Fellow Jews for Palestinian Right of Return supporters: Please click on the various links below to support UAW2865s Divestment Resolution and to Defend Students for Justice in Palestine at John Jay College. Thank you! --------- Support UAW Divestment from Israel TAKE ACTION: Sign on to a Jewish statement of support http://cts.vresp.com/c/?InternationalJewishA/f288a6e0e3/58856a76c8/9e289eef8e/usp=send_form Message from the US Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel: We write to you to ask for support for the upcoming vote on a BDS resolution in UAW 2865, the union of teaching assistants, tutors and readers across the nine UC campuses. If this vote passes, UAW 2865 will become the first labor union in the U.S. to support BDS so this is truly a historic campaign. As some of you may have heard, over the summer, the union’s Joint Council voted on a resolution to join the BDS movement. Supporters of the movement within UAW have emphasized that it is their duty as a labor union to extend solidarity to Palestinian counterparts in their struggle for liberation and equality. The union will be holding a membership vote on the resolution on December 4, 2014, calling on members to vote on a ballot that asks a) the UAW international to divest from companies complicit in the occupation; b) The University of California to do the same; and c) the US government to end military aid to Israel until it complies with international law. Additionally, it asks members to join the academic boycott as individuals by refusing to take part in any research, conferences, and events that are funded or otherwise sponsored by Israeli universities. Supporters of the bill are already coming under attack by Zionists, including being accused of antisemitism. Please sign on below to stand with the UAW for divestment from Israel and to defend against Zionist backlash. Jewish Community Support for UAW Resolution to Divest from Israel We, the undersigned members of Jewish communities, are writing to express our support for the recent divestment resolution passed by UAW 2865’s Joint Council. (http://www.uaw2865.org/student-workers-at-the-university-of-california-support-palestine-uaw-2865-joint-council-prepares-for-membership-vote-on-bds/) As Jews, we understand from our own experiences with discrimination and our own history of resistance to oppression that standing on the right side of history necessitates standing in solidarity with Palestinians. For that reason, we are proud to be counted among the growing number of Jews around the world who refuse to turn a blind eye to this issue. As Israel continues to commit grave human rights violations with impunity, we feel an urgent need at to disrupt Israel’s claim that it speaks for or acts on behalf of all Jews. We feel an obligation to express our solidarity with Palestinians living under a system of legal apartheid, Palestinian refugees and their descendants, as well as our solidarity with the growing majority of people around the world who stand in support of the Palestinian right of return and against Israeli apartheid. We affirm our right and responsibility as Jews to oppose the State of Israel’s actions and policies that we believe to be unjust. Additionally, we affirm our belief that Israel’s current siege of Gaza in the name of “Jewish safety,” does not make Jews safer in Israel or anywhere in the world. Further, we reject the very idea that safety for some can come at the expense of safety for others. We support the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the apartheid state of Israel. Therefore, we support the members of UAW 2865 who are voting to divest from corporations that benefit from Israeli occupation and who to support the academic and cultural boycott. Furthermore, we defend the right of students and graduate student faculty and staff to exercise their free speech and democratic rights to organize a resolution that reflects their commitment to human rights and justice. Sincerely, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) IJAN Labor Jews for Palestinian Right of Return Diana Block, California Coalition for Women Prisoners* Judith Butler, University of Berkeley* Selma James, Global Women's Strike and IJAN Alex Lubin, Professor and Chair American Studies Department University of New Mexico* Hilton Obenzinger, American Studies, Stanford University Associate Director* Sam Weinstein, Utility Workers Union of America* *Affiliation listed for identification only Please add your name. Sign on here. http://cts.vresp.com/c/?InternationalJewishA/f288a6e0e3/58856a76c8/9ebfafd34d/usp=send_form Also: Take action to support Students for Justice in Palestine at John Jay College who are under Zionist attack and being falsely accused of antisemitism. Please sign on here. https://www.change.org/p/jeremy-travis-president-john-jay-college-of-criminal-justice-cuny-defend-palestine-supporters-from-anti-semitism-slander