Israel-hater Gary Spedding has been attacking Israel advocates who take exception to chants of “Intifada, intifada, long live the Intifada!” on the basis that it is condoning the murder of Jews.
And while he acknowledges that the 2nd Intifada did involve the murder of Jews, he rejects the idea that the students chanting this endorse such murder.
Who’s correct – Spedding or the Israel advocates?
As usual (and unlike Spedding), I prefer to have actual proof for positions I advance. In this case, the first step is to identify those chanting “Intifada, intifada, long live the Intifada!”
My suspicion was they were members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and sure enough, this report identifies them as members of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE), which is the SJP chapter at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor.
And what is SJP’s position on Intifada and terrorism?
For a start, National SJP was founded at a conference sponsored by organization intrinsically linked to multiple terror organizations.
Not only that, but their founder, Hatem Bazian, has been captured on film encouraging violence while speaking of “Intifada”:
Then there’s the fact SJP chapters have publicly supported Hamas, calling them “resistance”
while supporting their goal to “dismantle” Israel:
There is also the quoting of murderous terrorists at SJP conferences:
And many of their activists have, in the past, made it clear they condone the murder and maiming of Jews:
I mean, can there be any doubt about their condoning the murder of Jews with calls of “Intifada”?
Of course, they’ll deny it.
But facts are facts.
Update: It is not just SJP, by the way. Another group regularly calling for “Intifada” is Within Our Lifetime. Here is what they say on their website about globalizing the Intifada:
As Palestinians continue to bravely confront ethnic cleansing and genocide, it’s time to globalize the Intifada. This call is rooted in direct action and driven by the belief that all colonized and oppressed people have the right to take back their land, to realize self-determination, and to win their liberation by any means necessary. We build upon the revolutionary spirit and inspiration of Palestinian resistance, in the understanding that our own liberation is either collective or nonexistent, and that it must reflect the interconnectedness of our struggles in our neighborhoods and homelands. That is why we are organizing actions every week as we build towards September 17th, a peak day of action across New York City and beyond.
Globalize the Intifada comes from the urgent need to defend our lands, resist our oppressors, and break free from the genocidal grip of U.S. imperialism and Zionism. Waves of solidarity have swept the world in reaction to the Sheikh Jarrah evictions, the bombardment of Gaza, and the militarist policies of the U.S.-sponsored Zionist regime. These events have united Palestinians across the occupied territories and in exile, and also sparked a new unity against colonial violence in many parts of the world; from Colombia and Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, Bangladesh and the Philippines, to the Bronx and Bay Ridge in New York City. As Palestinians from Gaza and Haifa to Al-Quds and Beita have consolidated their resistance to the Zionist settler-colonial project, we too must amplify the spirit of Palestine Liberation in the belly of the beast by linking arms with all those who are confronting U.S. and Israeli aggression globally.
Globalize the Intifada expands the terrain of struggle by creating new points of leverage for our movements based on the interconnectedness of our struggles. Although these struggles arise from our specific place in the world, the forces we are fighting against–the creditor class, the landlords, the cops, the prison industry, the teargas manufacturers, the multinational corporations, the mining companies, and the military defense complex–are all interconnected parts of the same oppressive system. So we can find points of convergence in our separate struggles when we join the dots between what is happening across the street, or ocean, and what we are doing in our own backyard. With each link, and each mobilization, we are building the collective power and relationality needed to effectively confront the tyranny of the settler state.
How can you amplify the message of Globalize the Intifada? Organize an action in your neighborhood along with other communities who support Palestinian liberation and who want to channel the spirit and example of the Palestinian intifada for their own ends. Make it clear that our mutual liberation is interdependent, and identify common targets that have an active hand in the domination of our peoples. To those who participate in, and profit from, the oppression of people here in the U.S. and around the world–your days of comfort are coming to an end. In the coming weeks, the boroughs of this city will become a theater of operations where we can actualize the interconnectedness of our struggles with a diversity of strategies and tactics. Globalize the Intifada will be an ongoing strike at the heart of empire with Palestine as its compass.
Bay Ridge/Sunset Park, Brooklyn
July 30, 2021
