LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Rutgers Faculty for Justice in Palestine releases statement
We, the undersigned, are answering the call for the formation of Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) chapters to "support (National Students for Justice in Palestine), protect local (Students for Justice in Palestine) organizers, offer faculty defense, organize teach-ins and other actions and engage in Palestine solidarity work generally."
We define "faculty" as those involved in making education available at Rutgers, including both tenure and non-tenure track full-time faculty, lecturers, staff and graduate employees.
Rutgers FJP Principles of Unity:
Rutgers Faculty for Justice in Palestine is a democratic collective that supports Palestinian liberation from 75 years of systemic Israeli racism, dispossession, dehumanization and brutality. We understand the struggle for Palestinian freedom to be aligned with anti-colonial and anti-racist movements and struggles across the world.
FJP demands that Israel immediately cease its genocidal assault on Gaza and stands with the urgent call from Palestinian trade unions to end all complicity and stop arming Israel.
FJP supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against apartheid Israel and its call for freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians. We note that this includes the right of Palestinian refugees, ethnically cleansed in the 1948 Nakba and after, to return to their homeland.
FJP rejects Islamophobia, antisemitism and any discrimination based on religious belief, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, ability or class. We reject all attempts to conflate support for Palestinian liberation and opposition to Zionism with antisemitism.
FJP will amplify the work of Students for Justice in Palestine and other pro-Palestinian student groups at Rutgers and is committed to protecting students' rights to free speech and assembly on campus from institutional or governmental suppression.
As part of our commitment, FJP members will engage in education, advocacy and action with an emphasis on supporting student-led initiatives.
The most securely employed among us must protect the more vulnerable members of the Rutgers community at all times.
Rutgers FJP, as a branch of an emerging FJP national network, will participate in regional cross-campus coalitions with allies at other universities.
The Rutgers Faculty for Justice in Palestine is a newly formed group with a mission to publicly oppose current Israeli policy, to support the work of the Students for Justice in Palestine and to advocate for student and faculty freedom to voice their support of Palestinian rights.
At the time of publishing FJP's statement has accumulated 91 signatures.
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