A statement from Georgetown Students for Justice in Palestine: From the River Jordan to the Rio Grande, we declare that no human being is illegal. The legal fictions of “citizenship” and “birthright” serve to separate persons based on racial, national, economic, or social status, and they are fundamentally unjust. For these reasons, Georgetown Students for Justice in Palestine is proud to support MEChA and all members of the Georgetown University Immigration Coalition in the April 5th National Day of Action Against Deportations. President Barack Obama’s historic, unjust deportation of over 2 million migrants strikes a chord with Palestine solidarity activists. Here we see echoes of the cycle of neocolonialism, economic dispossession, and criminalization that has alienated over 5 million Palestinians from their land and subjects over 6 million more to a regime of occupation and apartheid. Just as ongoing Israeli military aggression forces millions off their land because they are not Jewish, United States-backed coups in places like El Salvador (1979) and Nicaragua (1981-90) destabilized these nations and continue to force many to flee. In the same way the Paris Accords compel Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to rely on expensive Israeli imports, U.S.-brokered trade pacts like NAFTA have dumped subsidized U.S. farm goods on Mexico and pushed an estimated 2.3 million farmers off their land.[1] At the same time the U.S. and Israel cause the displacement of millions of people, they criminalize the actions these migrants and refugees take in response. Five million Palestinian refugees are prevented from returning to their land under a 1954 Israeli law that brands them as illegal “infiltrators,” and 1,415 Palestinians are currently detained in Israel for that reason alone.[2] For its part, the U.S. detains about 400,000 “illegal aliens,” even though being in violation of U.S. immigration law is not a crime.[3] In addition to such obvious parallels, these systems of oppression are in dialogue with one another. For example, the U.S. has vetoed attempts to hold Israel to account for its actions at the United Nations. Meanwhile, Israeli occupation technologies, such as a wall built by Ebit Systems and “field tested” in Palestine, are exported for use on the U.S.-Mexico border fence. [4] Georgetown Students for Justice in Palestine stands against oppression in any form. However, the particular facts of this case are yet another reason compelling us to add our voice to the April 5 National Day of Action Against Deportations. We are pleased to provide our moral and technical support to MEChA and its partners, just as National MEChA supported our cause when it endorsed the Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel two years ago today.[5] We look forward to joining our comrades at the picket line on April 5 as we stand up against oppression and in favor of equal dignity and rights for all. [1] voxxi/2013/01/11/agricultural-subsidies-mexican-farmers/2/ [2] btselem.org/statistics/detainees_and_prisoners [3] detentionwatchnetwork.org/resources [4] wri-irg.org/node/9663 [5] nationalmecha.org/archives/2012/03/ national_mecha_endorses_palestinian_boycott_call_against_israel.php
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 02:48:15 +0000
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