March 16
GUESTS: Two members of Vassar
College's Students for Justice in Palestine talk about some of
the challenges of advocating for human rights on campus,
especially when calling for a boycott of apartheid Israel.
The National
Students for Justice in Palestine
Perhaps Students For Justice in Palestine will lead to an evolution in colleges and universities. At the present, many institutions of higher learning are as bought off as most members of our US Congress. There should be an OpenSecrets.org website to track the money that the Israel Lobby pours into higher ed.
Rich and influential alums, who support Israel despite its apartheid tendencies, serve as the watchdogs of political activism on various campuses. When things get out of hand (a Palestinian speaker is brought to campus or a professor publishes an anti Zionist book), the threatening calls begin. Sometimes these calls are made to alumni offices, and sometimes right to college presidents. And just to make sure that campuses are not open to pro-Palestinian ideas, the national media is sometimes brought in. For example, take a look at "Majoring in Anti-Semitism at Vassar," an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal. The two writers of this hit piece have long histories of supporting of Zionism, and condemning students or professors who would dare refer to Israel as an apartheid state.
As a graduate of Fordham University, I am ashamed of my university's lack of moral conviction. When it comes to choosing between human rights for Palestinians and contributions from wealthy alumni, Fordham holds its nose and takes the cash. Like so many institutions of higher learning, Fordham is run like a neoliberal enterprise rather than a purveyor of knowledge.
Let us celebrate the fact that we still have organizations like Students For Justice in Palestine. They stand for what is right in an often hostile college campus. They also expose the hypocrisy of how these institutions of higher education are run. Free speech is often seen as an impediment to large cash gifts and lucrative corporate sponsorships. Most US colleges actively support the seventy years of Palestinian oppression in the Holy Land.
