Open letter to the University of Iowa written on Palestine
The Issue
The students of the University of Iowa are watching and waiting; we are concerned with our institution’s involvement in the genocide and oppression of the Palestinian people and our school’s silence on the matter as a whole.
On OCTOBER 7th, 2023, the world was told that the attacks that took place in the Occupying State of Israel were “one-sided” and “barbaric”; we were told of the attacks out of context. We were fed the lies that are so common in the western world. We are taught that Israel is needed for “freedom”, for “world order”, for the preservation of western influence over the SWANA region; an influence which is “good”, “just”, “holy”, our “American born right”.
In reaction to the news, many school-affiliated groups and organizations voiced their opinions on the genocide of the Palestinian people.
On OCTOBER 17th, 2023, after hosting another event of an outspoken transphobe (the second one this calendar year to be hosted at the University), the University of Iowa’s YOUNG AMERICANS FOR FREEDOM chapter posted on their Instagram (iowa_yaf) that they were hosting a “Vigil for Israel.” They stated that they stand against “anti-Zionism,” and seemingly accused anyone with a nuanced and informed perspective of the event to be “siding with Hamas,” homogenizing the Palestinian people, which in turn is an attempt at a justification of the 75+ years of terror carried out by the ISRAELI OCCUPATIONAL FORCES and other western powers on Palestinian land.
On OCTOBER 17th, 2023, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA issued no statement.
On OCTOBER 17th, 2023, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA’S COUNSELING SERVICES held a support group for students with “personal ties to the Israel-Hamas war”. This session, for Israeli students, was held by a staff psychologist, a Daily Iowan article explicitly states. This article makes no mention of counseling services offered to students with family or cultural ties to Palestine and an event listing a Palestine support group has been removed from the University events calendar (cited from the Daily Iowan publication, “UI offers counseling services to students with family, cultural ties to Israel-Hamas war”, October 29, 2023).
Shortly after OCTOBER 7th, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA DEMOCRATS chapter posted a statement on their Instagram (uiowadems), condemning antisemitism and islamophobia. On NOVEMBER 1ST, 2023, three members of the University of Iowa Democrats chose to take a stand to state that they stood with the people of Palestine, that they had a right to live, and condemned the UNITED STATES’ role in the genocide. The IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY (IDP) subsequently decided to slam these three college students, crying antisemitism for the usage of the phrase “from the river to the sea” a phrase that is known amongst many Palestinians, who long for an end to their oppression, to simply mean that they wish to roam freely on their land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.
Oppressive regimes are historically documented to silence the voices of those oppressed. To say that Palestinians cannot state their desire to return to their homes is an act of silencing and policing the oppressed.
Universities are meant to be places where one’s perspective broadens. Many of the University’s departments claim to be committed to research, learning, and understanding, yet in the face of a genocide, a genocide that we as a school DIRECTLY benefit from, the administration is silent.
The University of Iowa is complicit in collaborating with actors in the genocide and exile of Palestinians. The University of Iowa partners with COLLINS AEROSPACE. COLLINS AEROSPACE is a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, formerly known as Raytheon. RTX CORPORATION is a weapons distributor, supplying the Israeli government with missiles, bombs, and flight technology, programmed by COLLINS AEROSPACE. RTX Corporation and Collins Aerospace are responsible for the death of TENS OF THOUSANDS of people in the Palestinian genocide. RTX Corporation's earnings call stated that the company adjusted its sales prediction after the events on OCTOBER 7th to $74 BILLION dollars for this fiscal year, $1 BILLION dollars more than previously provided predicted sales, or as a Business Insider stated in an OCTOBER 24TH article, the defense contractor will BENEFIT from the increase in supply of weapons to the APARTHEID STATE OF ISRAEL.
The University of Iowa holds hiring events for COLLINS AEROSPACE, a subsidiary of RTX Corporation. COLLINS AEROSPACE offers THOUSANDS in scholarships to the University. The University of Iowa lists Collins as one of their private business partners, according to the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA’S TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE. University of Iowa's Operator Performance Lab (OPL) offers flight testing resources, such as two AV L-29 Delfin jets according to a Technology Institute article in December of 2020, titled “SCHNELL, OPL support COLLINS AEROSPACE in testing combat training system”. CHIP GILKISON is quoted in the article commending the work of the OPL and its director/chief test pilot TOM “MACH” SCHNELL.
The University of Iowa is complicit in collaborating with actors in the genocide and exile of Palestine. The University of Iowa collaborated with LOCKHEAD MARTIN SKUNK WORKS, according to an article dated SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2023, on LOCKHEAD MARTIN’s own website. LOCKHEAD MARTIN is a producer of missiles, rockets, and many other manned and unmanned systems. On JUNE 2ND OF 2023, BLOOMBERG NEWS reported that the OCCUPATIONAL FORCES OF ISRAEL was to buy 25 F-35 fighter jets from LOCKHEAD MARTIN, a 3-BILLION-dollar deal.
LOCKHEAD MARTIN states on its website that “Lockheed Martin is a critical government and industry partner in the effort to sustain, and also modernize, the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) leg of the nation's nuclear triad and provide a credible, land-based strategic deterrent to the warfighter,” cementing the company’s place in the bloodshed of millions affected by the warfare carried out by western militaries, such as the American funded ISRAELI OCCUPATIONAL FORCES’ genocide against the people of Palestine.
LOCKHEAD MARTIN used the warfare resources present at the OPERATOR PERFORMANCE LAB, under the command of founder and director TOM “MACH” SCHNELL. These projects led by the University of Iowa’s OPL are used by companies that benefit from genocide and warfare, who wish to increase the efficiency of how our military and the ISRAELI OCCUPATIONAL FORCE sheds innocent blood.
We are told to believe that Israel is benevolent, erasing the 75+ years of history, which includes the subjugation, exile, and oppression every Palestinian in the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea has faced. We are told that the Palestinian people are responsible for all and any actions carried out for their freedoms, a cruel attempt to justify the murders of school children and babies. The students of the University of Iowa have had enough, enough in our institution’s active and silent participation in the slaughtering and exile of innocents.
WE THE UNDERSIGNED STUDENTS, STAFF, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS of the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA DEMAND AN END TO OUR SCHOOL’S ROLE IN GENOCIDE AND INJUSTICE.
We demand an end to the silence. We demand an end to the silence that alienates our fellow students from their university. We demand an end to the silence that disenfranchises Palestinian students, a silence that in extension affects Muslim, Arab, and refugee student communities.
WE DEMAND AN END TO THE UNIVERSITY’S PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMPANIES OF WAR AND BLOODSHED.
We demand an end to partnerships with COLLINS AEROSPACE and LOCKHEAD MARTIN. We refuse to invest in and pay tuition to a school that profits off innocent blood, off genocide, and off the oppression of the people of Palestine and of all people affected by the American military complex’s overreaching hand.
WE DEMAND A STATEMENT. WE DEMAND PRESIDENT BARBARA WILSON TO ANNOUNCE ACCOMMODATIONS PROTECTIONS AND SUPPORT TO STUDENTS FACING DISCRIMINATION DUE TO ANTI-PALESTINIAN, ANTI-MUSLIM, AND ANTI-ARAB RHETORIC.
WE DEMAND PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE UNIVERSITY TO PROHIBIT ALL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS FROM TRAINING WITH ANY PERSONS MATERIALS OR METHODS RELATED TO OR FROM ISRAELI POLICE, MILITARY, OR SECURITY FORCES, BOTH GOVERNMENT AND NON-GOVERNMENT. THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA SHALL NOT HIRE OR COORDINATE WITH ANY SECURITY PUBLIC SAFETY OFFERS OR AGENCIES THAT HAVE ENGAGED WITH ANY OF THE ISRAELI FORCES LISTED ABOVE
WE THE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA USE OUR RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH AS PRIVATE CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS. WE DEMAND CHANGE AND JUSTICE.
WE STAND WITH THE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. WE STAND FOR THEIR RIGHT TO THEIR HOMES THAT WERE STOLEN. WE DEMAND FOR THEIR RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION AND A RIGHT TO THEIR UNIVERSITIES THAT WERE BOMBED BY ISRAELI TERRORIST FORCES.
WE DEMAND A RIGHT FOR ALL PALESTINIANS TO HAVE ACCESS TO FOOD, WATER AND ELECTRICITY.
WE CONDEMN THE TERRORIST ACTIONS OF THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT. WE CONDEMN THE ISRAELI TERRORIST FORCES. WE CONDEMN THE UNITED STATES MILITARY. WE CONDEMN COLLINS AEROSPACE. WE CONDEMN LOCKHEAD MARTIN. WE CONDEMN THE SILENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA.
WE STAND FOR THE FREEDOM OF PALESTINE. MAY PALESTINE AND HER PEOPLE BE FREE, FROM THE JORDAN RIVER TO THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
195
The Issue
The students of the University of Iowa are watching and waiting; we are concerned with our institution’s involvement in the genocide and oppression of the Palestinian people and our school’s silence on the matter as a whole.
On OCTOBER 7th, 2023, the world was told that the attacks that took place in the Occupying State of Israel were “one-sided” and “barbaric”; we were told of the attacks out of context. We were fed the lies that are so common in the western world. We are taught that Israel is needed for “freedom”, for “world order”, for the preservation of western influence over the SWANA region; an influence which is “good”, “just”, “holy”, our “American born right”.
In reaction to the news, many school-affiliated groups and organizations voiced their opinions on the genocide of the Palestinian people.
On OCTOBER 17th, 2023, after hosting another event of an outspoken transphobe (the second one this calendar year to be hosted at the University), the University of Iowa’s YOUNG AMERICANS FOR FREEDOM chapter posted on their Instagram (iowa_yaf) that they were hosting a “Vigil for Israel.” They stated that they stand against “anti-Zionism,” and seemingly accused anyone with a nuanced and informed perspective of the event to be “siding with Hamas,” homogenizing the Palestinian people, which in turn is an attempt at a justification of the 75+ years of terror carried out by the ISRAELI OCCUPATIONAL FORCES and other western powers on Palestinian land.
On OCTOBER 17th, 2023, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA issued no statement.
On OCTOBER 17th, 2023, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA’S COUNSELING SERVICES held a support group for students with “personal ties to the Israel-Hamas war”. This session, for Israeli students, was held by a staff psychologist, a Daily Iowan article explicitly states. This article makes no mention of counseling services offered to students with family or cultural ties to Palestine and an event listing a Palestine support group has been removed from the University events calendar (cited from the Daily Iowan publication, “UI offers counseling services to students with family, cultural ties to Israel-Hamas war”, October 29, 2023).
Shortly after OCTOBER 7th, the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA DEMOCRATS chapter posted a statement on their Instagram (uiowadems), condemning antisemitism and islamophobia. On NOVEMBER 1ST, 2023, three members of the University of Iowa Democrats chose to take a stand to state that they stood with the people of Palestine, that they had a right to live, and condemned the UNITED STATES’ role in the genocide. The IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY (IDP) subsequently decided to slam these three college students, crying antisemitism for the usage of the phrase “from the river to the sea” a phrase that is known amongst many Palestinians, who long for an end to their oppression, to simply mean that they wish to roam freely on their land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.
Oppressive regimes are historically documented to silence the voices of those oppressed. To say that Palestinians cannot state their desire to return to their homes is an act of silencing and policing the oppressed.
Universities are meant to be places where one’s perspective broadens. Many of the University’s departments claim to be committed to research, learning, and understanding, yet in the face of a genocide, a genocide that we as a school DIRECTLY benefit from, the administration is silent.
The University of Iowa is complicit in collaborating with actors in the genocide and exile of Palestinians. The University of Iowa partners with COLLINS AEROSPACE. COLLINS AEROSPACE is a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, formerly known as Raytheon. RTX CORPORATION is a weapons distributor, supplying the Israeli government with missiles, bombs, and flight technology, programmed by COLLINS AEROSPACE. RTX Corporation and Collins Aerospace are responsible for the death of TENS OF THOUSANDS of people in the Palestinian genocide. RTX Corporation's earnings call stated that the company adjusted its sales prediction after the events on OCTOBER 7th to $74 BILLION dollars for this fiscal year, $1 BILLION dollars more than previously provided predicted sales, or as a Business Insider stated in an OCTOBER 24TH article, the defense contractor will BENEFIT from the increase in supply of weapons to the APARTHEID STATE OF ISRAEL.
The University of Iowa holds hiring events for COLLINS AEROSPACE, a subsidiary of RTX Corporation. COLLINS AEROSPACE offers THOUSANDS in scholarships to the University. The University of Iowa lists Collins as one of their private business partners, according to the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA’S TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE. University of Iowa's Operator Performance Lab (OPL) offers flight testing resources, such as two AV L-29 Delfin jets according to a Technology Institute article in December of 2020, titled “SCHNELL, OPL support COLLINS AEROSPACE in testing combat training system”. CHIP GILKISON is quoted in the article commending the work of the OPL and its director/chief test pilot TOM “MACH” SCHNELL.
The University of Iowa is complicit in collaborating with actors in the genocide and exile of Palestine. The University of Iowa collaborated with LOCKHEAD MARTIN SKUNK WORKS, according to an article dated SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2023, on LOCKHEAD MARTIN’s own website. LOCKHEAD MARTIN is a producer of missiles, rockets, and many other manned and unmanned systems. On JUNE 2ND OF 2023, BLOOMBERG NEWS reported that the OCCUPATIONAL FORCES OF ISRAEL was to buy 25 F-35 fighter jets from LOCKHEAD MARTIN, a 3-BILLION-dollar deal.
LOCKHEAD MARTIN states on its website that “Lockheed Martin is a critical government and industry partner in the effort to sustain, and also modernize, the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) leg of the nation's nuclear triad and provide a credible, land-based strategic deterrent to the warfighter,” cementing the company’s place in the bloodshed of millions affected by the warfare carried out by western militaries, such as the American funded ISRAELI OCCUPATIONAL FORCES’ genocide against the people of Palestine.
LOCKHEAD MARTIN used the warfare resources present at the OPERATOR PERFORMANCE LAB, under the command of founder and director TOM “MACH” SCHNELL. These projects led by the University of Iowa’s OPL are used by companies that benefit from genocide and warfare, who wish to increase the efficiency of how our military and the ISRAELI OCCUPATIONAL FORCE sheds innocent blood.
We are told to believe that Israel is benevolent, erasing the 75+ years of history, which includes the subjugation, exile, and oppression every Palestinian in the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea has faced. We are told that the Palestinian people are responsible for all and any actions carried out for their freedoms, a cruel attempt to justify the murders of school children and babies. The students of the University of Iowa have had enough, enough in our institution’s active and silent participation in the slaughtering and exile of innocents.
WE THE UNDERSIGNED STUDENTS, STAFF, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS of the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA DEMAND AN END TO OUR SCHOOL’S ROLE IN GENOCIDE AND INJUSTICE.
We demand an end to the silence. We demand an end to the silence that alienates our fellow students from their university. We demand an end to the silence that disenfranchises Palestinian students, a silence that in extension affects Muslim, Arab, and refugee student communities.
WE DEMAND AN END TO THE UNIVERSITY’S PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMPANIES OF WAR AND BLOODSHED.
We demand an end to partnerships with COLLINS AEROSPACE and LOCKHEAD MARTIN. We refuse to invest in and pay tuition to a school that profits off innocent blood, off genocide, and off the oppression of the people of Palestine and of all people affected by the American military complex’s overreaching hand.
WE DEMAND A STATEMENT. WE DEMAND PRESIDENT BARBARA WILSON TO ANNOUNCE ACCOMMODATIONS PROTECTIONS AND SUPPORT TO STUDENTS FACING DISCRIMINATION DUE TO ANTI-PALESTINIAN, ANTI-MUSLIM, AND ANTI-ARAB RHETORIC.
WE DEMAND PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE UNIVERSITY TO PROHIBIT ALL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS FROM TRAINING WITH ANY PERSONS MATERIALS OR METHODS RELATED TO OR FROM ISRAELI POLICE, MILITARY, OR SECURITY FORCES, BOTH GOVERNMENT AND NON-GOVERNMENT. THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA SHALL NOT HIRE OR COORDINATE WITH ANY SECURITY PUBLIC SAFETY OFFERS OR AGENCIES THAT HAVE ENGAGED WITH ANY OF THE ISRAELI FORCES LISTED ABOVE
WE THE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA USE OUR RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH AS PRIVATE CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS. WE DEMAND CHANGE AND JUSTICE.
WE STAND WITH THE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. WE STAND FOR THEIR RIGHT TO THEIR HOMES THAT WERE STOLEN. WE DEMAND FOR THEIR RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION AND A RIGHT TO THEIR UNIVERSITIES THAT WERE BOMBED BY ISRAELI TERRORIST FORCES.
WE DEMAND A RIGHT FOR ALL PALESTINIANS TO HAVE ACCESS TO FOOD, WATER AND ELECTRICITY.
WE CONDEMN THE TERRORIST ACTIONS OF THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT. WE CONDEMN THE ISRAELI TERRORIST FORCES. WE CONDEMN THE UNITED STATES MILITARY. WE CONDEMN COLLINS AEROSPACE. WE CONDEMN LOCKHEAD MARTIN. WE CONDEMN THE SILENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA.
WE STAND FOR THE FREEDOM OF PALESTINE. MAY PALESTINE AND HER PEOPLE BE FREE, FROM THE JORDAN RIVER TO THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
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Petition created on November 14, 2023