Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland
September 15, 2003
TALKING POINTS:
PALESTINE NATIONAL SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE
What is happening at Ohio State? How is it connected to Rutgers?
The Palestine Solidarity Movement will hold its third annual solidarity conference at The Ohio State University November 7-9. The conference was originally planned for Rutgers, but the organizers decided to move the conference to OSU. The New Jersey affiliate still plans to hold a conference at Rutgers October 10-12.
What is the Third National Student Conference on the Palestine Solidarity Movement about?
The previous two conferences, at Berkeley and the University of Michigan, had an underlying premise that Israel is a racist, apartheid, colonial settler state, and that Zionism is inherently racist.
What is the divestment movement?
The divestment movement seeks to convince colleges and universities to sell all investments in Israel and Israeli companies in protest of the current Middle East situation. The aim of the divestment movement, which is modeled after the divestment movement aimed at South Africa in the 1980s, is to delegitimize, demonize and dehumanize the State of Israel. The potential impact of the divestment movement is to plant vicious lies and misinformation in the minds of college students, our future leaders.
Has the divestment movement been successful?
No university has agreed to divest its holdings in Israel. While it does not appear that the divestment movement will be successful on any campus, it is important that university officials speak out against divestment.
Why is the conference being allowed to move forward?
The Ohio State University is a public university, and, as long as university policies are followed, student groups have the right to exercise free speech on campus. The conference was invited by the OSU student affiliate of the national organization. Jewish community leadership is in touch with university officials, and we have expressed our concerns about the content of the conference.
Did the Jewish community attempt to prevent the conference?
Attempts to block the conference would not only be unsuccessful but would only serve to draw more attention to the conference and its messages. The Jewish community does not want to be seen as opposing freedom of speech or exercising some kind of power over the university administration. The negative impact of that would likely be worse than the conference itself. The Jewish communities in Berkeley, Detroit and New Jersey, who all have dealt with this conference, took similar positions.
What is being done to counter the conference?
The Hillel at OSU has consulted with those at Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and Rutgers, and with national organizations such as JCPA, ADL and AJC, and with federations across the state, including Cleveland, and is developing a plan for a year-long program of pro-Israel activities. Our challenge is to seize this opportunity as a teaching moment for our students as well as educate the university administration and state officials about the divestment movement.
What is the community doing to support Jewish students on campus?
The Jewish communities of Ohio are working together to provide support and advice. Contacts have been made and meetings are being held with university officials to discuss important issues, including university policy; the importance of the university denouncing anti-Semitism and all forms of hate speech; and the university’s response to the divestment campaign.
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