We stand with our Black sisters and brothers
The Palestine Solidarity Alliance of Hunter College endorses the Vision for Black Lives platform created by the Movement for Black Lives Coalition.
We aspire to call for an end to named and unnamed wars against Black people, we call for reparations in response to hundreds of years of oppression, we call for an investment in resources to the Black community, and divestment from institutions harming economic justice. Moreover, we call for state and community initiative to break down racial hierarchy of the economy and brings Black representation, community control by having those directly impacted the most shape the rules of their lives, and political power to grant black self-determination.
We recognize that Palestinians and Black people suffer from similar forms of state-violence, such as surveillance, mass incarceration, settler colonialism, and police killings. Nonetheless, we unequivocally emphasize the differences between both struggles and various levels violence that exist between both causes particularly those pertaining to culture and shapes of institutional oppression. It is important not to equate these two struggles.
As a group part of a progressive movement, we underscore the importance of undoing white supremacy within our organization, most importantly by giving a voice to Black people, and other people of color. and by being cautious of exercising privilege amidst organizing with another. Within our meetings and gatherings, wel value leadership development, specially for Palestinians, Black people, and other people of color, and community-building above efficiency.
Moreover, we aim to actively support the work of Black-led organizations and organizers worldwide in a way that enables Black Power and amends the socialization of race relations.
We aspire to call for an end to named and unnamed wars against Black people, we call for reparations in response to hundreds of years of oppression, we call for an investment in resources to the Black community, and divestment from institutions harming economic justice. Moreover, we call for state and community initiative to break down racial hierarchy of the economy and brings Black representation, community control by having those directly impacted the most shape the rules of their lives, and political power to grant black self-determination.
We recognize that Palestinians and Black people suffer from similar forms of state-violence, such as surveillance, mass incarceration, settler colonialism, and police killings. Nonetheless, we unequivocally emphasize the differences between both struggles and various levels violence that exist between both causes particularly those pertaining to culture and shapes of institutional oppression. It is important not to equate these two struggles.
As a group part of a progressive movement, we underscore the importance of undoing white supremacy within our organization, most importantly by giving a voice to Black people, and other people of color. and by being cautious of exercising privilege amidst organizing with another. Within our meetings and gatherings, wel value leadership development, specially for Palestinians, Black people, and other people of color, and community-building above efficiency.
Moreover, we aim to actively support the work of Black-led organizations and organizers worldwide in a way that enables Black Power and amends the socialization of race relations.
‘Why I, A Palestinian, Want Young Jews to Boycott Birthright’
by Rani Allan
“You will never be allowed entry.” That’s what the Israeli official told me at the Allenby-King Hussein border checkpoint in January 2015, the first time I was denied entry to the land where my grandparents were expelled from their homes during the Nakba in 1948.
This summer, I tried again to visit Palestine. Again, I was denied entry, and I was reminded of the violence and harassment I underwent the first time in January 2015, when I was questioned for 11 hours about the names of my relatives, where they were born and what my links were to Palestine. I was reminded that, despite having a U.S. passport and being born in New Jersey, I was deemed a threat to Israel simply because of my ancestry- an experience shared by the over 7 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants, exiled during the Nakba in 1948, who are barred by Israel from returning to their homeland.
This is why, as a Palestinian, I was excited to hear that Jewish Voice for Peace students and young Jews are launching the #ReturntheBirthright campaign, calling on young Jews to boycott Birthright. It is fundamentally unjust that, for thousands of Americans a year, going on a free trip to Israel can be as easy as riding a bus. Going on a Birthright trip whitewashes the ongoing human rights violations of the Israeli government, which continues to hold a severely inhumanitarian blockade and siege on the Gaza strip, illegally occupy the West Bank, discriminate against Palestinians and non-Jews, and ban the displaced indigenous population from returning to their land as stipulated by UN Resolution 194.
At Hunter College, where I go to school and organize with the Palestine Solidarity Alliance, a trip was recently coordinated by the Hillel chapter to bring student leaders of influential student groups- all non-Palestinians- to visit Israel, where, in all likelihood, they were bombarded with Zionist propaganda as they walked atop the ruins of ethnically-cleansed Palestinian villages. Of course I, as a leader of Palestine Solidarity Alliance, was not invited. The purpose of these trips is clear- Zionist organizations are desperate to present a rosy, whitewashed picture of Israel as a democratic, pluralistic safe haven for Jews, an outpost of Western values, while erasing all trace of the land’s original inhabitants, and hiding Israel’s continuing assault on Palestinian rights from view.
Every time I hear about someone’s trip to my homeland or see pictures of them there, I get a painful reminder of the Palestinian experience. I remember the pictures I saw online of my village — Al-Qubab — before it got ethnically cleansed in 1948. I remember the Israeli interrogator slamming their hands on the table, calling me a liar while searching my phone, before denying me entry. I remember the bus I was forced to ride on back to Jordan like I was a prisoner. I remember being called a terrorist, even though I wanted to go to my own land. Overall, I remember what white supremacy is like for a Palestinian.
If a non-Palestinian wants to understand the Palestinian point of view, go to the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, where over 5 million currently reside. They are not less Palestinian than the ones in Haifa or Ramallah. If you go to Israel/Palestine, help resist the expulsion of local Palestinian residents. Meet with rights organizations to amplify the grassroots call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid. Don’t go on a Birthright trip, where you will be complicit in whitewashing Israeli crimes, and an active participant in the wider Zionist agenda of eliminating Palestinian rights and existence on the land of our ancestors.
I am encouraged that young Jews across the country are taking the pledge to Return the Birthright, as people of conscience all over the world join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian human rights. With racism and white supremacy on the rise in America, Israel/Palestine and around the world, now is the time to take action.
Rani Allan is of Palestinian and Lebanese descent and a senior at Hunter College majoring in political science and human rights. He is the founder and former president of the Palestine Solidarity Alliance of Hunter College and an organizer with Adalah-NY: Campaign to Boycott Israel.
This summer, I tried again to visit Palestine. Again, I was denied entry, and I was reminded of the violence and harassment I underwent the first time in January 2015, when I was questioned for 11 hours about the names of my relatives, where they were born and what my links were to Palestine. I was reminded that, despite having a U.S. passport and being born in New Jersey, I was deemed a threat to Israel simply because of my ancestry- an experience shared by the over 7 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants, exiled during the Nakba in 1948, who are barred by Israel from returning to their homeland.
This is why, as a Palestinian, I was excited to hear that Jewish Voice for Peace students and young Jews are launching the #ReturntheBirthright campaign, calling on young Jews to boycott Birthright. It is fundamentally unjust that, for thousands of Americans a year, going on a free trip to Israel can be as easy as riding a bus. Going on a Birthright trip whitewashes the ongoing human rights violations of the Israeli government, which continues to hold a severely inhumanitarian blockade and siege on the Gaza strip, illegally occupy the West Bank, discriminate against Palestinians and non-Jews, and ban the displaced indigenous population from returning to their land as stipulated by UN Resolution 194.
At Hunter College, where I go to school and organize with the Palestine Solidarity Alliance, a trip was recently coordinated by the Hillel chapter to bring student leaders of influential student groups- all non-Palestinians- to visit Israel, where, in all likelihood, they were bombarded with Zionist propaganda as they walked atop the ruins of ethnically-cleansed Palestinian villages. Of course I, as a leader of Palestine Solidarity Alliance, was not invited. The purpose of these trips is clear- Zionist organizations are desperate to present a rosy, whitewashed picture of Israel as a democratic, pluralistic safe haven for Jews, an outpost of Western values, while erasing all trace of the land’s original inhabitants, and hiding Israel’s continuing assault on Palestinian rights from view.
Every time I hear about someone’s trip to my homeland or see pictures of them there, I get a painful reminder of the Palestinian experience. I remember the pictures I saw online of my village — Al-Qubab — before it got ethnically cleansed in 1948. I remember the Israeli interrogator slamming their hands on the table, calling me a liar while searching my phone, before denying me entry. I remember the bus I was forced to ride on back to Jordan like I was a prisoner. I remember being called a terrorist, even though I wanted to go to my own land. Overall, I remember what white supremacy is like for a Palestinian.
If a non-Palestinian wants to understand the Palestinian point of view, go to the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, where over 5 million currently reside. They are not less Palestinian than the ones in Haifa or Ramallah. If you go to Israel/Palestine, help resist the expulsion of local Palestinian residents. Meet with rights organizations to amplify the grassroots call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid. Don’t go on a Birthright trip, where you will be complicit in whitewashing Israeli crimes, and an active participant in the wider Zionist agenda of eliminating Palestinian rights and existence on the land of our ancestors.
I am encouraged that young Jews across the country are taking the pledge to Return the Birthright, as people of conscience all over the world join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian human rights. With racism and white supremacy on the rise in America, Israel/Palestine and around the world, now is the time to take action.
Rani Allan is of Palestinian and Lebanese descent and a senior at Hunter College majoring in political science and human rights. He is the founder and former president of the Palestine Solidarity Alliance of Hunter College and an organizer with Adalah-NY: Campaign to Boycott Israel.
PSA stands in solidarity with those harmed during the terrorist attack committed by Neo Nazis in Charlottesville, VA
We, the Palestine Solidarity Alliance of Hunter College, offer our condolences to those who were harmed and victimized during the Neo-Nazi riot in Charlottesville, VA.
We condemn the threats, verbal and physical violence that the white supremacists employed against people of color, Jewish individuals, people with disabilities, people who identify as queer, and others.
We stand proudly and unapologetically with the counter-protesters and activists that have pushed back against these White supremacists, and call this attack out for what it is, an act of terrorism against marginalized individuals within this country. We urge others to do the same.
The fight against systematic racism and discrimination in this country is a constant battle, and we as an organization will continue to push for policies and rhetoric that always give a platform to the marginalized voice that is constantly under attack.
We condemn the threats, verbal and physical violence that the white supremacists employed against people of color, Jewish individuals, people with disabilities, people who identify as queer, and others.
We stand proudly and unapologetically with the counter-protesters and activists that have pushed back against these White supremacists, and call this attack out for what it is, an act of terrorism against marginalized individuals within this country. We urge others to do the same.
The fight against systematic racism and discrimination in this country is a constant battle, and we as an organization will continue to push for policies and rhetoric that always give a platform to the marginalized voice that is constantly under attack.
Entry Denied: Israel Has Banned Me From My Homeland by Sandra Tamari
07/27/2017-07:50 pm ET
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/entry-denied-israel-has-banned-me-from-my-homeland_us_597a7a4ae4b0c69ef70526eb
"I’m sharing this post by my friend, Rani Allan. I was also denied entry from entering Palestine in 2012.
Going to Palestine has been one of my biggest dreams. To connect with my ancestral homeland by walking the streets of Jerusalem, visiting the villages of my grandparents, strolling on the beach in Jaffa, and eating knafeh in Nablus. I was also looking forward to meeting with organizations around Palestine that advocate for Palestinian rights. As a Palestinian in the diaspora, establishing links with Palestinians living in our homeland is an important part of affirming our collective identity as a people. Yet this dream was shattered.
On July 24, Israel denied me entry to my ancestral homeland for the second time. The first time, in January 2015, included 11 hours of interrogation with two Israeli officers yelling and banging on a table, accusing me of lying as they scoured my cell phone. This time, I was held for five hours and the questions I was asked reflect the premises of exclusion and segregation on which the Israeli state operates.
I was questioned about the names of my relatives, where they were born and my links to Palestine. After I answered their questions, the Israeli authorities decided I’m a threat simply because I’m a descendant of Palestinian refugees expelled from their homes during the establishment of Israel in 1948. More than 750,000 Palestinians were forced into exile by Israeli forces in what is known as the Nakba.
Four years after the Nakba, in 1952, Israel officially banned all Palestinian refugees from returning home. It’s called the “Entry Into Israel Law”, the very same law cited on my denial of entry letter. While keeping Palestinians in exile, Israeli law offers citizenship to anyone in the world who is Jewish. Meanwhile, pro-Israel organizations fund trips such as Birthright that send up to 40,000 young Jewish adults to Israel and occupied Palestine each year. At Hunter College where I study, a trip was recently coordinated by the Hillel chapter to bring non-Palestinians to visit the ruins of ethnically-cleansed Palestinian villages.
Yet nonetheless, the number of Palestinian refugees continues to increase, as does their plight at the hands of the Israeli occupation and Israel’s denial of Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homes and lands. In Gaza, where more than 80 percent of the population are refugees, the people are now living with very limited access to electricity, clean water and other basic humanitarian needs due to Israel’s ten-year siege and blockade.
The Morning Email
Wake up to the day's most important news.Despite being born in the U.S. and carrying an American passport, the fact that I was a Palestinian attempting to enter Palestine was contrary to the interests of Israel and its racist and explicit goal of creating and maintaining a state with a Jewish-majority population. My dream was again denied. I was immediately sent to Jordan, similar to how my grandparents had to flee their homes after being threatened by Zionist militias almost 70 years ago. The reason given for my expulsion was that I looked suspicious. To Israel, suspicious and Palestinian are synonyms. This is just more of the same racial profiling and ethnic cleansing Palestinians have faced for generations.
On the same day I was denied entry, Israel prevented five American religious leaders, including a rabbi, from boarding their flight to take part in an interfaith delegation in Palestine. The group included members from American Muslims for Palestine, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, and Jewish Voice for Peace. They were banned because of their support for the grassroots Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights. Israel recently passed a law allowing it to deny entry to anyone advocating for BDS, proving the state’s policies are not driven by Jewish or democratic values, but rather political motives to safeguard its systematic colonialism and ethnic cleansing. Nowadays, anyone who practices their right to free speech to critique oppressive Israeli policies can be blacklisted and banned from entering.
Legal attacks on supporters of Palestinian rights are occurring in the U.S. as well, where the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has lobbied senators and representatives in Congress to cosponsor legislation seeking to criminalize BDS. The Senate is considering the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, which would impose fines up to $1 million and prison sentences of up to 20 years for BDS advocates. Yet while the criminalization of support for Palestinian rights by Israel and its biggest ally, the U.S., has increased, so has the sentiment among Americans that the U.S. must act in the face of Israel’s subjugation of the Palestinian people.
A poll conducted by Nielsen in April shows that 56 percent of Democrats and 41 percent of all Americans support sanctions against Israel for its continued expansion of illegal, Jewish-only settlements on Palestinian land, and 60 percent of Americans believe the U.S. should be neutral, instead of supporting one side over the other.
Yet despite these numbers, Israel’s policies of exclusion continue with the backing of the US government. Along with banning Palestinians such as myself from visiting our homeland, it is targeting those who express sympathy and solidarity with us. While my dream has once again been deferred, I know I will see it realized someday in a future where being denied entry by Israel will be seen as an affirmation that we stood on the right side of history.
Rani Allan is of Palestinian and Lebanese descent and a senior at Hunter College majoring in political science and human rights. He is the founder and former president of the Palestine Solidarity Alliance of Hunter College and an organizer with Adalah-NY: Campaign to Boycott Israel."
Going to Palestine has been one of my biggest dreams. To connect with my ancestral homeland by walking the streets of Jerusalem, visiting the villages of my grandparents, strolling on the beach in Jaffa, and eating knafeh in Nablus. I was also looking forward to meeting with organizations around Palestine that advocate for Palestinian rights. As a Palestinian in the diaspora, establishing links with Palestinians living in our homeland is an important part of affirming our collective identity as a people. Yet this dream was shattered.
On July 24, Israel denied me entry to my ancestral homeland for the second time. The first time, in January 2015, included 11 hours of interrogation with two Israeli officers yelling and banging on a table, accusing me of lying as they scoured my cell phone. This time, I was held for five hours and the questions I was asked reflect the premises of exclusion and segregation on which the Israeli state operates.
I was questioned about the names of my relatives, where they were born and my links to Palestine. After I answered their questions, the Israeli authorities decided I’m a threat simply because I’m a descendant of Palestinian refugees expelled from their homes during the establishment of Israel in 1948. More than 750,000 Palestinians were forced into exile by Israeli forces in what is known as the Nakba.
Four years after the Nakba, in 1952, Israel officially banned all Palestinian refugees from returning home. It’s called the “Entry Into Israel Law”, the very same law cited on my denial of entry letter. While keeping Palestinians in exile, Israeli law offers citizenship to anyone in the world who is Jewish. Meanwhile, pro-Israel organizations fund trips such as Birthright that send up to 40,000 young Jewish adults to Israel and occupied Palestine each year. At Hunter College where I study, a trip was recently coordinated by the Hillel chapter to bring non-Palestinians to visit the ruins of ethnically-cleansed Palestinian villages.
Yet nonetheless, the number of Palestinian refugees continues to increase, as does their plight at the hands of the Israeli occupation and Israel’s denial of Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homes and lands. In Gaza, where more than 80 percent of the population are refugees, the people are now living with very limited access to electricity, clean water and other basic humanitarian needs due to Israel’s ten-year siege and blockade.
The Morning Email
Wake up to the day's most important news.Despite being born in the U.S. and carrying an American passport, the fact that I was a Palestinian attempting to enter Palestine was contrary to the interests of Israel and its racist and explicit goal of creating and maintaining a state with a Jewish-majority population. My dream was again denied. I was immediately sent to Jordan, similar to how my grandparents had to flee their homes after being threatened by Zionist militias almost 70 years ago. The reason given for my expulsion was that I looked suspicious. To Israel, suspicious and Palestinian are synonyms. This is just more of the same racial profiling and ethnic cleansing Palestinians have faced for generations.
On the same day I was denied entry, Israel prevented five American religious leaders, including a rabbi, from boarding their flight to take part in an interfaith delegation in Palestine. The group included members from American Muslims for Palestine, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, and Jewish Voice for Peace. They were banned because of their support for the grassroots Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights. Israel recently passed a law allowing it to deny entry to anyone advocating for BDS, proving the state’s policies are not driven by Jewish or democratic values, but rather political motives to safeguard its systematic colonialism and ethnic cleansing. Nowadays, anyone who practices their right to free speech to critique oppressive Israeli policies can be blacklisted and banned from entering.
Legal attacks on supporters of Palestinian rights are occurring in the U.S. as well, where the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has lobbied senators and representatives in Congress to cosponsor legislation seeking to criminalize BDS. The Senate is considering the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, which would impose fines up to $1 million and prison sentences of up to 20 years for BDS advocates. Yet while the criminalization of support for Palestinian rights by Israel and its biggest ally, the U.S., has increased, so has the sentiment among Americans that the U.S. must act in the face of Israel’s subjugation of the Palestinian people.
A poll conducted by Nielsen in April shows that 56 percent of Democrats and 41 percent of all Americans support sanctions against Israel for its continued expansion of illegal, Jewish-only settlements on Palestinian land, and 60 percent of Americans believe the U.S. should be neutral, instead of supporting one side over the other.
Yet despite these numbers, Israel’s policies of exclusion continue with the backing of the US government. Along with banning Palestinians such as myself from visiting our homeland, it is targeting those who express sympathy and solidarity with us. While my dream has once again been deferred, I know I will see it realized someday in a future where being denied entry by Israel will be seen as an affirmation that we stood on the right side of history.
Rani Allan is of Palestinian and Lebanese descent and a senior at Hunter College majoring in political science and human rights. He is the founder and former president of the Palestine Solidarity Alliance of Hunter College and an organizer with Adalah-NY: Campaign to Boycott Israel."