IN PHOTOS ~~ THE ROAD TO FREEDOM COMES TO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
April 27, 2017 at 09:45 (Apartheid, Associate Post, Boycott Israel, DesertPeace Exclusive, International Solidarity, Israel's Shame, Palestine, Photography)
We must not co-exist but rather co-resist
On the evening of April 24th an auditorium at Barnard College/Columbia University was packed to capacity with students waiting to hear Omar Barghouti, one of the originators of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, speak. Earlier in the day he was given the Gandhi Peace Prize at Yale University and all were aware that the Israeli government had tried to interfere with him taking this trip. There was also interference from the university which was not pleased to have Barghouti at Columbia that evening.
When he entered the room he was given a loud, long and enthusiastic standing ovation. Two other speakers were on the program, Professor Premilla Nadasen, of the Barnard History Department and Rebecca Vilkomerson of Jewish Voice for Peace. Both spoke well, Nadasen described her experiences growing up in an apartheid South Africa which she said was not as bad as the apartheid in Palestine. Vilkomerson discussed the new tactics that Israel was using, “lawfare”, in an attempt to defeat the growing BDS movement. When Barghouti stepped up to the podium there was another lengthy standing ovation. He began by giving the history of the non-violent BDS movement and explained their 3 demands – ending the occupation and the wall, equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel (there are currently 61 laws in Israel that favor Jewish citizens over Palestinian citizens), and the right of return for all Palestinian refugees in the diaspora as guaranteed by the UN. He said that the Nakba had never ended and that there was a continual effort to colonize the minds of the Palestinian people by destroying all hope. But hope was not destroyed. There is still strong resistance and the success of the BDS movement has raised hope even higher. He added that we must not co-exist but rather co-resist. To boycott or not to boycott is a moral choice that we must all make. And when, not if, freedom, justice, and equality exist there the BDS campaign will come to an end. And then there was another lengthy standing ovation for Barghouti and, by extension, for the Palestinian people.
Photos © by Bud Korotzer, Report by Chippy Dee
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ON SUNDAY OMAR BARGHOUTI WAS PRESENTED WITH THE GANDHI PEACE AWARD AT A CEREMONY IN NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
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