As the Israel-Gaza war continues, students defending Palestine have made progress through public protests, including the longest student sit-in in Stanford University history. Although the physical space for the sit-in was cleared last week, they negotiated with the university and achieved several demands, including increased support for Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students.
But they are not the only members of the campus community joining in the public call to action. Stanford University's Faculty of Palestine Justice (FJP), which is made up of faculty and instructors from across the university, is also participating in the discussions.
FJP was founded primarily to “stand in solidarity with students … exercising their right to free speech,” and secondly, “to all members of the Stanford University community with respect to oppressed peoples.” It was founded with the aim of creating a more comprehensive, fact-based education. The history of the Palestinian people is often distorted. ”
They sent a letter to administrators on February 11 in which they criticized the university's threat to call off a sit-in to stop a night of mass demonstrations. FJP urged authorities to promote good faith negotiations between university leadership and sit-in representatives and refrain from taking disciplinary action against participants.
Ultimately, the university reached an agreement with the sit-in delegates on February 12 to extend the grace period until February 16, during which time the university “agreed not to initiate any law enforcement action or Community Standards Office proceedings.” ”.
According to the official website, Stanford University's FJP includes “tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty, staff, and instructors.” FJP founding member and associate professor of religious studies Anna Bigelow said members come from all disciplines, from the School of Humanities to the School of Medicine.
Although Stanford University's FJP chapter was only officially established in November, its roots can be traced back six years. As part of and in conjunction with the US Campaign to Boycott Israel Academic Culture, FJP founding member and comparative literature professor David Palumbo Liu came up with the idea of founding an FJP chapter after noticing a sudden increase in student numbers. . For Justice for Palestine (SJP) branches across the country.
Currently, there are dozens of FJP members at Stanford University, some of whom prefer to remain anonymous. His FJP at Stanford University is part of his larger FJP network on college campuses across the country, including Harvard University, Princeton University, and the University of California, Berkeley.
Stanford FJP hosted its first public event in memory of Gazan scholars, educators, and artists who died in the Israel-Gaza War. Despite the rain, about 60 students and faculty gathered on the White Plaza outdoor stage for the noon event.
Jonathan Rosa, an FJP member and associate professor in the Graduate School of Education, said the event was designed to encourage faculty, students, and community members to “take a serious look at the relationship between the United States and this violence that's happening in Palestine.” He said that he had done so.
Bigelow said the FJP specifically wants to “call attention” to the “destruction of educational resources in Gaza,” specifically referring to the destruction of universities and archaeological sites and the suspension of all school activities due to bombings. said.
“It used to be difficult, but now we literally don't have the infrastructure,” Bigelow said. “And we lost so many people who were raising the next generation to expect a world in which they could grow and succeed, as all Stanford students hope. Ten people, hundreds of people.”
The proceedings culminated in a memorial service in which FJP members read out the names and biographies of 22 scholars and artists who died in Gaza as a result of the conflict. Before the event began, members of the audience were given posters depicting the person's photo and biography. As each name was announced, a member of the audience went up to the stage holding that person's poster.
Bigelow said the demonstration was aimed at identifying and humanizing those who died in the conflict. She said she hopes the visual of a person holding the image of a deceased person is an effective way to symbolize the totality of lives lost.
“They are our colleagues and students. That is our mission,” said Sharika Thiranagama, FJP member and associate professor of anthropology. “The world would be a poorer place without them.”
Bigelow reiterated his call to action in his closing statement, advocating for “life, dignity and liberation.”
“May we continue to stand with our students and with the millions of others who are organizing, boycotting, divesting, refusing, and crying out for an end to this genocide… “May we leave today's gathering knowing that we are not alone. May we continue to walk in love and action,” Bigelow said.
Palumbo Liu said the Feb. 7 event was the first of many. Another event on February 16 featured a reading of Maya Wind's book, “Ivory and Steel Towers: How Israeli Universities Denied Palestinian Freedom.” For its third event on March 1, Stanford FJP invited Gazan poet Yahya Ashour to read aloud from his work.
Palumbo-Liu said the goal is for FJP to become a part of daily life at Stanford University and to work with Stanford departments to offer educational programs about Palestine that are not offered otherwise.
“If we take education seriously here in California and across the country, we have to take it seriously around the world,” Rosa said. “We have to find out what's going on and protect each other.”
