2014 Program

Beyond Solidarity: Resisting Racism and Colonialism from the U.S. to Palestine
Students for Justice in Palestine: Fourth National Conference 2014
Hosted by SJP at Tufts University
NOTE: All workshops are closed to registered conference attendees, unless otherwise noted as a public event.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Registration & check-in 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Movie: Enemy Alien 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Enemy Alien is a documentary about the fight to free Farouk Abdel-Muhti, a gentle but indomitable Palestinian-born human rights activist detained in a post-9/11 sweep of Muslim immigrants. Told through the eyes of filmmaker Konrad Aderer, the grandson of Japanese Americans interned during World War II, this gripping story takes on unprecedented intimacy and historical resonance Transferred from jail to jail, beaten and interrogated but never charged with a crime, Farouk organizes other immigration detainees in a hunger strike. Resistance brings consequences as Farouk is transferred into solitary confinement, and the documentary itself is obstructed and investigated by counterterrorism officials.
Welcome Address 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Featuring representatives from National SJP and Tufts SJP
Opening Keynotes *PUBLIC* 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM
“From Ferguson to Palestine: Resisting State Violence and Racism” featuring Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou
“Migrant Justice Across Borders” featuring Alaa Mukahhal
Dinner 7:15 PM – 8:15 PM
Regional Breakout Sessions 8:15 PM – 10:00 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Breakfast & registration/check-in (for late arrivals) 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Keynote: Where Does Our Laundry Belong?: (Im)perfection, Intersectionality, and the Palestine Solidarity Movement *PUBLIC* 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Featuring Dr. Sa’ed Atshan
Panel: Dirty Money *PUBLIC* 10:30 AM – 12:00 PMThis panel will provide an overview of the nationally coordinated and well-resourced attempt by pro-Israel supporters and donors, the State of Israel, and the U.S. Government to censor and attack those organizing support for the Palestinian grassroots struggle. The panel will offer specific examples of how students, faculty, and activists that express dissent and actively support the Palestinian struggle are targeted on and off campus and are organizing against attempts to silence them. It will place the current trend of backlash on and off campus as part of a broader history of attempts to repress and target movements for justice. The panel will explore the interests behind backlash as it reflects larger attacks on social justice, and conclude with a discussion of strategies for responding to backlash in ways that: a) strengthen our organizing; b) build joint struggle across anti-racist, anti-war and anti-repression organizing; and c) expose our opposition.
Featuring: Linda Tigani (Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, MXGM), Sara Kershner (International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, IJAN), Fidaa Elaydi (United States Palestinian Community Network), and Max Geller (NSJP)
Workshops Session I 12:15 PM – 2:00 PM
Environmental Justice: Water Rights from Hawaii to Detroit to PalestineThe Environmental Justice movement was sparked by protests led by the black community of Warren County, NC, against the state’s placement of a hazardous waste landfill in their community in 1982. Today, the EJ movement offers a broadened definition of justice which this workshop will apply to the topic of water. We will hear from speakers on the recent water shut-offs in Detroit as they relate to decades of racist policies targeting Detroit’s black population; organizers in the US-occupied Kingdom of Hawaii, where activists are resisting nuclear testing in local waters, the proliferation of GMOs and corporate pesticides, and the neoliberal encroachments of the Trans Pacific Partnership; as well as Israel’s denial of water to Palestinians and its Brand Israel campaigns of “greenwashing.” Presentations will be followed by small group discussions and interactive idea mapping.
Kashmir and PalestineWe hope to compare the struggles for freedom from military occupation in Kashmir and Palestine. Both India and Israel are considered bastions for democracy by the US in their respective geographies. We look to outline how statehood and nationalism has enforced oppressive military occupations in these localities and multiple sites around the world. We also hope that the workshop will incite dialogue on how individuals on the ground can work together to build transnational resistance networks.
The Struggle for Academic Freedom on Palestine on College CampusesIn recent years, there have been numerous instances of professors facing intimidation, getting fired, and being denied tenure for their criticism of Israeli policies. This past year alone, we have seen this happen to Palestinian professors Steven Salaita, Iymen Chehade, Rabab Abdulhadi, and others. There is a growing trend of shutting down academic freedom as universities foster a McCarthyite atmosphere toward advocates of Palestinian rights. This workshop will discuss ways to organize around and support academic freedom on college campuses. A case study that will be discussed in-depth is Iymen Chehade’s community and student-led campaign to organize against the cancellation of his Palestine/Israel class at Columbia College. This is an opportunity to learn about the actions of the campaign that led to the successful reinstatement of his class. Other cases will also be discussed.
History and Tactics of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions MovementHow did BDS Call come about? Who called for it, and why? This interactive workshop will explore the history of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, the events that led up to it, as well as the principles and tactics that guide the movement today. It will also provide an overview of Cultural and Academic Boycott. The goal of the workshop is to give students a foundational understanding about BDS as a tactic of resistance against Israel’s apartheid policies.
Know Your Rights & Defend Them: Legal Strategy Workshop for SJP activistsWhat are your rights when engaging in Palestine solidarity activism? Is your school allowed to charge you extra security fees because they say the speaker you’ve invited is “controversial?” Is it okay to distribute flyers to dorm rooms in a mock eviction action? Can you stage a walk-out when Israeli soldiers or an Israeli government official is speaking at an event? Can your school force you to “dialogue” with student organizations that do not share your principles of equality for all people? A few of the topics covered during this interactive workshop will include free speech rights and how they apply to campus activism, discrimination, civil disobedience, how to respond to intimidation, your rights in dealing with campus police, and much more.
Islamic Movements of PalestineHistorically, Islamic movements in Palestine have been virulently anti-colonial. From the heroic resistance to European Crusaders in the 11th century to the modern resistance in Gaza, Islamic movements have varied in their approach and rejection of colonialism and occupation. Islamic movements in Palestine have also been integral parts of the social fabric. From social services to education, their importance to Palestinian civil society goes way beyond military resistance. This workshop seeks to highlight the modern historical phenomenon of Islamic movements in pre and post Zionist occupied Palestine. We will analyze how Islam informed resistance movements and what different ways Islamic movements operated in Palestine. We will also cover the issues related to delegitimizing Palestinian resistance and the Islamophobic rhetoric used to justify colonial and genocidal policies towards the Palestinian people.
In The Crosshairs Between Two OppressionsMany of those who live in the Middle East find themselves in the crosshairs between Western intervention and the repressive political regimes they live under. Underneath all the slogans, behind every social media post or tweet condemning various forces such as: US Imperialism, Arab Dictatorial Regimes, Capitalism, state repression, and religious persecution there exists a more complex story about the people who struggle against many oppressive forces simultaneously. With a special focus on Iran, Egypt, and Syria – this workshop will work through difficult questions concerning how the Palestinian cause is leveraged by repressive regimes in order to silence dissent and legitimize their authority as “anti-imperialists.” The aim of the workshop is also to reveal the contradictory logics and devastating effects of US unequivocal support for Israel and how this relationship actually works to strengthen undemocratic policies in the entire region.
Gender and Race in War: Why Ending Zionism is a Feminist Issue (Part 1 - All genders)How are women and people of color disproportionately affected during war and colonialism? We will learn how violence is gendered and racialized and about the connections between various manifestations of LEV (law enforcement violence) locally and globally. Additionally, we will discuss the criminalization of gender nonconforming individuals and of communities of color. This workshop will also connect the issues faced by women and people of color in Palestine and Israel to those in the U.S., Abu Ghraib and historically in French Algeria and other colonial sites.
Lunch 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Workshops Session II 3:00 PM – 4:45 PM
Planning Effective, Powerful and Creative Direct Action
Direct Action arrives at the height of a campaign when all other means of escalation have been utilized. It is a last resort tactic that maximizes student pressure, and demands attention from all stakeholders. Presently, SJPs throughout the nation are pushing the limits of Palestine Solidarity, and understanding how civil disobedience works can strengthen any campaign’s pressure and salience. Understanding this tactic is crucial to a stronger and more versatile SJP that seeks to publicly challenge university administrations and student governments through civil disobedience.
Building Sustainable Movements and Google Drives: Digital Organizing Strategies for SJPsAs the movement across U.S. and international campuses grows for solidarity with the Palestinian struggle, new SJP chapters are being founded all over the country. With this growing and exciting movement, there is also a great need to build archives and structures that support the work and prevent us from having to “reinvent the wheel” in both brand new and existing SJP chapters. This workshop is two­fold: First, we will go over how to build an archive for your SJP and how to build structures that will prevent future leadership from being left without an idea of what was done before and how it was done, these include maintaining a strong, updated website and google drive, and organizing site. Finally, we will cover how to develop a strong and professional social media presence for your SJP.
Struggles Against Settler-Colonialism Panel: Native Americans and PalestiniansThe workshop will lead us through the histories of settler colonialism in the US and Palestine, following a discussion of how the US has contributed to settler colonialism here and abroad, possibilities for transnational solidarity organizing, and a discussion of how the claims to “indigeneity” fit in the conflict.
Tearing Down the Walls and Destroying the Chains: Black Liberation from Ferguson to FloridaThe Organization for Black Struggle and Millennial Activists United have been on the frontlines of the fight for justice in Ferguson, facing tear gas, rubber bullets and a militarized-police occupation. The youth-led organizing and movement building coming out of Ferguson in the wake of Mike Brown’s murder by police represents only the tip of the iceberg of issues facing Black America in 2014. Groups like the Dream Defenders and the Black Youth Project emerged in 2013 to respond to the racist Stand Your Ground law that acquitted George Zimmerman of murdering Trayvon Martin, in addition to larger issues of mass incarceration and police brutality. Reform is not an option during this critical juncture in the fight for black lives. Hear youth organizers working at the forefront of grassroots and national movements discuss the current challenges, strategies and needs of organizers fighting the prison industrial complex, police brutality, queer and trans* liberation, and other contemporary manifestations of black oppression and resistance.
No Homo….nationalismThis workshop is a 101 on concepts of ‘pinkwashing’ and ‘homonationalism’.  Queer liberation will not happen under apartheid.  We will explore how both Israel and the United States use gay rights to mask racist and imperialist violence, including prominentpinkwashing  markers like Tel Aviv Pride and gay birthright trips.  We will also learn about queer Palestinian activism and gender/sexuality justice work that resists imperialist cooptation.  Finally, participants will brainstorm strategies for fighting homonationalism in their own SJP work.
Bursting the Campus Bubble: Learning From BDS Campaigns Beyond Campus Divestment ResolutionsIs the time “not right” for a divestment resolution on your campus? Want to know what other kinds of BDS campaigns you could become involved in? Organizations and communities across the country are pursuing campaigns that have nothing to do with university endowments, from petitioning the local hardware store to deshelve SodaStream to pressuring the city’s public transportation services to end contracts with Veolia. What is the value of these campaigns? How are their goals defined? What challenges have community-based groups and individuals faced in executing them? In this workshop we will discuss the options that exist for groups looking to do BDS work beyond divestment resolutions—whether on campus or off—and strategize opportunities to collaborate with community groups on an ongoing campaign or a brand new one.
Gender Dynamics Within Organizing (Part 2 of Gendered and Racialized Violence workshop - Women (Cisgender, Transgender, Genderqueer, or Agender) Space Only)How do power dynamics affect individuals and collectives within solidarity activism? This workshop will be a safe space for women (cisgender, transgender, genderqueer, or agender) to examine various forms of power dynamics within SJP organizing spaces by reflecting on our personal experiences and by using theoretical frameworks, focusing on gender and other related systems of oppression. By using this workshop as a safe space, we hope individuals will be encouraged to create stronger bonds by bridging experiences and be able to support one another within organizing movements.
             Law as Offense and Defense: Using a Rights-Based                                                   Framework to Advance BDS and Palestine Advocacy 
Law traditionally has been a force used by those in power to                     maintain the status quo. However, activists are increasingly finding           innovative ways to use legal tools to safeguard the space for                     dissent and to support grassroots movements. Omar Shakir, a                   fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights and one of lawyers               representing Professor Steve Salaita, will use the Salaita case to               discuss how to talk about and mobilize around repression. The                 session will also talk about what terms like apartheid, crimes                     against humanity, and war crimes mean, how to apply them to                   Palestine, and make arguments in light of the trajectory of                        developments on the ground. Space will also be provided for                    discussion of advanced legal tactics and consultations around                  current challenges SJPs are facing.
         Law as Offense and Defense: Using a Rights-Based Framework to            Advance BDS and Palestine Advocacy Law traditionally has been a          force used by those in power to maintain the status quo. However,            activists are increasingly finding innovative ways to use legal tools            to safeguard the space for dissent and to support grassroots                    movements. Omar Shakir, a fellow at the Center for Constitutional            Rights and one of lawyers representing Professor Steve Salaita, will          use the Salaita case to discuss how to talk about and mobilize                  around repression. The session will also talk about what terms like            apartheid, crimes against humanity, and war crimes mean, how to             apply them to Palestine, and make arguments in light of the                       trajectory of developments on the ground. Space will also be                     provided for discussion of advanced legal tactics and consultations           around current challenges SJPs are facing.
NSJP Townhall Meeting 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Dinner & Optional Dabke Lesson 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM
Cultural Night: Night of Freedom *PUBLIC* 8:30 PM – 11:00 PM
Join us for a night of Palestinian music, dance, poetry, spoken word, hip-hop and more! There will be performances by students, as well as performers from the Edward Said Conservatory, Boston-based hip-hop group Foundation Movement, spoken word artists Darkmatter, and poet Tahani Salah. The Columbia University Dabke Troupe will also be performing.
**Admission is free for conference attendees and Tufts students with ID and $10 at the door for the general public **
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Breakfast 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Workshops Session III 11:00 AM – 12:45 PM
Photography in Struggle: Aida, Jaffa, Gaza 2014 
This workshop explores how photography can be a tool for connecting Palestinians and their supporters across geographic and political boundaries and for expressing solidarity across these boundaries. It focuses first on a joint photography project undertaken by Lajee Center of Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem and the Yaffa Youth Movement in Jaffa. The photographs from this exhibition will be on display at the conference. The workshop will then present Palestinian photography of activism in solidarity with Gaza undertaken in and around Aida Refugee Camp in the summer of 2014. The speaker will discuss the dangers of documenting activism and how community photography can be related to political struggle. We may consider the role of international solidarity work in relation to Palestinian community media.
Nothing Normal About It: Countering Normalization of Israeli Oppression on CampusNormalization, a tool for whitewashing Israeli oppression, has been deployed by Zionist groups, campus administrations and media outlets in order to quell and derail Palestine solidarity work. This workshop will define normalization, review its history, convey its implications and break down the gray areas. We will examine the discourse surrounding normalization and dialogue projects and develop a better understanding of how terms like civility, balance and complexity reinforce the colonial paradigm. Finally, we will develop strategies to proactively address normalization in order to organize more effectively on campus.
Divestment on CampusIs your SJP considering launching a divestment campaign? Are you not sure where to start and whether you have the resources and ability to initiate a successful campaign? This workshop deals with how to lay the groundwork for a successful divestment campaign on campus, including conducting research, writing a bill, building coalitions, understanding and navigating student governments, and preparing your SJP and campus for divestment. We will discuss the benefits of divestment campaigns and how to utilize campus attention on divestment to effectively teach students about Palestine, build solidarity between student groups, deflate the power of bullying and anti-divestment rhetoric, and move the question of Palestine from the margin to the center of campus politics.
Migrating towards Justice: An intersectional look at im/migration, indigeneity, and labor
Want to learn more about im/migrant, indigenous, and labor rights movements? Come learn and hear from student activists who have been carrying on the legacy of decade’s long campus activism, fighting for justice for their communities and others who face injustice. We will explore the intersections of labor and im/migration and how it relates to the fight for justice in Palestine and in the U.S.
This workshop will bring together student and youth organizers from the national levels of MEChA, Anakbayan, which work towards justice for Chican@ and Filipin@ peoples, respectively. The workshop will address the distinct histories that both groups have faced in terms of American imperialism, (forced) migration, and labor exploitation in the US and in their global diasporas. Organizers from both movements will also share their experiences pursuing joint struggle campaigns in their own locales.
False Claims of Antisemitism: How to effectively respondThis workshop will provide students with a critical understanding of attempts to silence pro-Palestine activists with false charges of antisemitism, and how to respond effectively when your SJP is targeted with false accusations. The workshop will provide history of use of antisemitism to silence solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and the relationship of this to free speech/academic freedom/freedom of assembly and religion. It will explain why combatting false charges (and for IJAN, opposing Zionism) is an important piece of honoring the Jewish history of struggle against persecution and racism as well as participation in collective liberation. The workshop will offer analysis and definitions, role-plays and approaches, as well as case studies and strategies for effectively combating false accusations.
Lunch 12:45 PM – 1:45 PM
Workshops Session IV 1:45 PM – 3:30 PM
Best Practices: How to Do Divestment and Deal with BacklashFrom California to Florida and from Michigan to Arizona, many successful BDS stories come from campuses where, just a few years ago, divestment seemed impossible. What did those SJPs do to change their circumstances and how did they lay the groundwork for a successful bill? When the question of Palestine is opened up to a wider discussion, student senators and other groups can often change the discourse to center on their own priorities. How do we effectively deal with those challenges and keep the divestment debate accountable to Palestinians, rather than letting it devolve into debates around other topics? Join students who worked on many of these campaigns as we discuss their stories and learn from their experiences.
From Al-Andalus to Palestine: A Decolonial Historical Analysis of Racism and Colonialism in ModernityDo we live in a post-colonial post-racial world? Where does modern racism and colonialism begin and end? What world systems are at play when we see similar logics of state violence and repression at play from Ferguson to Gaza? The aims of this workshop are to examine the 500-year history of the undersides of modernity. We will be tracing the modern development of racism and colonialism from 1492 in medieval Al-Andalus (Islamicate Iberian Peninsula) to the contemporary settler-colonial situation in Palestine and the United States. We will also be exploring such key terms as coloniality and decoloniality so as to move away from the “sexy” Eurocentric catch phrase of “decolonize the mind” towards a deeper understanding of the vibrant epistemological and movement-based praxis of decolonization.
Learning from Labor: Bringing Successful Labor Engagement Models and Analyses to Campus
Campus divestment initiatives require leveraging power and designing smart campaigns. United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), one of the most successful national student organizations, has won major victories by strategically targeting companies complicit in labor abuses, including corporate giants like Nike. Drawing on curricula USAS has developed based on their years of experience with  targeted campus action, students will learn how to bring successful strategies to our movement to push divestment forward. This workshop will discuss the components of a successful campaign, choosing and putting pressure on a target, public image and more.
Palestinians of `48: Issues and Joint Struggles
One in five Israelis is a Palestinian Arab.  Considering the rights and legal status of  Palestinian citizens of Israel, a community long sidelined in the political and public discourse, offers a unique and revealing lens through which to view both the root inequalities and entrenched asymmetries that perpetuate injustice in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).  This workshop will explore how and whether the rights of non-Jews can be secured in a so-called “Jewish and democratic state”, and provide participants with information and analysis to raise awareness of the implications of such structural inequality.  In exploring how prioritizing a rights-based framework can make possible a transformative movement for social and political change, the workshop will draw from the work of Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.  Adalah is an independent human rights organization that for nearly 20 years has used Israeli legal channels and international fora to seek equal individual and collective rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel and to defend against gross human rights violations against Palestinian residents of the OPT.
Israeli Apartheid: Reality on the Ground After the Protective Edge Massacre and Ending Genocide in Gaza
What is the reality on the ground in Palestine especially in Gaza after the massacre? What is the current reality of Israeli Apartheid? Should we as Palestine Solidarity activists continue using our tactics as we have been doing in the past or is there need for innovation? What are the next steps we as Palestine Solidarity Activists need to take, immediate and long term so as to prevent genocide in Gaza? How in the long term do we see the support to the occupation end? How do Palestinians in Gaza want us to support/help them in their resistance and ending the siege on Gaza?
Closing Plenary: Transnational BDS - Challenges and Dreams Forward *PUBLIC* 3:45 PM – 5:30 PM
This will be a panel discussion on how BDS has developed in the US, Palestine, and South Africa from the various positionalities and perspectives of our panelists. The panelists will critically engage the ways in which our various movements- whether in Palestine, the US student movement, US Cultural/Academic Boycott, South African BDS movement- can learn from each other, challenge each other’s models/frameworks, dream of new strategies, and work towards a stronger transnational BDS movement, all in an effort to aid the Palestinian-led liberation struggle to smash Israeli apartheid, end the occupation, and ensure the Palestinian right of return.
Featuring: Hind Awwad (BDS National Committee, BNC), Dr. Kehaulani Kauanui (Academic, Advisory Board Member US Campaign for the Academic/Cultural Boycott of Israel), Muhammad Desai (National Coordinator, BDS South Africa), and Kristian Davis Bailey (Palestine solidarity student activist, Journalist)