Stand With Students
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April 27, 2010
Every so often, we get a moment when a remarkable future unfolds before our eyes. And when it happens, it's our responsibility to do everything within our power to help it along. One of those moments is happening right now on the University of California's Berkeley and San Diego campuses. Professors and students of every color, religion, and nationality are calling on the university to divest from companies that profit from the occupation of the Palestinian Territories. In Berkeley, the student Senate already voted to divest but their vote was vetoed by the Senate president. On Wednesday, April 28, they will vote to overturn the veto while students in San Diego will put the issue before their senate for the first time. We must be there to support their stand for justice for all people in Palestine and Israel. I urge you to stand with them - please, add your name to the thousands of supporters - you'll be represented by a colorful statement and we intend to turn the room into a sea of hope and support.
We stand with you in your vote to divest.
Like Palestinian visiting student Ibrahim Shikaki who stood side by side with Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein in Berkeley, we stand with you. Like countless student organizations representing every race and ethnicity who turned out to support divestment, we stand with you. Like the dozens of professors, Nobel prize winners, rabbis who together said, "Yes, it is time to divest," we stand with you. Inspired by your courage and your leadership, we stand as grandmothers and grandsons, Muslims and Jews, Christians and atheists, fathers and daughters, in quiet solidarity and in fervent hope. We stand with you, we are here for you, and we believe in you. Though we cannot be in the room with you when you vote, we are with you.