Additional Resources - Initially prepared for the February 3rd 2024 Teach-In

Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish:
I have learned and dismantled all the words in order to draw from them a single word: Home.
From "I belong there" in the collection "Fewer Roses".

Vermont Specific Information

Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation.

Vermonters for Justice in Palestine

Where do my tax dollars go? Every year, the U.S. government writes Israel a blank check for at least $3.8 billion to fund Israel's massive violence against the Palestinian people. Since October, Israel has murdered 40,000+ Palestinians in Gaza including 14,000+ children with our tax dollars. This is genocide.
We’re all paying the price of this genocide - with our tax dollars. Enter Vermont or your Town in the search box to find out how much money people spend on Israel, and what could be funded instead.

Zionism

One can summarize "secular" Zionism as follows: God does not exist but he promised the land to us.
From an Interview with Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin 13.08.2004 "I Feel Responsible for the Victims of Zionism"

"Ten Myths about Israel" by Ilan Pappe (2017)

Video Thomas Suárez: Youtube recording of Suárez’ talk: Justifying Slaughter: How the Cult of Messianic Zionism Conquered the West. At UMass-Amherst on April 16, 2024. (A better quality recording of what he presented at UVM).
He addresses the historical roots of Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine, the complicity of Western governments in manufacturing consent to the continuing horrors unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank, and what it will take to fundamentally transform Israel’s current apartheid policies and liberate the Palestinian people.

Here's a transcript of his talk.

Settler Colonialism

Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, tantamount to 'settler-colonialism': UN News. 27 October 2022
 This is a summary of a recent report by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur to the UN General Assembly, on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967.

BDS Movement – Israeli Settler Colonialism and Apartheid This is the official website for the BDS movement. This section of the website provides historical context of settler colonialism in Palestine, from the Ottoman empire to current day. It describes the Isreali apartheid taking place in Gaza, the West Bank, and all occupied Palestinian territories.

Aljazeera: Palestinian life under Israeli occupation: An illustrated guide

Video: Israel Palestine 101: A Very Short Introduction 7-minutes video from Jewish Voice for Peace

Israeli Apartheid

Apartheid-Free Communities

Apartheid Free Communities From the Colaition website.

BDS Movement: Apartheid-Fee Zones

AFSC webinar about Apartheid Free Communities in Oslo, Liege, Barcelona (and not yet in Burlington)
And taking the next step - economic boycott by the Oslo municipality.

Anthony's presentation on Israeli apartheid: From the Teach-In.

- "Amnesty Internationnal: "Crime of Apartheid: The Government of Israel’s System of Oppression Against Palestinians" February 2022.
 This article begins: Amnesty International's new research report, "Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity" shows that Israeli authorities impose a system of domination and oppression against the Palestinian people in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), and against Palestinian refugees. Laws, policies, and institutional practices all work to expel, fragment, and dispossess Palestinians of their land and property, and deprive Palestinians of their human rights. We conclude this treatment amounts to an institutionalized regime of oppression and domination defined as apartheid under international law." Amnesty International makes recommendations to the Government of Israel, and to the United States Government.

Video - “Inside Israeli Apartheid” May 5, 2022. This is a 22 minute video published by Mondoweiss. This video describes the Israeli apartheid in Gaza, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and within the Palestinian communities inside occupied Palestine.

- A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution Human Rights Watch, April 27, 2021.
 This long statement documents at length the worsening discrimination by Israel against Palestinian people, amounting to crimes of Apartheid. It concludes with strong recommendations to Israel, Palestinians, the United States, the International Criminal Court, the United Nations and the international community.

Israel Cannot Rebut Apartheid Vijay Prashad, in Consortium News, June 30, 2023.
 Vijay Prashad, an Indian historian, editor and journalist cites extensive evidence about the intentions of the Israeli government,and summarizes evidence collected by two former senior U.N. officials - Ban Ki-moon and Mary Robinson - who published a scathing report on their findings, after visiting Palestine and Israel in June 2023.

 

BDS

BDS Movement and BDS National Committee (BNC): BDSMovement.net (Page down to see the three major demands)
What to boycott
Campaigns
Academic Boycott
Cultural Boycott
Economic Boycott

"What Palestinians Ask of Us" - The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement." Interview with Omar Barghouti by Sumaya Awad and brian bean.  Haymarket Books, 2020. Text version

From BDSMovement.net People often say that what’s happening in Palestine is difficult to understand or too complicated to take a stand on. In this resource, we show that the situation, in its essence, is actually pretty straightforward.

People ask about BDS - who to Boycott: - Some key links about BDS 'targets':

A "Divest list" from AFSC that includes publicly traded companies that consistently, knowingly, and directly facilitate and enable human rights violations and violations of international law as part of Israel’s prolonged military occupations, apartheid, and genocide.

Boycott Products From Vermonters for Justice in Palestine (VTJP): https://vtjp.org/boycott-products/(page at VTJP.org - organizations that provide up-to-date information about boycotted companies and products)
 US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
 Stolen Beauty (Ahava products)
 The US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

From Common Dreams: Meet the Companies Profiting From Israel's War on Gaza
"As global resistance to war and apartheid grows, it is important that the public know exactly who is making this violence possible."

WhoProfits.org: Who Profits website
Database of Complicit Companies

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC):
The Companies Profiting from Israel’s 2023-2024 Attacks on Gaza:

 

Genocide

Submission to the International Court of Justice by South Africa.
For Proceedings instituted by South Africa against Israel on 29 December 2023. (Long and painfully detailed - 80+ pages)
Will World Court's Ruling in Genocide Case Signal the End of International Law?" A credibility crisis with sharp consequences could result if the court rules in favor of Israel, despite the evidence. Truthout, by Michel Moushabeck, January 22, 2024.
Israel Massacres - Documenting Israeli Atrocities Against Palestinians October 2023 - To? With sections on Genocidal Intent, Civilian Massacres, Assessment of Experts, Palestinian Steadfastness.

From AFSC A selection of incidents relevant to U.S. law and policy that relate to arms transfers, international law, and civilian protection.

Recent Commentaries

From H-PAD recommended reading on Palestine and Israel (October 2023):
 For Jobs, Peace and a Pro-Worker Foreign Policy United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America. September 21 2023
 An Open Letter to Burlington Vermont's Jewish Community. From Ze'eva L. Chasan. December 3rd, 2023
 Why Does The United States Support Israel? A geopolitical analysis with economist Michael Hudson. By Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy.
 Mistrust of West defines Global South attitudes to Palestine. Vijay Prashad The Electronic Intifada, 15 November 2023

Videos
Video  Palestinian Diplomat Hanan Ashrawi: The U.S. Is Israel’s “Partner in Crime” in Deadly Assault on Gaza.  Interview on Democracy Now! October 26, 2023.

Video Vermont voices on the Israel-Hamas war. VtDigger, by David Goodman, November 15, 2023. Including interviews with Rabbi David Edleson of Temple Sinai; Wafic Faour, a Palestinian member of Vermonters for Justice in Palestine; Grace Oedel, a rabbinical student who works with the American Jewish organization IfNotNow; and Faud Al-Amoody, vice president of the Islamic Society of Vermont.

Other Videos  videos, etc (page at VTJP.org)

Antisemitism and Zionism

Is Antisemitism ‘Rampant’ at Harvard? The Closer You Look, the Less You See. Counterpunch Jan 25th, 2024, by Glenn Sacks

This open license must be revoked The open license to weaponize antisemitism against any and all critics of Israel must be revoked. Mondoweiss, by Bassam Haddad and Sinan Antoon, November 28, 2023.

How a Leading Definition of Antisemitism Has Been Weaponized Against Israel's Critics Pro-Israel groups have used the examples attached to the IHRA definition of antisemitism to silence dissent about Israel's attacks. The Nation, by Jonathan Hafetz and Sahar Aziz, December 27, 2023.

Letter from Palestine Legal and Center for Constitutional Rights to Co-Sponsors of Proposed ABA Resolution 514 on Antisemitism , "Re: Opposing Reference to IHRA in Proposed ABA Resolution 514" January 20, 2023
Includes an Appendix: IHRA Definition in Action - Case Examples with 15 cases of harassment of students and professors at US universities.

Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism

"Why Anti-zionism is not Anti-semitism" October 6, 2021. This is a 27 minute video published by The Electronic Intifada. “Nora Barrows-Friedman breaks down how supporters of Zionism are trying to contort and redefine what anti-Semitism is in order to shield Israel from accountability for its crimes against Palestinians.”

Rising Islamophobia in US

“Funeral for slain Palestinian American boy to be held today”“Prosecutors: Alleged Killer of 6-Year-Old Muslim Boy Listened to Far Right Radio” Truthout article published October 17, 2023. “Right-wing figures have spent the last weeks stoking violence against Muslims and Palestinians.”

“CAIR Received 1,283 Complaints Over Past Month, an ‘Unprecedented’ Increase in Complaints of Islamophobia, Anti-Arab Bias” Council on American Islamic Relations press release published November 9, 2023. This article details the rise in islamophobia in the United States of America through documentation of 1,283 complaints in the four weeks between October 7 and November 4, 2023.

“Statement on Shooting of Three Palestinian Students in Vermont” Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee article published November 26, 2023. This article begins “Earlier this morning ADC was aware of the shooting of three Palestinian-American, Arab students in Burlington, VT. After reviewing the initial information provided, we have reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab.”

“Three Palestinian students aged 20 shot in Vermont, US: What to know” Al Jazeera article published November 27, 2023. “According to police the victims were speaking Arabic and two were wearing keffiyehs when attacked in Burlington.”

“US Shooting of 3 Palestinian Men in Vermont a Hate Crime” New Arab article published November 29, 2023. “Vigils for three college students of Palestinian descent who were shot in the US state of Vermont over the weekend prompted calls for authorities to recognize the violence as a hate crime”

“Palestinian-American student shot in Vermont 'hate crime' is paralyzed” New Arab article published December 3, 2023. “The family of one of three of the Palestinians shot in what the police believe to be a hate crime in Vermon have said that he is paralyzed due to the attack.”

“US sales of Palestinian keffiyehs soar, even as wearers are targeted” New Arab article published December 6, 2023. “Unit sales of the Palestinian keffiyeh scarves in the US have risen 75 percent in the 56 days between October 7 and December 2 on Amazon.com compared with the previous 56 days, data has shown.”

“Middle school teacher arrested after allegedly threatening to behead Muslim student who said Israeli flag offended her” CNN article published December 15, 2023. This article begins “A Georgia middle school teacher was arrested last week after multiple witnesses told authorities he threatened to behead a 13-year-old Muslim student who said the Israeli flag hanging in his classroom offended her.”

“CAIR-MI Announces Federal Lawsuit Against Kent County Sheriff’s Office Over Forcible Hijab Removal” Council on American Islamic Relations press release January 3, 2024. “The Michigan chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a local chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced.”

“CAIR-Philadelphia Welcomes Arrest, Murder Charges in Killing of Community Member Outside Upper Darby Mosque” Council for American Islamic Relations press release published on January 3, 2024. In reference to “West Philly man charged with murder for shooting during carjacking outside of Delco mosque” The Philadelphia Inquirer article published January 3, 2023.

“Vandalism of Philadelphia mosque sees calls for hate crime probe” New Arab article published January 4^th 2023. “The entrance walls of Masjid Al-Jamia in West Philadelphia were vandalized last week in the fourth such attack on a mosque in the city in 2023.”

“Imam shot dead in New Jersey, shaking US Muslim community” New Arab article published January 4^th, 2023. “The killing of Imam Hassan Sharif comes amid concern of a spike in antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks throughout the US amid Israel's ongoing war in Gaza.”