Up to 173 Signatures

14 more professors have signed on to the TIAA-CREF Divestment Campaign. We thank them for their support.

TIAA-CREF Divestment Letter Surpasses 150 Signatories

Refusing to be intimidated by Rep. Ackerman’s harsh attacks, the number of NYU faculty and staff who have signed on to SJP’s Open Letter to TIAA-CREF has increased to 159 in the last few weeks alone.

Students for Justice in Palestine @ NYU would again like to thank these faculty and staff members for their support, and commend them for their commitment to justice.

Press Release: SJP @ NYU, 21 October 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Email: justiceinpalestine.club@nyu.edu
http://nyusjp.wordpress.com/tiaa-cref-campaign/
https://www.facebook.com/NYU.SJP

REP. ACKERMAN ATTACKS OVER 100 NYU PROFESSORS FOR SIGNING DIVESTMENT LETTER
Students for Justice in Palestine at NYU issues official response

New York, NY — 21 October 2011 — House Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY), ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, recently issued a statement attacking the actions of 132 New York University (NYU) faculty and staff members. Students for Justice in Palestine at NYU (SJP @ NYU) SJP @ NYU vehemently defends the signers of the Open Letter, while challenging Ackerman’s commitment to justice and international law.

The professors have signed an Open Letter to TIAA-CREF, drafted by SJP @ NYU, calling for divestment from five corporations – Motorola Systems, Caterpillar, Northrop Grumman, Elbit, and Veolia – whose equipment facilitates the oppression of Palestinians and the continued illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Writing that the NYU professors and staff are “blinded” by an “ill-informed and self-righteous rage,” Ackerman “strongly condemn[ed]” what he described as an “ill-conceived and dangerous effort … to instigate divestment from American and Israeli companies by TIAA-CREF.”

“Congressman Ackerman insists on supporting — and even questioning the existence of — the vicious, illegal, and US-backed Israeli occupation,” said Glen Pine, an organizer with SJP @ NYU. “His chilling attack on conscientious NYU professors deserves condemnation, while the professors themselves deserve praise for taking a courageous stand on behalf of basic human rights and dignity. The Letter to TIAA-CREF is still open for more signatures; now is the perfect time for additional NYU faculty and staff members to lend their support.”

Jeff Goodwin, Professor of Sociology at NYU, commented that “Representative Ackerman’s apparent denial that Israel is occupying Palestinian territories and systematically violating basic Palestinian rights is simply shocking. This kind of moral blindness has long been an impediment to peace-making between Israelis and Palestinians.”

According to NYU Arab Language Lecturer Medhat Credi, “Rep. Ackerman criticized NYU faculty members for signing a letter calling TIAA-CREF to divest from companies profiting from Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, because he very well knows the power of this call if it is implemented.”

According to SJP @ NYU organizer Nada Matta, “Rep. Ackerman’s letter carries on the long-lasting U.S. elite tradition of actively silencing individuals and groups that voice their disapproval of illegal Israeli actions, oppose the oppression of Palestinians, or demand a change in the U.S. policy towards Israel.”

Alaa Yousef, another organizer, commented that “The U.S. general public remains one of the most uninformed in the world regarding the brutality of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinians. Rep. Ackerman, in his attempt to deface a just and democratic cause, could not have more perfectly exemplified why.”

SJP @ NYU is a campus advocacy group in support of the Palestinian cause. The group advocates for non-violent actions in support of the Palestinian right to self-determination. The TIAA-CREF Divestment Campaign seeks to raise awareness about the illegal, US-backed Israeli occupation and the oppression of Palestinians
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Official Statement: Response to Rep. Gary Ackerman’s (D-NY) Attack on New York University Professors

19 October 2011

Students for Justice in Palestine at NYU

House Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY), ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, recently issued a statement attacking the actions of over one hundred New York University (NYU) professors.

The professors have signed an Open Letter to TIAA-CREF, drafted by Students for Justice in Palestine at NYU (SJP @ NYU), calling for divestment from five corporations – Motorola Systems, Caterpillar, Northrop Grumman, Elbit, and Veolia – whose equipment facilitates the oppression of Palestinians and the continued illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The position taken by these faculty members, and their willingness to speak out, deserve praise, not condemnation.

Rep. Ackerman’s comments are saturated with misunderstandings and misrepresentations, of both the campaign these professors are supporting and the plight of the Palestinian people. Additionally, the references to the campaign as “dangerous” and a form of “warfare on Israel” are chilling in tone.

His comments suggest a desire to preserve the brutal status quo and protect corporate interests, rather than genuine interest in promoting justice and international law in the region.

FACTUAL INACCURACIES – THE CONFLICT

Rep. Ackerman writes that “many thousands of Israelis … have been murdered or maimed by rockets falling on their homes, bombs going off on their buses or by suicide bombers slipping into restaurants and religious celebrations.”

According to the respected human rights organization B’Tselem, exactly 753 Israeli civilians and 342 military personnel were been killed by Palestinians between September 2000 and September 2011. During that same period, the Israeli army killed 6,487 Palestinians, at least half of whom were civilians. During Operation Cast Lead – Israel’s most recent illegal assault on the people of Gaza – the Israeli military killed 1,397 Palestinians, mostly civilians. Three Israeli civilians were killed in the operation.

Clearly this is not a war between two equal parties. This is a vicious occupation against an oppressed and impoverished people, carried out by a powerful, nuclear armed state (Israel), and backed by the world’s strongest military power (the U.S.). Despite the overwhelming evidence, Rep. Ackerman – unlike President Obama, the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, all major human rights organizations, and the international community at large – refuses even to acknowledge that the occupation exists.

Rep. Ackerman questions whether the NYU faculty signers have international law on their side. But to name one of countless examples, the July 9, 2004 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that “all States are under an obligation not to recognize the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory … [and] to see to it that any impediment, resulting from the construction of the wall, to the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination is brought to an end.”

The ICJ’s advisory opinion is consistent with repeated United Nations resolutions recognizing that the Palestinian territories are under occupation, and calling for that occupation to end. The NYU faculty signers have therefore not called for anything beyond the implementation of international law.

FACTUAL INACCURACIES – THE CAMPAIGN

First, concerning the Open Letter to TIAA-CREF, Rep. Ackerman writes that 72 NYU Professors and staff “have managed to assemble a pastiche of smears and falsehoods against Israel.” In fact, SJP @ NYU created the letter, which 132 professors and staff have signed thus far.

Rep. Ackerman fails to point out a single inaccuracy in the letter.

Second, Rep. Ackerman describes the campaign as “unjustified economic warfare on Israel.” The opposite is true: the campaign is a non-violent means of opposing Israel’s warfare on the Palestinian people.

Third, Rep. Ackerman writes that NYU faculty members are unfairly “punishing American companies because of the way Israel allegedly uses their products.” These are not “allegations” but readily demonstrable facts. And surely Rep. Ackerman does not believe that Caterpillar, for example, is unaware of how Israel weaponizes its bulldozers and uses them to demolish Palestinian homes. We wonder if Rep. Ackerman would publicly support the sale of Caterpillar bulldozers to Palestinians to be used for the unlawful demolition of Israeli homes.

Finally, Rep. Ackerman asks rhetorically whether “Ford, GM and Chrysler should be held accountable if their cars are used for drive-by shootings, or bank heists.” Such an analogy is nonsensical. These are not anonymous sales to random individuals who happen to commit a crime. They are massive contracts that provide Israel with the equipment necessary to perpetuate an occupation that is illegal under international law.

CONSCIENTIOUS FACULTY DESERVING OUR RESPECT

Four million Palestinians suffer daily under the occupation Rep. Ackerman defends. The occupation is an infringement on the most basic rights of the Palestinian people, such as freedom of movement and self-determination. The occupation systematically impoverishes them and denies millions access to adequate healthcare, education, water, and sanitation. In addition, occupied Palestinians are routinely arrested, assaulted, or killed; non-violent demonstrators have been among those targeted.

The reason that 132 NYU faculty and staff have signed the Open Letter to TIAA-CREF is not that they are “blinded by their ill-informed and self-righteous rage,” but because they stand in opposition to these violations of international law. This position is at odds with that of the U.S. government and congresspersons like Rep. Ackerman who prefer to defend Israel’s crimes.

SJP @ NYU reiterates its strong support for the conscientious faculty members who have signed the Open Letter to TIAA-CREF. These professors have taken an important and courageous public stance, openly demanding that their retirement savings not be used to oppress the Palestinian people. For this they deserve our respect.

This Weekend: National SJP Conference

sjpnational.org

Hosted at Columbia University October 14-16.

Registration is full, but report to follow.

The Infamous Five

TIAA-CREF invests in many companies, but few profit so directly from the Israeli Occupation as the five listed below:

Caterpillar

- TC invests $287,216,726
- US company
- involved in demolishing Palestinian homes and olive trees, construction of Jewish-only settlements, and the land-grab apartheid wall.

Northrop Grumman

- TC invests $199,061,302
- US company
- large weapons manufacturer; built helicopters and missiles used to kill Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, destroyed basic infrastructure, etc.

Motorola

- TC invests $91,795,650
- US company
- surveillance systems in settlements; telecommunications equipment for IDF; bomb fuses.

Veolia

- TC invests $19,249,837
- French company
- bus, rail, recycling, water services in Jewish-only settlements.

Elbit

- TC invests $1,689,000
- Israeli company
- build drones that have been used in Gaza, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Built surveillance equipment for both the wall inside Palestine and the wall on the US-Mexico border

TIAA-CREF – The Campaign Goes On

On Tuesday, September 27 NYU SJP continued its campaign for divestment from TIAA-CREF last night with a teach-in at NYU’s Puck Building. The NYU campaign – so far the most successful in the country – has served as an inspiration and a guide to other SJP groups.

What is the TIAA-CREF campaign?

TIAA-CREF is a pension fund which most NYU faculty and staff rely on to invest for their retirement. The purpose of the SJP campaign is to pressure TIAA-CREF into divesting its holdings in 5 key companies which profile from the illegal Israeli occupation and oppression of the Palestinians.

These five companies are:

Caterpillar – sells the bulldozers used by the IDF to destroy Palestinian homes, infrastructure, and fruit and olive trees

Elbit Systems – makes drones used to kill Palestinian and Lebanese civilians

Northrop Grumman – produces the missiles, helicopters and fighter jets Israel needs to defend itself from crowds of children throwing stones

Veolia – operates a light-rail system linking Israel’s illegal settlements to Jerusalem

Motorola – manufactures surveillance equipment for Israeli checkpoints

So far, over 130 NYU faculty and staff have signed a letter urging TIAA-CREF to withdraw its funds from these corporations just as it divested from Sudan in 2009.

This year, Students for Justice in Palestine plans to continue and expand this campaign, bringing awareness to the rest of NYU and beyond.