With: Ehud Olmert, Gaza Strip, Israel, Michael Oren, Operation Cast Lead, Operation Pillar of Defense, University of Chicago

UC Irvine student gov’t unanimously passes divestment bill challenging Israel’s human rights abuses

November 13, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 7 Comments

Almost two years after the Irvine 11 unprecedentedly faced criminal charges for verbally disrupting a speech by Israel ambassador Michael Oren, the student government at the University of California, Irvine passed a divestment resolution with a 16-0-0 vote.

The resolution, penned and proposed by UC Irvine students, requires the university to divest from corporations and businesses profiting from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its systematic abuse of human rights. These companies include Caterpillar, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, among others.

The elected undergraduate student representatives also see the resolution as an opportunity for the university to engage and mobilize students to “protect human rights on a global scale,” according to Traci Ishigo, President of the Associated Student of UC Irvine.

UC Irvine is now the first university in California poised to divest from Israeli apartheid and occupation. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism, News Tagged With: BDS, California, Irvine 11, Loyola University Chicago, Michael Oren, New York University, TIAA-CREF, UC Irvine, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago

“Myth, Illusion, and Israel’s Democracy” to hit Chicago

April 13, 2012 By Sami Kishawi Leave a Comment

Like most campuses, the University of Chicago is a hotbed for unsubstantiated and state-sponsored rhetoric when it comes to “discoursing” about Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Most recently, Michael Oren addressed students and faculty earlier this month, arguing for further settlement building and an invasion of Iran. Although he repeatedly referenced the idyllic nature of democracy, he failed to acknowledge Israel’s non-democratic and discriminatory policies that seek to further segregate Arabs, particularly Palestinians. The University of Chicago ate it all up.

But the record must be set straight once and for all. The idea of a democratic Israel is a myth, a mere illusion. And award-winning journalist Max Blumenthal will be the one to say it.

If you’re in the Chicagoland area, please join Blumenthal for a talk about the realities of a democracy that refuses to serve Arabs, particularly those under its military jurisdiction. This talk is long overdue.

The event details can be found here.

Filed Under: Local Events Tagged With: Democracy, Max Blumenthal, SJP, University of Chicago

U of Chicago SJP’s Oren protest makes newspaper’s front page

April 3, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 1 Comment

The caption is straightforward enough. “Student and community protestors gather[ed] outside International House, where Israeli ambassador Michael Oren spoke Monday afternoon about a global response to Iran’s nuclear program, settlements in the West Bank, and his country’s standing abroad.”

After one particular campus administrator attempted to cage protestors behind something to the equivalent of a plastic Fisher Price playpen and after at least two other administrators unsuccessfully tried to keep protestors from utilizing public sidewalks, it comes as quite a surprise to see this photograph on the front page of the University’s newspaper.

The best part of it all is that the posters, at least the two on the right, are easily readable and pretty much sum up the point of the protest. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism, Local Events Tagged With: Michael Oren, Protest, SJP, University of Chicago