The Gaza Strip, due to its unique geopolitical location, did not lend itself that easily to such a strategy. Ever since 1994, and even more so when Ariel Sharon came to power as prime minister in the early 2000s, the strategy there was to ghettoize Gaza and somehow hope that the people there — 1.8 million as of today — would be dropped into eternal oblivion. But the Ghetto proved to be rebellious and unwilling to live under conditions of strangulation, isolation, starvation and economic collapse. So resending it to oblivion necessitates the continuation of genocidal policies. We must all strive to educate ourselves as being part of a four year college institution, but we must also try to find purpose in the privilege that we have been granted. As a former student at UCSB nothing was more troubling than the funding of an illegal occupation of my homeland. Over 175 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 5 days - we are funding and profiting off these very lives. It is time to stop crying and praying for Gaza - it is time to take action. We are calling upon the student leaders of next year to ensure that you, to the best of your capabilities, end violence against Palestinians people. We are not asking you to fix the region - we are asking that you no longer be complicit. Palestinians do not need pity so do not cry for Gaza while you invest in HP and Boeing and Raytheon. Ilan Pappe is an Israeli historian and activist and former lecturer at the University of Haifa. I posted an article similar to this on this page during divestment because it gives good background on the situation in Gaza and why what is occurring in Palestine is not just economic suppression and destitution - it is now a massacre of people. In solidarity with all those marginalized, occupied and colonized. electronicintifada.net/content/israels-incremental-genocide-gaza-ghetto/13562
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 04:16:23 +0000
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