Campaign to divest the UC from Israel advances

LOS ANGELES and SANTA BARBARA--MIM and RAIL activists drew loud 
criticism and counter protests from supporters of Israel on 
several occasions during the first two weeks of May. The MIM and 
RAIL activists were collecting signatures on a petition demanding 
that the University of California (UC) divest from companies 
doing business in Israel (for more on this campaign, see pages 4-
6). Some Zionist hecklers also showed up at an educational event 
hosted by MIM and RAIL on the campus of the UC at Santa Barbara.

MIM files this under the slogan "to be attacked by the enemy is a 
good thing." Clearly we must be doing something right if 
defenders of the status quo--or promoters of an even more 
genocidal policy in Palestine--organize against us. Furthermore, 
the attacks gave MIM and RAIL activists a better understanding of 
the enemy's tactics--some of which are so boneheaded they have to 
be seen to be believed (e.g. their open praise for 19th century 
colonialism; see p. 4).

Some of the typical criticisms (and MIM's responses):

* "You are anti-Semitic." (No, ITAL you END seem to be the one 
saying Jews are intrinsically driven to brutally occupy and 
exploit other nations.)

* "You're only picking on Israel." (Hello, read our paper. We 
criticize all imperialists and their lackeys. What Israel is 
doing now to the Palestinians Amerika did 150 years ago to the 
First Nations a.k.a. Native Americans. And in the Middle East our 
beef is fundamentally with Amerikan imperialism--the power that 
props up Israeli occupation.)

* "Israel has to defend itself. " (Get real. Israel has the 
largest standing army and the only nuclear arsenal in the region. 
If Israel wants security, it can withdraw from the occupied 
territories and allow the Palestinians real self-determination. 
Furthermore, upon close inspection, the recent incursions which 
Israel justified as attacks on "terrorist infrastructure" were 
really aimed at basic societal infrastructure--from roads to 
aqueducts to houses to records and data. Palestinians are to be 
kept dependent on Israeli goods and jobs.)

And so on.

The good news is not just that MIM and RAIL were attacked by the 
enemy, but many people stepped up to support our work as well. 
MIM and RAIL collected scores of signatures on the divestment 
petition. As one student told the local newspaper after attending 
the event in Santa Barbara: "My fees are supporting the Zionist 
State of Israel. By pressuring the UC to divest from companies 
doing business with Israel, students would make a statement. 
Israel needs to look at its policies and not treat people as 
secondary citizens, as dogs."

A local radio show--"Voices for Global Justice," 6 p.m. Mondays 
on 91.9 in Santa Barbara--sought us out and has already had us on 
the radio several times to talk about the campaign. Groups like 
Student Action Forum on the Middle East at UC Santa Barbara want 
to get involved in the campaign.

Already Student Action Forum on the Middle East, MIM, RAIL and 
concerned individuals were able to mobilize students and faculty 
to condemn and defeat a student government bill which called for 
the UC to ban courses critical of Israel (see story page 6).