To Our Fellow Members and Our Union,
We, the undersigned graduate workers from schools and departments across New York University heed the call of Palestinian trade unions and other members of Palestinian society to boycott, divest from, and sanction the state of Israel. We ask our union and fellow members to stand in solidarity with Palestinian workers. To that end, we call on GSOC-Local 2110 to hold a referendum on the issue of joining the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
We urge the elected representatives of our union to stand alongside oppressed workers in Palestine, as other student and teacher unions from around the world have done in voting to boycott, divest and sanction Israel. We believe that as a union it is our duty to support Palestinians in their struggle for justice against the Israeli occupation that violates their human and civil rights, and systematically exploits their labor. And as teaching assistants, researchers, and student-workers, we must learn and teach others about the pressing global struggles of our time.
Since its creation, the State of Israel has brutally suppressed Palestinian demands for self-determination, and to this day it enforces an apartheid system, illegally privileging one ethnic group over another. In 1948, Zionist militias established a Jewish-only state and made 750,000 indigenous Palestinians refugees in the process.[1] Today, there are some five million Palestinian refugees recognized by UNWRA, many living in refugee camps for over 60 years.[2] Though the rights of Palestinian refugees, including the right of return, have been recognized by international law and stated in UN resolution 194, Israel’s policies consistently violate these rights and refuse to acknowledge them.[3]
The Palestinians who remained in the West Bank and Gaza Strip after this expulsion came under Israeli military occupation in 1967. Since then, Israel has implanted hundreds of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem, in complete violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.[4] This occupation and settlement project has created a racial stratification of Jews and Palestinians living in these territories. Whereas Israeli Jews are governed by civil law, Palestinians are ruled by Israeli military law and are not granted the same civil rights. Furthermore, Israel has constructed a separation wall, built on Palestinian confiscated lands, restricting Palestinian freedom of movement. The International Court of Justice has ruled that this wall is in violation of international law, but the state of Israel has paid no attention.[5]
At the same time, Israel has turned the impoverished and densely-populated Gaza strip into the world’s largest open-air prison and launched repeated military assaults against it.[6] The latest Israeli offensive against Gaza in the summer of 2014 killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, the great majority of them civilians and a quarter of them children.[7]
The Palestinians that remained inside the territory that became Israel in 1948 became Israeli citizens, and today make up 20% of the total Israeli population.[8] Despite their citizenship, Palestinians are subject to over 50 discriminatory laws that restrict their political participation, access to land, education, state budget resources, and criminal procedures.[9]
The Palestinian Civil Society, as well as all major Palestinian trade unions, have issued a call for the citizens of the world to boycott, divest from, and sanction the State of Israel, until it respects the rights of Palestinian refugees, ends the military occupation and dismantles the wall, and recognizes the rights of Palestinian citizens to full equality.
Across the country, and right here at NYU, there are voices speaking out against these injustices and calling for support of the BDS movement.[10] We echo NYU Out of Occupied Palestine’s call for NYU to divest from companies that profit from the violence and oppression of Palestinians and urge our representatives in GSOC-UAW 2110 to amplify this call and stand in solidarity with Palestinian workers by officially endorsing BDS.
We therefore call on GSOC-UAW 2110 to hold a referendum on the issue of joining the global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, until Israel complies with international law and respects the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian citizens of Israel, and all Palestinian refugees and exiles in two ways:
1. Calling on NYU and UAW International to divest their investments, including pension funds, from Israeli state institutions and international companies complicit in severe and ongoing human rights violations as part of the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people.
2. Calling on NYU and the UAW International to decline to conduct business with said institutions and companies.
We urge the elected representatives of our union to stand alongside oppressed workers in Palestine, as other student and teacher unions from around the world have done in voting to boycott, divest and sanction Israel. We believe that as a union it is our duty to support Palestinians in their struggle for justice against the Israeli occupation that violates their human and civil rights, and systematically exploits their labor. And as teaching assistants, researchers, and student-workers, we must learn and teach others about the pressing global struggles of our time.
Since its creation, the State of Israel has brutally suppressed Palestinian demands for self-determination, and to this day it enforces an apartheid system, illegally privileging one ethnic group over another. In 1948, Zionist militias established a Jewish-only state and made 750,000 indigenous Palestinians refugees in the process.[1] Today, there are some five million Palestinian refugees recognized by UNWRA, many living in refugee camps for over 60 years.[2] Though the rights of Palestinian refugees, including the right of return, have been recognized by international law and stated in UN resolution 194, Israel’s policies consistently violate these rights and refuse to acknowledge them.[3]
The Palestinians who remained in the West Bank and Gaza Strip after this expulsion came under Israeli military occupation in 1967. Since then, Israel has implanted hundreds of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem, in complete violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.[4] This occupation and settlement project has created a racial stratification of Jews and Palestinians living in these territories. Whereas Israeli Jews are governed by civil law, Palestinians are ruled by Israeli military law and are not granted the same civil rights. Furthermore, Israel has constructed a separation wall, built on Palestinian confiscated lands, restricting Palestinian freedom of movement. The International Court of Justice has ruled that this wall is in violation of international law, but the state of Israel has paid no attention.[5]
At the same time, Israel has turned the impoverished and densely-populated Gaza strip into the world’s largest open-air prison and launched repeated military assaults against it.[6] The latest Israeli offensive against Gaza in the summer of 2014 killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, the great majority of them civilians and a quarter of them children.[7]
The Palestinians that remained inside the territory that became Israel in 1948 became Israeli citizens, and today make up 20% of the total Israeli population.[8] Despite their citizenship, Palestinians are subject to over 50 discriminatory laws that restrict their political participation, access to land, education, state budget resources, and criminal procedures.[9]
The Palestinian Civil Society, as well as all major Palestinian trade unions, have issued a call for the citizens of the world to boycott, divest from, and sanction the State of Israel, until it respects the rights of Palestinian refugees, ends the military occupation and dismantles the wall, and recognizes the rights of Palestinian citizens to full equality.
Across the country, and right here at NYU, there are voices speaking out against these injustices and calling for support of the BDS movement.[10] We echo NYU Out of Occupied Palestine’s call for NYU to divest from companies that profit from the violence and oppression of Palestinians and urge our representatives in GSOC-UAW 2110 to amplify this call and stand in solidarity with Palestinian workers by officially endorsing BDS.
We therefore call on GSOC-UAW 2110 to hold a referendum on the issue of joining the global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, until Israel complies with international law and respects the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian citizens of Israel, and all Palestinian refugees and exiles in two ways:
1. Calling on NYU and UAW International to divest their investments, including pension funds, from Israeli state institutions and international companies complicit in severe and ongoing human rights violations as part of the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people.
2. Calling on NYU and the UAW International to decline to conduct business with said institutions and companies.
The undersigned,
Maya Wind, Social and Cultural Analysis
Emma Shaw Crane, Social & Cultural Analysis
Jackson Smith, Social and Cultural Analysis
A.J. Bauer, Social & Cultural Analysis
Samuel Markwell, Social and Cultural Analysis
Brian Ray, Social and Cultural Analysis
Kaitlin Noss, Social and Cultural Analysis
Sean Larson, German
Lila Suboh, International Relations
Nantina Vgontzas, Sociology
Faris Giacaman, History and MEIS
Eman Abdelhadi, Sociology
Cassandra Coste, Public Health
Ella Wind, Sociology
Eoghan Quinn, English
David Klassen, History
Ayasha Guerin, SCA
Brian Lewis, GSAS
Lana Povitz, History
Aimin Mitwally, Bioethics
Shafeka Hashash, Politics
Michelle O'Brien, Sociology GSAS
Daniel Aldana Cohen, Sociology
Nada Matta, Sociology
Max Cohen, Social & Cultural Analysis
Moné Makkawi, Near Eastern Studies
Khobaib Osailan, Politics
Ziad Dallal, Comparative Literature
Anem Nimra Shariff, Silver School of Social Work/College of Global Public Health
Isaac Hand, History / MEIS
Beatrice Wayne, History
Christopher Nickell, GSAS Music
Schneur Zalman Newfield, Sociology
Sara Dima Abi Saab, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
Anne Pasek, MCC
Rene Rojas, Sociology
Ayesha Omer, Media, Culture & Communication
Erik Van Deventer, Sociology
Sulafeh Munzir Al Shami, International Relations
Aqsa Khalid, GSAS
Tasneem Tweel, Communicative Sciences and Disorders
Ryvka Barnard, Middle East Studies
Hazem Jamjoum, History / MEIS
Jonah Birch, Sociology
Kelley O'Dell, Near Eastern Studies
Nadeen Shaker, GloJO
Clare Busch, Near East Studies
Jeremy Thomas Wheatley, Near Eastern Studies
Federico Hewson, Steinhardt Art Education
Gordon Beeferman, GSAS Music
Sara Kozameh, History
Shimrit Lee, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
Elizabeth Benninger, Comparative Literature
Jacob Denz, German
Benjamin Fogel, History
Jehad Abusalim, Hebrew and Judaic Studies & History
Robert Bell, History and Middle Eastern Studies
Tess Rankin, Spanish
Sara Duvisac, Sociology
Najwa Doughman, Wagner, Urban planning
Alex Boodrookas, Middle Eastern Studies and History
Darach Miller, Biology
Joshua Fattal, History
Nader Atassi, NEIS
Cos Tollerson, History
Laura Phillips, History
Grace McLaughlin, Performance Studies
Khaled Al-Abbadi, Steinhardt
Adam Spanos, English
William Carrigan, Music Business
Rachel Weber, Steinhardt Administration, Leadership, and Technology
Roslynn Ang, Department of East Asian Studies
Frank Cernik, GSAS
Hiram Carrasquillo, Music Technology
Shan L, Stern
Carlos Moreno, Fine Art
Alia Ayman, Anthropology
Charles Gelman, Comparative Literature
Edward Crowley, Sociology
Tom Ackers, Comparative Literature
suneela mubayi, MEIS
Marie-Christine Hyland, English
Jeff Fuller, French
Daniel Brinkerhoff Young, Philosophy
Maysam Taher, MEIS
Nathaniel Preus, English
Tony Wood, History
Zack Rivers, Comparative Literature
Andrew Ragni, Comparative Literature
Leen Dweik, International Relations
Samantha Jaser, International Education
Kouross Esmaeli, MCC
Christine Martinez, Spanish and Portuguese
Manar Alzraiy, International Relations
Cayetana Adrianzen, History
Matt Shutzer, History
Joan Flores-Villalobos, History
Meghna Chaudhuri, History
Zavier Wingham, Near Eastern Studies
Emilie Connolly, History
Katy Walker, History
Allison Adams, Social and Cultural Analysis
Stephanie Kraver, Near Eastern Studies
Daniel Cumming, History
Bengu Exgi Aydin, Near Eastern Studies
Hollian Wint, History
Devin Thomas, Comparative Literature
Talal Alyan, Public Policy Wagner
Lauren K Wolfe, Comparative Literature
Sunaura Taylor, Social and Cultural Analysis
Emmaia Gelman, Social & Cultural Analysis
Geoffrey Traugh, History
Donasia Tillery, Social and Cultural Analysis
Adaner Usmani, Sociology
Tara Menon, English
Christina Squitieri, English
Ben Stillerman, Psychology
Kilian Walsh, Physics
Geoffrey Ryan, Physics
Mohammadjavad Vakili, Physics
Sebastian Neira, Spanish and Portuguese
Hector Celis, Spanish and Portuguese
Pascual Brodsky, Spanish and Portuguese
Miguel Hernandez, Spanish and Portuguese
Erag Ramizi, Comparative Literature
Jennifer Pineo-Dunn, MEIS
Rory Solomon, MCC
Soumi Sarkar, MCC
Fe Martinez, MCC
Sahil Bhattad, MCC
Matt Cheng, MCC
Shawn Bedassie, MCC
Karla Reyes, MCC
Emily Rogers, Social and Cultural Analysis
Michelle Pfeifer, Social and Cultural Analysis
Jordan Carver, Social and Cultural Analysis
Phil Wang, Social and Cultural Analysis
Fred Guo, Social and Cultural Analysis
Emi Sawada, Social and Cultural Analysis
Ayanna Legros, Social and Cultural Analysis
Nora Hertlein, Social and Cultural Analysis
Huyen Hoang, Social and Cultural Analysis
Jasmyne Pope, Social and Cultural Analysis
Oscar Marquez, Social and Cultural Analysis
Samuel Dinger, Sociology
Rodrigo Miranda Arredondo, Spanish and Portuguese
Ludwig Schmitz, Comparative Literature
Alexander Miller, Comparative Literature
Wendy Lotterman, Comparative Literature
Alejandra Vela, Spanish and Portuguese
Max Besbris, Sociology
Bernardo Barros, Music Dept. GSAS
Amy Obermeyer, Comparative Literature
Paul Heideman, Sociology
William Clark, Comparative Literature
Diana Merkel, Economics
Mary Robinson, Linguistics
Ildi Szabo, Linguistics
Sheng-Fu Wang, Linguistics
Dan Duncan, Linguistics
Natalie Povilonis de Vilchez, Linguistics
Yining Nie, Linguistics
Tammy Kremer, Gallatin
Jennifer Varela, Middle East Studies
Rustin Zarkar, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
Cecilia Corrigan, Comp Lit
Suzy Lee, Sociology
Mark Cohen, Sociology
Angela Arias Zapata, MCC
Jose Soto, Sociology
Andres Soria Ruiz, Philosophy
Annette Martin, Philosophy
Keeyon Ebrahimi, CS
Stefano Biguzzi, Public Administration
Upendra Singh, ME
Aniruddha Rajarshi, Electrical Engineering
Onkar Khanapure, Biotechnology
Anudeep Reddy, Electrical Engineering
Darshana Ahire, Management of Technology
Impana Srikantappa, Management
Ankit Saxena, Management of Technology
Hsien-Jui Chang, Steinhardt
Pavitra Sattanapalle, Management of Technology
Ankit Mehta, Management of Technology
Naveen D'Souza, Civil Engineering
Anand Karuppiah, Civil Engineering
Carl Hewitt, Digital Media Design for Learning
Simon Calle, Steinhardt
Alex Manevitz, History
Rama-naga-praneeth Suri, Computer Engineering
Kai Finlayson, GSAS Music
Jen Kagan, Tisch (ITP)
Camilo Frias, French
Patricio Orellana, Spanish and Portuguese
Maria Sanchez-Reyes, French
Nicholas Duron, English
Mercedes Trigos, English
Robby Koehler, English
Chad Hegelmeyer, English
Dylan Rogers, English
Raniah El-Gendi, Wagner MPA
Grace de la Aguilera, Spanish and Portuguese
Alex Campolo, MCC
Tim Wood, MCC
Shane Brennan, MCC
Cameron Williams, English
Tara Menon, English
Laura Yoder, English
Vijayanka Nair, Anthropology
Katherine Magruder, Food Studies
Troy Vettese, History
Brittany Edmoundson, History
Lauren Lefty, HMSS
Ximena Málaga Sabogal, Anthropology
Louis Romer, Anthropology
Thomas Prang, Anthropology
Francisco Marguch, Spanish and Portuguese
Roslynn Ang, East Asian Studies
Tim Neff, MCC
Colette Perold, MCC
Wendi Muse, History
Ian Merkel, History/French Studies
Emma Young, History
Peter Rich, Sociology
Brandon Masterman, Performance Studies
Taisa Rodrigues, Design for Stage and Film
Tyler Harper, Comparative Literature
Juan Carlos Aguirre, Comparative Literature
J Clegg, Sociology
Jessica Lopez, Anthropology
Andre Machado, Environmental Health
Kirtan Kaur, Environmental Health
Jane Liu, Computer Science
Linda Dolan, Creative Writing
Jimena Cosso, Humanities and Social Sciences in the Professions
Jill Armstrong, International Education
Emily Dunlop, International Education
Claudia Carrera, Music
Jeremy Dolan, Philosophy
Anjali Malhotra, Interdisciplinary Humanities
Selda Altan, History
Marcio Siwi, History
Zee Perry, Philosophy
Ben Holguin, Philosophy
Seana Lymer, Biology
Kyle Blumberg, Philosophy
Dan Hoek, Philosophy
Chris Scambler, Philosophy
Daniel Benson, French
Gunjan Gala, Biology
Doris He, Biology
Samuel Dolbee, History and MEIS
Arianne Urus, History
Barum Park, Sociology
Jo Kelcey, Steinhardt
Jessie Ford, Sociology
Gaurav Vanvari, Computer Engineering
Suhita Goswami, Computer Science
Akshata MS, Industrial
Bhargav Arora, Cyber Security
Heren Wei, FRE
Shahid Amman, EE
Shirley Arava, EE
Vinay Banpel, MOT
Raymond Nguyen, Occupational Therapy
Mallori Seliger, Occupational Therapy
Raisa Velez, Occupational Therapy
John Halushka, Sociology
Rose Ryan Flinn, Philosophy
Adam Lovett, Philosophy
Aravind Vadakkalpradeepkumar, ECE
Vivek Khandelwal, ECE
Ashkan Akhdai, ECE
Anudeep Reddy, ECE
Khadijeh Sheikhan, CSE
Ilaria Parogni, Russian
Joel Mathews, East Asian Studies
Andrew Gorin, English
Emily Bader, Near Eastern Studies
Helen Joo, Psychology
Arden Koehler, Philosophy
Jenny Judge, Philosophy
Alex Winder, History and MEIS
Michael Krimper, Comparative Literature
Aicha Haider, Occupational Therapy
John O'Hara, Antropology
Michael Salgarolo, History
Joshua Atanasio, MSW
Jessica Parker, Silver School
Dannette Tejeda, Silver School
William Lockett, MCC
Caitlin Dowd, Performance Studies
Rachel Russel, Performance Studies
James McMaster, Performance Studies
Chris Saechao, Performance Studies
Gabe Gordon, Arts Politics
Maro Elliot, Performance Studies
Laura Zlatos, Performance Studies
Ignacio de Antonio, Performance Studies
Laura Matthews, Anthropology
Anisha Chadha, Anthropology
Lalit Tanwar, EE
Tianyu Gao, FRE
Muthukumaran, PKCE
Ravi Tej Venkataramu, CS
Shivraj Patil, CS
Anand Vijayaragavan, Construction
Karishma Minsariyakm, Chemical Engineering
Ce Fang, ECE
Siddharth Bisht, ECE
Jai Rathore, Engineering
Pragna Naag, Technology Management and Innovation
Jia Jia Chen, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Jason Zheng, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Xin Sui, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Navneet Jain, Computer Science and Engineering
Ameya Patil, ECE
Wenyu Sheng, FRE
Kongqing Ji, IE
Cheng Li, CS
Alkita Kulkarni, IE
Georgey M. Joseph, Mechanical Engineering
Ada Petiwala, Near East Studies
Di Yao, CSE
Harish Balakrishnan, ECE
Qi Wang, CSE
Fernando Chirigati, CSE
Sunil Nandan, IE
Geoffrey DuVall, DMDL
Rishabh Kalura, CBE
