[The following statement was issued by Faculty for Justice in Palestine at NYU, a new chapter that has formed in light of the ongoing seige of Gaza and indiscrimnate murder of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government, on 18 October 2023.]
We the undersigned want to express our solidarity with our students, at an urgent moment of U.S.- backed state violence against a colonized, dispossessed and brutalized population. The United Nations states that at least one million people in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes in one week alone; “A river of people continues to flow south.”
We condemn the brutal killing of civilians that occurred in Israel on October 7th, which constitutes a war crime. We also condemn the massive and systematic violence being perpetrated against civilians both in Gaza and the occupied West Bank even as we write; Israel’s assault on Gaza also constitutes a war crime. We recognize that Israeli state violence against the Palestinians subject to its control has its roots in a a well-documented history of colonization, stretching back at least 75 years, that has produced what human rights groups today describe as an apartheid regime, characterized by ongoing processes of occupation, expropriation, ethnic cleansing and the denial to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza of the most basic human and civil rights – and of their right as a people to self-determination. These are the root causes of the current wave of violence; history did not begin on October 7, 2023, however horrific the massive killing of Israeli civilians on that day was.
What is happening in Gaza right now can reasonably be described as colonial racial violence, carried out with the support of the U.S. government and much of the media. Israel’s Defense Minister has characterized the people of Gaza as “human animals,” and its Minister of Energy and Infrastructure said that “They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world.” This is dehumanizing language, which serves to justify otherwise unacceptable total violence of this sort, is also common to genocidal projects, and is being invoked to justify the indiscriminate bombing of a trapped civilian population and the cutting off of that population’s water, food, fuel and electricity. These war crimes are being openly supported, and often celebrated, by the U.S. government and much of the media in this country.
We note that students and faculty at NYU and other US campuses have long been singled out for censure and punishment for voicing support for Palestinians. In the past week the scale of intimidation has escalated precipitously. We are aware that the administration is under immense pressure from trustees, alumni and donors to be perceived as “pro-Israel,” even at the cost of tolerating or promoting violations of academic freedom and free speech rights. Even as we write this, the administration is pursuing disciplinary procedures against a student at the Law School simply for exercising their speech rights. NYU’s laudable Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) initiatives claim to foster a “thriving inclusive global community” and protect our community from the virulence of discrimination, including antisemitism. However, NYU must also recognize the harms of Islamophobia and of the racism experienced by Arab and Arab-American colleagues and students, too many of whom have become the “collateral damage” of state violence against the people of Gaza.
Now is the time to come together to demand an immediate end to the massive violence being inflicted on the people of Gaza. There can be no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Israel’s assault on Gaza will not only take thousands more Palestinian lives but plant the seeds of further violence. We must also speak out, on campus and beyond, in support of our students and against the anti-Palestinian campaigns in the media and the political sphere. We envision Faculty for Justice in Palestine as an inclusive organization that invites colleagues across the university to speak out at this critical moment.
Please add your name to our statement to oppose the war on Gaza, the continuing occupation and brutalization of the Palestinians subject to Israeli control, and the threats to our students and colleagues who want to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people. Subsequently, we will ask if you wish to join our chapter.