ijan

Spain: A Tale of Two Expulsions

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IJAN Spain protests the clear racism of the Spanish Government against Muslims and its attempt to curry favor with Israel for economic reasons. On January 2, 1492, Catholic Spain defeated the Moors, and shortly thereafter expelled all those who would not convert to Catholicism; many converted. A couple of months later, the Spanish Monarchy demanded that all Jews in Spain (perhaps as many as800,000 at the time) either convert to Catholicism or leave the country. A little over a hundred years later even the descendants of those who converted were expelled – illustrating that this was clearly a question of race, not of religion.

Now Spain is in the process of offering the descendants of those Spanish Jews the right of return no matter where in the world they live. Meanwhile no such offer is being madeto the descendents of the Moors. IJAN Spain declares, "we demand that the rights of the Moorish are equated with those of the Sephardim, and that the full diversity of the Spanish state is recognized, in a symbolic gesture of reparation for damages suffered in the past."

This will send a clear and strong message to Europe and to the southern shores of the Mediterranean, to break down the walls of discrimination, racism and inequality, making the present-day Spanish state an example worthy of the shining legacy of Al-Andalus."

IJAN Participates in "Self-Critique 2 Decades after Oslo" Conference

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The Conference, held at the School of Oriental andAfrican Studies (SOAS) in London, was hosted by the SOAS Palestinian Societyand drew close to 200 academics and activists from around the world. While allthe presentations were useful, talks by Adam Hanieh and Jamal Juma stand out.Hanieh laid out how some sectors of Palestinian society had in fact actuallybenefited from Oslo (getting jobs and money) and therefore had a vestedinterest in continuing the partnership with Zionism at the expense of theoverwhelming majority of Palestinians. Two presentations by Stop the Wall‘sJamal Juma, a grassroots activist from the West Bank, offered a detaileddescription of resistance on the ground both in the lead up to the Oslo Accordsand continued resistance to fight against the monster that the Oslo Accordshave created. 

IJAN’s contributionincluded laying out in detail why we organize as Jews against Zionism, and adescription of our strategy of Joint Struggle against Zionism as part ofbroader movements for justice and using the grass-roots Palestinian resistanceas our point of reference.  Otherspeakers explained how in the aftermath of Oslo utilities in the West Bank havebeen integrated into Israeli and settlement distribution systems making itpossible to cut off electricity and water to Palestinians while leaving thesettlements untouched. You can see a video of much of the conference here.

Integrating Critique and Moving Forward from Stuart Platt on Vimeo.

IJAN Stands with GUPS and AMED Against Slander and Intimidation

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TAKE ACTION:

Recently AMCHAInitiative launched false accusations of anti-Semitism at the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) and the Arab and Muslim Ethnicitiesand Disasporas Initiative (AMED) and is campaigning to have the above groups sanctioned by the SF State University. Below is a letter sent to President Wong by IJAN. Please support GUPS and AMED:

1.      Write or call the office of SFSU President, Dr. Leslie E. Wongpresidnt@sfsu.edu to counter the campaign waged by Benjamin andAMCHA Initiative.

2.     Support GUPS statement by signing the petition https://www.change.org/petitions/president-leslie-wong-condemn-baseless-attack-against-gups-and-amed

3.     Organize events to educate and publicize the struggle for justice in/for Palestine as an indivisible part of justice for all and insist on our right to academic freedom and campus activism.

(See IJAN’s letter to President Wong and the full statement from AMED and GUPS below)

IJAN’s 5th Anniversary Event in Oakland

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A standing room only crowd of approximately 150 inOakland, California attended IJAN’s 5th anniversary celebration there to hearspokespeople from several grassroots organizations talk about theirunderstanding and experience of Joint Struggle. While Joint Struggle was thefocus of the meeting, the backdrop was lessons from the prisoner hunger strikesaround the world including in Palestine, Guantanamo Bay and the recently-suspendedprisoners’ hunger strike in California of some 30,000 inmates many of whom arein solitary confinement.  As one speakernoted, with the California prisoner statement on ending racial hostilities,"they have organized us!"

Sara Kershnar from IJAN said in the introductionthat Joint Struggle "reflects how we aim to organize and what our commitmentsare." Speaker after speaker made it clear that too often solidarity has beeneither lip-service or pity, not actually working on the basis that struggles ofothers for justice and self-determination are "inextricably linked" andintegral to our own, starting with prisoners around the globe.

The groups who spokefrom the platform included the Palestinian Youth Movement, All of Us or None,the California Coalition of Women Prisoners, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement,the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the Haiti International SolidarityCommittee, and the Global Women’s Strike. It is important to point out that atleast two of the speakers were formerly incarcerated people themselves, whohave come out the other end, more determined than ever to tear down all thewalls that separate us.

IJAN Attends National Students for Justice in Palestine Conference

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IJAN congratulates Studentsfor Justice in Palestine on an extremely successful context. We wereinspired by all of the incredible work that students across the US are doing. IJANwas honored to speak with the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Malcolm X GrassrootsMovement on the closing panel of the National Students for Justice in PalestineConference, "Beyond Solidarity with Palestine: The Case for Joint Struggle."

The closing session was kicked off by a speaker from Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de AztlánMEChA powerfully articulating themeaning of joint struggle through sharing its commitment to the struggle forPalestine in the context of its broader work. Nadia Barhoum and Mira Nabulsiof PYM, Sanyika Bryant of MXGM and Sara Kershnar of IJAN spoke to theimportance of organizing in support of Palestinian self-determination in acontext that builds the power of all of our movements to confront our sharedenemies. The well received panel featured a detailed discussion of what joint struggle is and is not and offered studentsand other organizers questions to ask themselves as they are doing their work.

We look forward to working closely with student organizersin the future and left the conference heartened and inspired by the powerfulwork happening inside a climate of intimidation and the targeting of students.

US Campaign Decides on Joint Struggle Strategy

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IJAN offers congratulations to the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupationon the new direction their 12th Annual National Organizers’ Conference inArlington, VA decided to take!  The conference focused on Joint Strugglefor a free Palestine and was attended by more than 200 people representing 60member groups.  A crucial plenary session entitled "JointStruggle Against Israel’s Role in Repression" included the speakersSara Kershnar of IJAN, Hatem Bazian of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP),Fahd Ahmed of Desis Rising up and Moving (DRUM), and Maria LaHood of Center forConstitutional Rights (CCR).  The plenary was very well attended and laidout a clear and compelling case the stake that many movements and communitieshave in ending Zionism – understanding the central role Israel is playingglobally in the realms of surveillance and political repression, prisons andpolicing, militarized borders, detention and deportation.  IJAN also presented two workshops – one onanti-Zionism and anti-Racism and another on the Stop the JNF campaign. IJANcongratulates the US Campaign on new board member Hatem Abudayyah from the USPalestinian Communities Network.

Urban Shiled Training Exercises Confronted in Oakland

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Urban Shield

From October 25th-27th armsmanufacturers and police forces across the world gathered in the Bay Area toparticipate in Urban Shield, a48-hour training exercise (i.e. war games) and homeland security industry tradeshow. While the stated purpose of Urban Shield is disaster preparation, itsoutrageous scenarios promote expanded anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism andincreased militarization of the police with the disproportionate impact that hason people of color in the United States. Joining in these exercises were policeforces and militaries engaged in extreme repression including Israel, Bahrainand Brazil among others. Urban Shield reflects the globalized nature ofpolicing and surveillance, and Israel’s important place in it as explained inthe IJAN pamphlet, "Israel’s Worldwide Role in Repression." IJAN participatedin the organizing of the FacingUrban Shield Action Network (FUSAN) as they confronted this collaborationbetween repressive police forces. Visit their page for a full media roundup ofthe actions.

EI: Event honoring Edward Said prompts Zionist smear campaign against SF State students

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http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/event-honoring-edward-said-prompts-zionist-smear-campaign-against-san By Nora Barrows-Friedman, Tuesday 11/26/2013 An anti-Palestinian group is mounting an attack against students at San Francisco State University. Following an on-campus event honoring a mural of the late Palestinian scholar Edward Said, the group asserted that an artistic stencil glorified “the murder of Jews.” The university’s president, at the urging of pro-Israel advocates, … EI: Event honoring Edward Said prompts Zionist smear campaign against SF State students

Stanford Daily: SPER Hosts National Palestinian Conference

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http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/10/29/sper-hosts-national-palestinian-conference/ By Sam Kurland October 29th, 2013 This past weekend, Stanford Students for Palestinian Equal Rights (SPER) hosted nearly 300 college students from more than 70 campuses across the country to express solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement. The third annual conference was organized by the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a national student … Stanford Daily: SPER Hosts National Palestinian Conference

Supporting the Self-Organizing of Jewish Anti-Zionist Students

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The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network encourages andsupports Jewish anti-Zionist students in self-organizing in support of thePalestinian movement for self-determination. We believe that anti-ZionistJewish students have a unique role to play as part of this struggle, and injoint struggle, with other organizing on campus against racism, war andmilitarism, prisons and policing, environmental destruction and pinkwashing.

We can provide: resources for study, powerpointsfor workshops and be in touch with individuals as well as groups to thinkthrough how an anti-Zionist perspective and work can best support organizing onyour campus.