Principles of Unity

Our principles of unity clarify the nature of OU FSJP and of our support for the Palestinian people. We see these principles as harmonious with the mission and vision of Ohio University. 

Our university has a proud history of educating students as global citizens and advocating for social and political justice, including student activism for Women’s Rights and Civil Rights and against the Vietnam and Iraq Wars. Our university also divested from South Africa when it was under apartheid. Over the last several years, students have rallied to support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Black Lives Matter, and, recently, Palestine liberation. 

Following in this tradition, we take up the recent call by President Lori Gonzalez in Ohio University’s new dynamic strategy to “address humanity’s most urgent challenges.” We see Israel’s current violence against the people of Palestine as one of the most urgent humanitarian crises of our time. We seek to work alongside our students, colleagues, and fellow citizens to end this crisis and free the Palestinian people.

With this aim, we affirm the following principles of unity:

* We support the call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for the Palestinian people’s right to safety, self-determination, and full legal equality. We also support United Nations Resolutions 194, 242, and 338, which include an end to the state of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and Palestinians’ “right of return” to their native lands.

* We denounce the horrific and ongoing violence enacted by the state of Israel on the Palestinian people, acts which the International Court of Justice is currently considering may amount to a genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention. We also denounce the diplomatic, financial, and military backing of this violence by the United States. 

* We offer education about and advocate for Palestine, both on campuses and in the public sphere, and we support the right to teach and speak openly about Palestine. We deplore the state of Israel’s attack on Palestine’s educational institutions. We believe that education about Palestine and Palestinian rights is necessary to foster responsible global citizens and a more just world.

* We endorse the non-violent call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) to compel the state of Israel to comply with international law and applicable UN resolutions and end its occupation of Palestine. We encourage academic, economic, and cultural boycotts of the state of Israel and Israeli academic institutions. We support BDS initiatives that seek to advance the fundamental rights of Palestinians.

* We support students, student-led initiatives, and student organizations, such as Ohio University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (OU SJP), that advocate for Palestinian rights and liberation. We support the fundamental rights to free speech and peaceful protest. We reject the harassment or punishment of students and citizens who exercise these rights. 

* We are opposed to all forms of racism and discrimination, including anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy. We also oppose all forms of oppression, including genocide, caste hierarchies, and those targeting sexuality, trans and non-binary gender identification, and disabilities of any kind.

* We reject all forms of antisemitism. We also reject attempts to conflate support for Palestine or criticism of the state of Israel with antisemitism and we endorse The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. We follow Jewish educators and organizations, such as Jewish Voices for Peace, who advocate against Israel’s war on Palestinians, support Palestinian rights, and see this position as consistent with the Jewish faith and Jewish values.