Barnard, Columbia & TC Staff "Referendum" in Support of Palestine

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Barnard, Columbia & TC Staff "Referendum" in Support of Palestine

Barnard, CU and TC Administration

We understand the different and material risks that staff take by openly expressing solidarity with Palestine. We know that our employers have demonstrated their willingness and their capacity to retaliate against people for taking a stand against genocide. At the same time, we believe that we must model for each other courage and principled action.

By putting our names down, we convey to our employers and to ourselves the silence they wish to cultivate is neither normal nor acceptable. We encourage everyone who feels safe to do so to include their names; however, initials or pseudonyms will also be accepted.

We will not publish this statement with named signatories until we reach 700 signatures, which we see as an anticipatory counter-measure against retaliation. There is safety in numbers. We also want to offer support to folks who are retaliated against or anticipate retaliation.

Please use a non-University affiliated email address if you wish to be follow-up in any way, whether to get involved or because of concerns about retaliation.

NOTE: We are collecting UNIs for internal verification purposes only. This information will never be made public.

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To Presidents Shafik, Bailey, Rosenbury & the senior leadership of Columbia, Teacher's College, and Barnard:

In the last 6 months, Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza and injured over 73,000, with another 8,000 buried under rubble from buildings destroyed in Israeli bombings.^1,2 1.1 million people are starving as Israel denies aid to survivors and kills aid workers.^3,4 All twelve universities in Gaza have been destroyed or seriously damaged, along with the bombing of homes, hospitals, schools, religious and cultural sites, and infrastructure needed for basic services.⁵Israel has also killed hundreds of people in the West Bank, and placed over 7,000 in administrative detention.⁶

We, the undersigned, are Columbia, Teachers College, and Barnard staff, union and non-union, who condemn the actions of our Universities' administrations in the midst of the ongoing genocidal assault on Palestinians. While staff members do not have an ability to launch a referendum campaign, we join faculty and students on campus as well as workers around the world in collectively affirming the following points:

We recognize and name that Israel, with the support of the U.S., is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people.
We support the call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
We support the Palestinian civil society's call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions of Israel, and in so doing we join students who, through petitions and referendum campaigns, are demanding a complete divestment of Columbia and Barnard resources, financial and otherwise, from Israel.
We reject the use of our labor in the service of normalizing and enforcing support for genocide. Recent policy changes enacted on our respective campuses, have been made with total disregard of input from staff, faculty, and students and are transparently designed to repress and to punish those who demonstrate solidarity with Palestine.
We reject the racist punishment of Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and pro-Palestinian students - suspending student groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace; making no effort to combat rising Islamophobia and prevent or redress discrimination, harassment, and violence directed toward students, including chemical weapons attacks, persistent doxxing, Islamophobic directives to remove hijab at entry points, etc.; and the ongoing and exclusive targeting of Pro-Palestinian students with disciplinary action and suspension. Meanwhile the "Taskforce on Antisemitism" has signaled to Zionist peers, staff, and faculty that they have the University's support.

Like many staff at private institutions, Columbia, Teachers College and Barnard staff are in an especially precarious position as many of us lack union protections. Nevertheless, there is strength in numbers, and as we run the day-to-day operations of the University, we also deserve to have a say in the direction it takes in this moment. We feel there is a moral and historic imperative to speak out about and denounce our institutions' roles in enabling and profiting from occupation and genocide.

Sources cited:

1. "Day 159 Update: 'Israel Kills Dozens, Including Many Children, in Gaza." International Middle East Media Center (March 13, 2024). https://imemc.org/article/day-159-update-israel-kills-dozens-including-many-children-in-gaza/

2. Hussaini, Maha. "War on Gaza: Civilians trapped as Israeli forces besiege al-Shifa Hospital." Middle East Eye (March 19, 2024). https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-civilians-trapped-israeli-forces-besiege-al-shifa-hospital

3. Al Jazeera Staff. "Gaza headed towards famine amid Israeli aid curbs: What to know." Al Jazeera (March 18, 2024). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/18/famine-expected-in-gaza-between-now-and-may-what-to-know

4. Nasser, Tamer. "Aid to Gaza suspended after Israel murders World Central Kitchen workers." Electronic Intifada (April 3, 2024). https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/aid-gaza-suspended-after-israel-murders-world-central-kitchen-workers

5. Golshiri, Ghazal."All 12 universities in Gaza have been the target of Israeli attacks: 'It's a war against education'." Le Monde (March 7, 2024). https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/07/all-12-universities-in-gaza-have-been-the-target-of-israeli-attacks-it-s-a-war-against-education_6592965_4.html#

6. Nashed, Mat. "More than 7,350 West Bank Palestinians arrested by Israel during Gaza War." Al Jazeera (March 22, 2024). https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/3/22/israel-arrested-over-7350-west-bank-palestinians-since-war-on-gaza-began

Petition by

CUBCTC Staff

New York, New York

To: Barnard, CU and TC Administration
From: [Your Name]

In the last 6 months, Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza and injured over 73,000, with another 8,000 buried under rubble from buildings destroyed in Israeli bombings. (1),(2) 1.1 million people are starving as Israel denies aid to survivors.(3),(4) All twelve universities in Gaza have been destroyed or seriously damaged, along with the bombing of homes, hospitals, schools, religious and cultural sites, and infrastructure needed for basic services.(5) Israel has also killed hundreds of people in the West Bank, and placed over 7,000 in administrative detention.(6)

We, the undersigned, are Columbia, Teachers College, and Barnard staff, union and non-union, who condemn the actions of our Universities' administrations in the midst of the ongoing genocidal assault on Palestinians. While staff members do not have an ability to launch a referendum campaign, we join faculty and staff on campus as well as workers around the world in collectively affirming the following points:

1-We recognize and name that Israel, with the support of the U.S., is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people.

2-We support the call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

3-We support the Palestinian civil society's call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions of Israel, and in so doing we join students who, through petitions and referendum campaigns, are demanding a complete divestment of Columbia and Barnard resources, financial and otherwise, from Israel.

4-We reject the use of our labor in the service of normalizing and enforcing support for genocide. Recent policy changes enacted on our respective campuses, have been made with total disregard of input from staff, faculty, and students and are transparently designed to repress and to punish those who demonstrate solidarity with Palestine.

5-We reject the racist punishment of Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and pro-Palestinian students - suspending student groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace; making no effort to combat rising Islamophobia and prevent or redress discrimination, harassment, and violence directed toward students, including chemical weapons attacks, persistent doxxing, Islamophobic directives to remove hijab at entry points, etc.; and the ongoing and exclusive targeting of Pro-Palestinian students with disciplinary action and suspension. All the while, establishing a "Taskforce on Antisemitism" as a signal to Zionists peers, staff, and faculty that they have the universities' support.

Like many staff at private institutions, Columbia, Teachers College and Barnard staff are in an especially precarious position as many of us lack union protections. Nevertheless, there is strength in numbers, and as we run the day-to-day operations of the University, we also deserve to have a say in the direction it takes in this moment. In spite of threats to our job security, we feel there is a moral and historic imperative to speak out about our institutions' role in enabling and profiting from occupation and genocide.

Sources cited:

5.Golshiri, Ghazal."All 12 universities in Gaza have been the target of Israeli attacks: 'It's a war against education'." Le Monde (March 7, 2024). https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/07/all-12-universities-in-gaza-have-been-the-target-of-israeli-attacks-it-s-a-war-against-education_6592965_4.html#

Please use a non-University affiliated email address.