Statement on Impact of Grand Jury Subpoenas on Students’ First Amendment Rights

Students for Justice in Palestine National Solidarity Statement on Impact of Grand Jury Subpoenas on Students’ First Amendment Rights December 29, 2010

The federal government stepped up its witch-hunt against antiwar, pro-Palestinian rights and socialist activists last month with a new round of subpoenas that demand testimony before a federal grand jury.

The investigation is apparently focused on groups and individuals that the government appears to suspect of providing "material support" to groups designated as "terrorist" organizations--but activists say that the probe is a fishing expedition with the potential for criminalizing any number of international solidarity campaigns. All the targets of the subpoenas say they will refuse to testify, even though this means they could be incarcerated.

Activists protest Israeli army sergeant's campus propaganda visit

Christopher Clark, The Electronic Intifada, 14 December 2010

On 2 December, the Western Massachusetts Coalition for Palestine organized a protest of an event entitled "Overcoming Terror: A True Story" which took place on the University of Massachusetts campus in Amherst. Israeli army sergeant Kenny Sachs was the guest speaker at the event, an on-call speaker for Israeli propaganda groups Upstart Activist and Divestment Watch, and the event was sponsored by the Student Alliance for Israel (SAFI) and the University of Massachusetts Hillel House. Though the topic of discussion was what happened in Gaza, the event description never named Palestinians. Instead, "terrorists" was the term used to describe those who "attacked" Sergeant Sachs at the Erez checkpoint in northern Gaza. The rest of the description was a muddled account of a shootout between Sachs and aforementioned "terrorists" which resulted in Sachs losing his ability to play basketball after being shot in the leg.

Why we walked out

Ahmad Hasan and Danielle Bäck, The Electronic Intifada, 3 December 2010

Students across the US are protesting a public relations campaign that brings soldiers from the Israeli army to speak on campuses. These tours are an attempt to justify recent war crimes committed by the army and are coordinated by various organizations, the most well-known being the Zionist organization StandWithUs.

The Zionist Organization of America’s Effort to Criminalize Campus Activism through Federal Civil Rights Legislation

Posted on MuzzleWatch on October 29 2010 by Cecilie Surasky under Educational Institutions.  

By Eyal Mazor

Under the leadership of Mort Klein, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is celebrating its success in its efforts to expand federal anti-bullying guidelines stipulated under the US Civil Rights Act of 1964.  So why in the world would Mort Klein and his pro-occupation and pro-settlement ZOA be interested in federal civil rights and anti-bullying policy in the first place? Perhaps a new-found interest in protecting religious practice and reigning in on all instances of discrimination? Of course not. Read on and prepare yourself to be outraged.

Norman Finkelstein in Edmonton

Edmonton


Even more valuable are Finkelstein's responses during the Q&A session following his talk:

American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein

If you haven't seen American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein yet, then you need to right away to get a sense of the Israel propaganda industry and the ways in which it seeks to demonize anyone—especially Jews—who criticize Israeli apartheid and brutality.

Here is the trailer:


Organize viewings of the film on your campus, at your church, in your union hall, in your living room.

—OUSJP