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Open Letter to CSU Chancellor Regarding the CSU-Israel Study Abroad Program

Dear Chancellor Reed;

The CSU system has recently taken steps to reinstate the Israel Study Abroad Program.   It was suspended in 2002 because of costs and because of the U.S. State Department travel warning on travel to Israel.

We strongly urge you not to reinstate the CSU Israel Study Abroad Program.

The signers of this letter, CSU faculty, staff, students, and administrators, represent a wide range of views and political perspectives, but each one of us shares that conclusion along with some or all of the following concerns:

1) The original reasons, from 2002, for suspending the program remain valid, and may, in some respects, be even more compelling.  The CSU is facing unprecedented funding cuts, and programs serving greater numbers of students than this program may be more deserving of the limited available funds.  The State Department travel warning also remains in effect [1].

2) Additional dangers to U.S. citizens, not described in the State Department travel warning, deserve consideration. There have been multiple instances of U.S. citizens, including students, who have been severely injured, and in some cases killed by Israeli military forces. For example, in 2010, Emily Henochowicz, a 21-year-old Jewish American art student, lost an eye when Israeli soldiers shot her in the head with a high velocity tear gas canister. She had joined protests against Israel’s attack on the humanitarian aid flotilla, during which Furkan Dogan, aged 19, another U.S. citizen, was killed by Israeli troops.   Other young Americans killed or injured by Israeli forces include Rachel Corrie, Brian Avery, and Tristan Anderson.

3) If the Israel Study Abroad Program is reinstated, participating CSU students could face discriminatory treatment, based on race and ethnicity.  According to a U.S. State Department document [2]:

4) During its October 2011 meeting, the Academic and Fiscal Affairs Committee of the CSU Academic Council on International Programs made a recommendation as follows [3]:

Reinstating a CSU Study Abroad Program in conjunction with Israeli universities without similar programs in cooperation with Palestinian universities would be one-sided.

5) To restart the CSU International program in Israel at this time would not reflect well on the CSU’s commitment to the universal right to education. Israel has consistently violated its obligation under Article 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which requires the Occupying Power to facilitate the proper functioning of educational institutions in occupied territories. Israel remains the Occupying Power because it retains effective control in all these areas, and exercises this control by making education difficult or impossible for Palestinians in a variety of ways: blockading, besieging and bombing schools and universities; suspending delivery of books and educational supplies; restricting or barring the movement of students, teachers and researchers to their institutions of learning, as well as to travel abroad for educational purposes. Because of these actions, Israel has deprived hundreds of thousands of Palestinians of their right to education.

6) Recognized leaders and prominent intellectuals have compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to Apartheid in South Africa.  Among these are Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Mairead Maguire [4].  John Dugard, a South African professor of international law, has served as Judge ad hoc on the International Court of Justice and as a Special Rapporteur for both the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the International Law Commission.  In his 2007 report to the Human Rights Council, Mr. Dugard described Israel’s “features of colonialism and apartheid.” South Africa’s statutory research agency the Human Sciences Research Council concluded in a 2009 report that, “the State of Israel exercises control in the [Occupied Palestinian Territories] with the purpose of maintaining a system of domination by Jews over Palestinians and that this system constitutes a breach of the prohibition of apartheid.” Richard Falk, emeritus professor of international law at Princeton University and the successor of John Dugard as UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine, has detailed indicators of apartheid in the occupied territories.  Similar Findings were made by Human Rights Watch [5,6].  CSU participation with the government of Israel in the proposed study abroad program could be interpreted as an endorsement of the international crime of apartheid.

Affiliations of the signatories are included for identification purposes only.

CSU Faculty, Staff, and Administrator Endorsements

David Klein, Professor
Department of Mathematics
CSU Northridge

Bernardo Abrego, Professor
Department of Mathematics
CSU Northridge

As`ad AbuKhalil, Professor
Department of Politics
CSU Stanislaus

Roberta Ahlquist, Professor
Secondary Teacher Education
San Jose State University

Kazem Alamdari, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
CSU Northridge

Alexander Alekseenko, Associate Professor
Department of Mathematics
CSU Northridge

Ece Algan, Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Studies
CSU San Bernardino

Karren Baird-Olson, Associate Professor
Department of Sociology
CSU Northridge

Ian Barnard, Professor

CSU Northridge

Mahmood Ibrahim, Professor
Graduate Coordinator and Adviser
Department of History
Cal Poly Pomona

Randa Jarrar, Assistant Professor
Department of English
MFA program in Creative Writing
CSU Fresno

Robert L. Karen, Professor Emeritus
Department of Psychology
San Diego State University

Sang Hea Kil, Assistant Professor
Justice Studies Internship Coordinator
Department of Justice Studies
San José State University

Dennis Kortheuer
History Department
CSU Long Beach

Rose Marie Kuhn, Ph.D.
Professor of French
CSU Fresno

J William Leasure, Professor Emeritus
San Diego State University

Paul Lee, Professor
Department of Physics & Astronomy
CSU Northridge

Jane L. Lehr, Assistant Professor
Ethnic Studies Department
Women’s & Gender Studies Department
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Cecile Leneman, Professor Emerita
Creative Writing
San Diego State University

Ronald Lopez, Assistant Professor
Chicano and Latino Studies
Sonoma State University

Rick Luttmann, Professor
Department of Mathematics
Sonoma State University

Sheena Malhotra, Professor and Chair
Gender and Women’s Studies
CSU Northridge

Afshin Matin-Asgari, Professor
Department of History
CSU Los Angeles

Gina Masequesmay, Professor
Asian American Studies Department
CSU Northridge

Robert McNamara, Professor
Department of Political Science
Sonoma State University

Markar Melkonian, Ph.D.
Department of Philosophy
CSU Northridge

Ahlam Muhtaseb, Associate Professor
Department of Communication Studies
CSU San Bernardino

Jamal Nassar, Dean
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
CSU San Bernardino

Jesús Nieto, Associate Professor
College of Education
San Diego State University

Tae Oh, Professor and Chair
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
CSU Northridge

Joel J. Orth, Ph.D.
Credential and Minor Advisor
History Department
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Sirena Pellarolo, Professor
Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
CSU Northridge

Peter Phillips, Professor
Department of Sociology
Sonoma State University
President, Media Freedom Foundation/Project Censored

Edie Pistolesi, Professor
Department of Art
CSU Northridge

Mike Powelson, Instructor
Department of History
CSU Channel Islands

James Quesada, Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology
San Francisco State University

Radha Ranganathan, Professor
Department of Physics & Astronomy
CSU Northridge

Kasturi Ray, Assistant Professor
Department of Women and Gender Studies
Co-Director, South Asian Studies Program
San Francisco State University

Jerry Rosen, Professor
Department of Mathematics
CSU Northridge

Mary Rosen, Professor
Department of Mathematics
CSU Northridge

Jasamin Rostam-Kolayi, Assistant Professor
Department of History
CSU Fullerton

Ken Sakatani, Professor and Chair
Department of Art
CSU Northridge

Judy D. Saltzman, Professor Emerita
Philosophy Department
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Vida Samiian, Dean
College of Arts and Humanities
CSU Fresno

Elizabeth Say, Dean
College of Humanities
CSU Northridge

Rebecca Say
Administrative Support Assistant II
Department of Mathematics
CSU Northridge

Evalyn F. Segal, Professor Emerita
San Diego State University

Bharath Sethuraman, Professor
Department of Mathematics
CSU Northridge

Ali Shaban, Professor
Electrical Engineering Department
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Kathryn Sorrells, Professor
Department of Communication Studies
CSU Northridge

Jerry Stinner, Dean
College of Science and Mathematics
CSU Northridge

Stella Theodoulou, Dean
College of Social and Bavioral Sciences
CSU Northridge

John Thompson, Professor
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Victor Valle, Professor Emeritus
Ethnic Studies
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Ericka Verba, Associate Professor
History Department
CSU Dominguez Hills

Calvin Wilvert, Professor Emeritus
Department of Social Sciences
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Terry Winant, Associate Professor
Department of Philosophy
CSU Fresno

Erica Wohldmann, Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
CSU Northridge

Nan Towle Yamane, Lecturer and Advisor
Department of History
CSU Northridge

CSU Student Endorsements (Current and Alumni)

Hana Abed, Students for Justice in Palestine, CSU Northridge

Safeh Abed, CSU Northridge

Breanne Acio, CSU Northridge

Malek Al-marayati, President, Muslim Student Association, CSU Northridge

Edy Alvarez, President, CSUN Greens, CSU Northridge

Issa Araj, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Stella Atiya, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 2007

Brian Baker, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 2008

Heather Dean Balsavage , Occupy CSUN, CSU Northridge

Zachariah Barghouti, General Union of Palestine Students, Palestinian Youth Movement, San Francisco State University

Patricia Belt, Occupy CSUN, CSU Northridge

Zahra Billoo, CSU Long Beach, class of 2006

Jason Bornstein, Occupy CSUN, CSU Northridge

Christopher Bowers, President, Campus Allies for Racial Responsibility, Sonoma State University

Rachael Byrne, Department of Women and Gender Studies, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) Campus Network Coordinating Committee, San Francisco State University

Humza Chowdhry, M.S., P.E. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo class of 2006

Nicholas E. Dibs, CSU Long Beach class of 1991, 1992 (Teaching Credential)

Blake Dieda, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 2010

Joseph Glatzer, CSU Northridge, class of 2010

Eugene Hernandez, CSU Northridge, class of 1974

Berl Jay Hubbell, CSU Fresno, class of 1968.

Sana Ibrahim, CSU San Bernardino, class of 2009

Mona Kadah, CSU San Marcos, class of 2004

Temba Kamara, San Francisco State University

Ara Kim, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 2010

Naiyerah Kolkailah, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 2008

Yael Korin, M.S. from CSU Dominguez Hills, class of 1994

Amr Mabrouk, President, Muslim Student Association, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Zaki Mansoory, CSU Northridge

Karim Maraqa, San Diego State University

Omar Masood, Muslim Student Association, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Marcello Mundo Jr, founder of Students for Justice in Palestine at CSU San Marcos

Zuhdi Nadia, Students for Justice in Palestine, CSU Northridge

Sara Nasrallah, President, Students for Justice in Palestine, CSU Northridge

Ankur Patel, Occupy CSUN, CSU Northridge

Sarkis Peha, former president of Students for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 2010

Lee Perkins, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 1994, and retired staff member 2003

Rosalie Platzer, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 2011

Aida Porteneuve, CSULB classes of 1982 and 1990, and retired staff member 1990

Lorain Rihan, Students for Justice in Palestine, San Diego State University

Jasmine Roashan, Students for Justice in Palestine, San Diego State University

Daleen Saah, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (currently Columbia University), class of 2008

Nada Saeed, CSU Fresno

Marlon Stern, CSU Northridge, class of 2009

Nabil Wahbeh, CSU Hayward, MBA class of 1981

Darlene Wallach, CSU Chico, class of 1973

Donna Wallach, CSU Sacramento, class of 1974

Kathleen O’Connor Wang, CSU Fullerton, class of 1975

Clayton Whitt, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, class of 2004

Jeff Woodruff, Occupy CSUN, CSU Northridge

References

[1] Travel Warning,
U.S. Department Of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5511.html

[2] Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Country Specific Information, Travel.State.Gov: A service of the Bureau of Consular Affairs: U.S. Department of State http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1064.html

[3] Item 3 from the minutes of the Academic and Fiscal Affairs Committee, October 20-21, 2011.

[4] See for example:
Jimmy Carter: Israel’s ‘apartheid’ policies worse than South Africa’s, Haaretz, November 12, 2006
http://www.haaretz.com/news/jimmy-carter-israel-s-apartheid-policies-worse-than-south-africa-s-1.206865
Tutu condemns Israeli ‘apartheid’ BBC News, Monday, 29 April, 2002
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1957644.stm
Nelson Mandela’s Memo to Thomas Friedman, March 28, 2001
http://www.keghart.com/Mandela-Palestine
Stand Up to Israeli Apartheid, Letter to President Obama from Mairead Maguire, May 1, 2009
http://www.counterpunch.org/2009/05/01/stand-up-to-israeli-apartheid/

[5] Richard Falk, General Assembly: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, August 30, 2010
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/downloads/other_reports/report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-palestinian-territories-occupied-since-1967.pdf
Human Rights Watch, 2010 Report: Separate and Unequal: Israel’s Discriminatory Treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iopt1210webwcover_0.pdf
Crime of Apartheid, Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_of_apartheid

[6] Richard Falk endorsed and expressed support of this open letter.

Related articles

• California professor under attack for opposing “study in Israel” scheme (alethonews.wordpress.com)
• Only 127 US academics (many retired) sign to oppose study abroad in Israel programs (alethonews.wordpress.com)

January 28, 2012 - Posted by aletho | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism, Timeless or most popular | California State University, CSU, Israel