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(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)
Democratic socialist State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven (27th Middlesex); Cambridge City Council Member Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler; Somerville City Council Members Willie Burnley, Jr. and JT Scott; and Medford City Council President Zac Bears, who represent almost a quarter of a million residents released the following statement:
We stand in solidarity with the students practicing peaceful protest at Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Emerson, and Northeastern Universities, as well as all others across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the country. We unequivocally condemn the violent repression that the police, university administrators, and elected municipal leaders have exercised toward these students.
Massachusetts, and the Boston area in particular, has long been a cradle of protest and dissent, dating back centuries. These students embrace and honor this history of dissent through their peaceful protests against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the higher education structures that enable it. Their brave and powerful protest represents a united call to not just end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza but for their universities to divest from institutions that profit from this genocide, Israeli apartheid, and occupation. We are firmly opposed to antisemitism, which has no place in this movement to end the genocide and is part of the same machinery of fear and division that these students are organizing against. We are moved by this multiracial, multigenerational, interfaith movement and these encampments demonstrate the power of solidarity against division and hate. The sowing of division and condemnation of peaceful protest has been a longstanding tactic to undermine social justice movements standing on the correct side of history.
As we approach the 54th anniversary of the Kent State University massacre on May 4, it is disturbing to see university administrations and police replicating the violent suppression that led to that tragedy. We must not repeat this history. Massachusetts is home to over 100 institutions of higher learning with nearly half a million students. We call upon these universities to protect these students’ right to assembly, free speech, and to provide amnesty for students by revoking any retaliatory academic discipline. Universities should be bastions of free speech, but instead we clearly see that our constitutional rights are secondary to universities’ collusion with police as a means of maintaining systems of oppression.
It is important in this moment to remember why these students have made the brave decision to protest: the ongoing genocide in Gaza. University administrators, government officials, and corporate media outlets seek to reframe the conversation in this moment around students’ right to protest. We must avoid this trap and remain focused on demanding those in power finally adopt what the majority of Americans support – an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine and end to the Israeli occupation.
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Glad to hear you are “firmly opposed to antisemitism” because it was hard to tell with the false accusations of “genocide” and “apartheid” hurled at Israel, neither of which is true. You know who committed genocide and is publicly committed to continuing it? Hamas. Yet these brave souls do not condemn Hamas or even mention them, do not demand the release of the hostages (going on six months now), and don’t seem to feel the need to speak out against other atrocities, like Russia’s genocidal campaign against Ukraine.
The other word missing here is one that applies to this entire statement: hypocrisy.
In response to Mr. Daniel M Kimmel.
I’m glad to hear that you agree that Russia’s war in Ukraine is in fact an attempt at genocide. However, I am not glad to hear your baseless criticism of the student protestors, or the elected officials supporting them. The student protest movement and the article you are responding to have been quite clear on their objectives, to get transparency in regards to how the university endowment that the students Tuition and labor are supporting is being invested, to divest from and to cut ties with the Military Industrial institutions that are directly supporting the genocide, to divest from and cut ties with Israel and Israeli institutions, and to support the Palestinian people in support of a free Palestine. I notice that you do not argue against these goals, but instead use whataboutisms to criticize the students, i.e. why don’t they criticize Hamas, call for the release of the hostages, or call out Russia for the war in Ukraine. This is a ridiculous obfuscation of the goals of the protest, so let me ask some questions of my own.
1. Do the Universities support Hamas by providing them with research, technology, and legitimization or do they perform those tasks for Israel?
2. Do the universities have any influence on Hamas’s willingness or ability to release hostages, or does their position instead give them some degree of influence over the government of Israel? (While we’re on the subject, how many hostages have been killed by Israeli friendly fire in the form of snipers and wanton bombing? At least 3 confirmed…)
3. As for the Russia argument…come on Daniel be serious. Are we providing bombs and bullets to Ukraine or to Russia? And a follow up question, are we providing bombs and bullets for Hamas or for Israel?
Is it possible that you do not have an argument in response to these goals? Are you simply arguing in bad faith to muddy the public discourse?
The assertion that Israel is not currently committing genocide, or running an apartheid state is demonstrably false, but unlike you I will provide evidence to back up my statement.
1. An apartheid state is one in which a system in which there is legalized racial segregation in which one group is a protected class and the other is deprived of political and civil rights. How else would you describe a system where a curfew exists for Palestinians but not for Israelis? Where a Palestinian must go through checkpoints under the gunsights of Israeli soldiers to travel but Israelis have freedom of movement? One in which a Palestinian family can have their home stolen or outright demolished by a Zionist Settler under the protection of the IDF? One in which the very water that runs below your feet is stolen to prevent you from growing your own food? One in which an entire population is constantly kept at the brink of starvation? I would call that an apartheid, and so do multiple UN Special Rapporteur’s on Palestine, having released reports in 2007, 2014, and twice in 2022 that explicitly call Israels control over the West Bank and the Gaza strip an Apartheid.
2. I believe in my heart of hearts that you cannot honestly believe that what is happening in gaza is not a genocide. How would you describe the sentiment behind this quote from Israeli Minister May Golan: “I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza” Or the fact that the IDF have destroyed every hospital and university in the Gaza Strip? Or that 7 mass graves have been found at those hospitals, containing evidence that the murdered women, children, and men had their hands and feet bound before they were executed?
Over 34,262 people have been murdered in Palestine, and 70% of those people were women and children. To put that into perspective, the population of Somerville in 2022 was 79,762 people. That is equivalent to almost 43% of the population of our city. Are you ok with being complicit in the deaths of that many people? I know the brave student protestors aren’t, and I’m not either