Bruins for Israel said it will deliberately refrain from any counter-protests in response to Palestine Awareness Week, according to a group statement released Thursday.
In the press release, Bruins for Israel members said they do not want to bring attention to the week of events put on by Students for Justice in Palestine. Group members said in the statement that they think Palestine Awareness Week is an “illegitimate jab at the state of Israel.”
Eytan Davidovits, president of Bruins for Israel and fourth-year economics student, said the student group members wanted to clarify through the press release what their motives were and why they had not responded to the announcement of an upcoming divestment resolution earlier this week.
The resolution, spearheaded by Students for Justice in Palestine, calls for the University of California to divest from certain companies that some students say profit from the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The resolution is set to go to the Undergraduate Students Association Council in about two weeks.
“The motives behind the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement are not toward peace and coexistence. It has a political agenda that is masked behind human rights, but simultaneously erases Israel’s existence,” Davidovits said.
Davidovits said Bruins for Israel aims to find what it thinks is a better approach to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will not create further tension between communities at UCLA.
In February, USAC voted against a similar resolution after an almost 12-hour-long meeting, which included about nine hours of heated public comment.
“After the divestment hearing (in February) the campus was torn and stressed, the cyberbullying was unacceptable and councilmembers felt threatened,” he said. “We do not want to go back to tactics that broke down the campus. We see a future that we can positively affect.”
Rahim Kurwa, a sociology graduate student and member of Students for Justice in Palestine, said the group respects students’ rights to express their own narrative on campus and decision to not participate in Palestine Awareness Week.
“Students for Justice in Palestine holds no antagonism toward anyone in the region or on campus,” Kurwa said. “While we respect Bruins for Israel’s disagreement with us, we ask them to show empathy to the many students across campus who wish to pass divestment for the most humanistic and positive reasons.”
Bruins for Israel’s press release also said it will organize teach-ins to educate the UCLA community about the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in upcoming weeks.
Bruins for Israel said it will hold a town hall meeting next Thursday at 5 p.m. at Hillel for students who support their efforts against the divestment resolution.
“complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in upcoming weeks” – A.K.A We”ll make up a bunch of mumbo and jumbo to avoid talking about the theft of land for Israeli settlements. And of course cry the usual “anti-semitism”.
As usual, the Israel haters are the first ones to bring up anti-Semitism. Guilty conscience?
This coming from a person who denies the existence of Palestine.
I’m glad you don’t deny that you’re the first one to whine about “anti-Semitism,” due to your guilty conscience. Next time don’t be such a troll.
Still denying the existence of Palestine ?
Still desperately trying to change the subject, troll?
You won’t even accept the existence of Palestinians, shill ?
I would be happy to talk to you about that in a thread on that subject. For now, stop clogging up the comment thread with your frivolity. The mods should ban you for trolling.
Why avoid the topic of the existence of Palestinians ? Unfortunately for you, this is not the Hillel moderating this site. Gosh you must miss the “open” discussion at the Hilllel.
You are a terrible person. Maybe you did not have a father figure as a child. Maybe your mother didn’t hug you enough.
Shame.
SJP, as a national organization, is explicitly against peace, human rights for Jewish people, and the two state solution. Their desired “peace” involves the Arabs standing on the throats of the Israelis after killing enough of them to satisfy their demands for “justice.”
If you don’t believe me, check out their own pro-divestment fliers:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cgkIOEDZUmk/VFhPyM5Qj8I/AAAAAAAAIJI/VgS1KuMgwx4/s1600/s.jpg
This organization is explicitly against peace, and they don’t even bother to hide it! SJP should be branded as a hate organization and banned from campus.
I tried the link, and it does not connect to anything like what you state above. Your statement above is unsubstantiated and a misrepresentation of the BDS Movement. BDS is a non-violent response to Israeli violation of international law and denial of human rights to Palestinians; to Israeli apartheid. Look at the BDS website (http://www.bdsmovement.net/) if you want to learn what they are saying.
I’m curious how exactly pictures released *by* BDS representatives at UCLA constitutes a “misrepresentation” of what they want. Do you deny that BDS is against peace? A simple yes or no will suffice.
Please try to read what is written above (it appears you are not a UC graduate, as you are unable to follow directions). I alerted you to the fact that your link does not connect to anything that is “explicit”. I googled SJP and could not find anything to support your claims. Please do your homework before making unsubstantiated claims. Please also read about the BOYCOTTT, DIVESTMENT, and SANCTIONS movement at http://www.bdsmovement.net/.
berkleyboy has apparently been drinking too much of his own Kool-Aid.
A simple cursory search of “MSA terrorism” or “SJP terrorism” reveals a myriad of articles about the subject and ongoing ties of these organizations to terrorism.
Anti-semites such as yourself should stop hiding behind BDS and just come out of the closet as the hateful, deplorable, lying wigs you are.
“SJP, as a national organization, is explicitly against peace, human rights for Jewish people, and the two state solution,” so says a commenter. So, if Israel is for peace, then why are they continuing to steal Palestinian land, which is illegal under international law? Don’t they want a “two-state solution?” And what about the human rights of Palestinians, you know, the ones that are living under military law because they aren’t Jewish? And when are you going to acknowledge that Palestine and the Palestinians exist? Oh wait, I forgot; God promised the land to the Jews! Just like the EU settlers in America said that God gave America to them to develop. Maybe you got your education from an Israeli institution where Palestinians were just “farmers without a nationality.” Its like saying that the Native Americans were people without a name. Your argument against SJP is all smoke and mirrors.
Oh, and nothing is “complex” about illegal colonialism, apartheid policies in the name of security, and mass repression of millions of people because they “threaten” your political majority.
Literally the only way to defend the awful racists of SJP: change the subject and start pointing the finger at Israel.
UCLA is not being asked to endorse the settlers or the occupation. They are being asked to endorse the racist SJP and the genocidal BDS they peddle. There’s the difference.
Exactly this. SJP is not for peace. Notice what they said about the, in their minds, Zionist Puppet Olive Tree Initiative. They are insane war-mongering trolls. True supporters of peace and free speech on campus would not tie up student governments nationwide by attempting to pass the same legislation over and over and over.
SJP is only interested in fostering a hateful environment for Jews. This has nothing to do with Israel.
SJP, MSA, and all those terrorist shill groups should be banned from all university campuses immediately. Look up “MSA terrorism.”
So instead of caring for actual students, the student government decides to bash Israel.