In a recent opinion piece written about a Students for Justice in Palestine-organized panel at UCLA (15 January 2014), Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller misleads readers about the nature of the event and comments made by one of the two featured speakers (Mr. Omar Barghouti). Therein, Rabbi Seidler-Feller charges Barghouti with being anti-Semitic and advocating discrimination.
We write today to categorically reject such accusations. They are designed to do nothing but undermine the integrity and transparency with which SJP has conducted itself and its events. In this spirit, we provide here the audio-video recordings of the presentations and discussion that followed, wherein observers will note that the nature of the event as a whole and the comments of the organizers and speakers do not match the unsubstantiated claims made by Rabbi Seidler-Feller. In particular, regarding Rabbi Seidler-Feller's claim that Mr. Barghouti denied Jewish peoplehood and self-determination, a listener will note that in response to a question about that very issue, Mr. Barghouti replied that “as a Palestinian, whether there is a Jewish people that deserves self-determination or not is not up to me to decide, but certainly they have no right to colonize us and consider that self-determination.” Thus, it is clear that Mr. Barghouti did not deny Jewish peoplehood or self-determination; he merely reiterated that Jewish peoplehood and self-determination do not license denying the human rights of other people. It is impossible to characterize his remarks in any other way.
We write today to categorically reject such accusations. They are designed to do nothing but undermine the integrity and transparency with which SJP has conducted itself and its events. In this spirit, we provide here the audio-video recordings of the presentations and discussion that followed, wherein observers will note that the nature of the event as a whole and the comments of the organizers and speakers do not match the unsubstantiated claims made by Rabbi Seidler-Feller. In particular, regarding Rabbi Seidler-Feller's claim that Mr. Barghouti denied Jewish peoplehood and self-determination, a listener will note that in response to a question about that very issue, Mr. Barghouti replied that “as a Palestinian, whether there is a Jewish people that deserves self-determination or not is not up to me to decide, but certainly they have no right to colonize us and consider that self-determination.” Thus, it is clear that Mr. Barghouti did not deny Jewish peoplehood or self-determination; he merely reiterated that Jewish peoplehood and self-determination do not license denying the human rights of other people. It is impossible to characterize his remarks in any other way.
Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA, which is an organization comprised of a diverse array of students (including but not limited to Palestinians, non-Palestinians, Jewish Americans, and Jewish Israelis) stands firm in its opposition to all forms of discrimination and bigotry, whether it manifests itself in the displacement and disenfranchisement of the Palestinian people, anti-Semitism, or any other form of bigotry. We also reaffirm our commitment to equality between all people that live in the area known as historic Palestine, irrespective of whether it is divided into one, two, or more states. Unfortunately, not a single comment by Rabbi Seidler-Feller in his piece, his questions, or his outburst, showed any similar commitment on his part.
We maintain that the issue at hand is that our tuition and university funds are currently invested in several companies that profit from, enable, and thus prolong Israeli policies that systematically displace, discriminate against, and do violence towards the Palestinian people. As members of the UCLA community, we insist that our university discontinue these investments, and put the university's funds in companies that uphold, rather than denigrate, human rights. Such demands are not anti-Semitic, as they are rooted in a fundamental commitment to equality between Jews and non-Jews currently living under Israeli rule or displaced by it. We continue to pursue our anti-racist, anti-oppression, and pro-human rights agenda, and we invite all members of the UCLA community to join us.
We maintain that the issue at hand is that our tuition and university funds are currently invested in several companies that profit from, enable, and thus prolong Israeli policies that systematically displace, discriminate against, and do violence towards the Palestinian people. As members of the UCLA community, we insist that our university discontinue these investments, and put the university's funds in companies that uphold, rather than denigrate, human rights. Such demands are not anti-Semitic, as they are rooted in a fundamental commitment to equality between Jews and non-Jews currently living under Israeli rule or displaced by it. We continue to pursue our anti-racist, anti-oppression, and pro-human rights agenda, and we invite all members of the UCLA community to join us.
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