May 15, 2016

Chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and campus justice groups across the nation stand in solidarity with the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) at San Francisco State University, as they endure heavy backlash from both their administration and Zionist organizations. GUPS at SFSU was founded in 1973 and is one of the oldest and most significant campus organizations fighting for justice and liberation for the Palestinian people. GUPS, along with a coalition of student allies, faces increased efforts of intimidation after their protest against the Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, on April 6th. Barkat has implemented racist, discriminatory and violent policies which amount to ethnic cleansing in the city of Jerusalem. Examples of his endorsed or approved policies cited by GUPS include:

• The Jerusalem Master Plan, an official city policy that calls the Palestinian presence in the city “a demographic threat.” The Plan implements ethnic cleansing policies with an intended 70% Jewish and 30% Palestinian demography by the year 2020.

• Calls for the raiding and demolishing of homes, shootings of gas canisters into residential areas, arrests of children, blocking off roads for Palestinians, and the building of illegal settlements in East Jerusalem.

• Revoking citizenship of Palestinian families whose family members were killed by Israeli forces in the recent Palestinian intifada or uprising, in October 2015.

• Supporting policies that forbid Palestinians from renting housing in Jerusalem and policies that oust Palestinians from Israeli Universities.

Denial of Palestinian neighborhood access to municipal services such as waste removal, which in turn threatens public health.

We call upon the SFSU administration and the general campus community to protect student activists advocating for justice and protesting ethnic cleansing, oppression, and occupation in Palestine, and to condemn efforts to intimidate and silence student organizations. We condemn SFSU President’s pledge to open a “full investigation” into the protest and condemn the President’s pledge to prevent peaceful student dissent in the future. Such actions create a chilling effect undermining activism and freedom of speech for students advocating for justice and freedom in Palestine.

Until Liberation,

Voices for Palestine, Bryn Mawr College
Students for Justice in Palestine, California State University - Sacramento
Students for Justice in Palestine, College of Staten Island
Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia College Chicago
Middle East Peace and Prosperity Alliance, Drake University
Students for Justice in Palestine, DePaul University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Emory University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Florida State University
Students Against Israeli Apartheid, George Mason University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Georgia State University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Guilford College
Students for Justice in Palestine, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis
Students for Justice in Palestine, Loyola University - Chicago
Students for Justice in Palestine, Marquette University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Northeastern University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Northwestern University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Purdue University
Students Against Israeli Occupation, Swarthmore College
Students for Justice in Palestine, Temple University
Students for Justice in Palestine, Tufts University
Dores in Solidarity with Palestine, Vanderbilt University
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Chicago
Athens for Justice in Palestine, University of Georgia
Christians United for Palestine, University of Georgia
Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, University of Louisville
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Michigan
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Minnesota
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of South Carolina
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Palestine Solidarity Committee, University of Texas - Austin
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Wisconsin - Madison