The following statement of clarification was issued by the Progressive Student Labor Front in the Gaza Strip, in regards to a statement issued on 8 October bearing signatures from Palestinian student organizations in Gaza. The PSLF is listed as the “Progressive Student Work Front” on that statement. The PSLF withdraws its signature to that statement, and is engaged in dialogue with other Palestinian student organizations in regards to this matter. It emphasizes the importance of unity in the movement – which can only be obtained through open political dialogue on the Palestinian national liberation movement on the Palestinian, Arab and international levels. The PSLF’s statement is below:
We, the Progressive Student Labor Front of Gaza, were listed as signatories to a statement, “Palestinian Student Groups in Gaza Respond to Attacks on BDS by ‘NYC SJP’.” At the time, we were unfamiliar with the original article, to which this statement seeks to respond, The BDS Ceiling, by New York City Students for Justice in Palestine. Now, that we have familiarized ourselves with the original article, we repudiate and withdraw our name from the statement posted above that seeks to speak in the name of the Palestinian students of Gaza. We also extend our support to New York City Students for Justice in Palestine and their firm and committed struggle against Zionism and racism and for the liberation of Palestine.
Far from an attack on BDS, NYC SJP’s statement notes that “the BDS movement has had a powerful impact on the israeli economy…We as New York City Students for Justice in Palestine embrace BDS, and consider it one of the most material contributions we can make to the Palestinian struggle….Zionism’s hegemony on campus has eroded since the BDS call was issued in 2005, we should celebrate this fact and continue the work.” NYC SJP’s statement is part of a necessary conversation and debate on the systematic and damaging impact of NGOization on the Palestinian national liberation movement and, most importantly, the solidarity movement. It is also part of needed political discussion about how we can fully assert and struggle for all of our rights and all of our liberation, for Palestine from the river to the sea.
We do not agree with everything NYC SJP included in this statement, or their political positions in all other statements they have written; however, we know that these are political struggles to be taken up and carried out together, in our movement. This is a discussion within the movement, among forces who stand in one camp, confronting Zionism.
We note that NYC SJP ended their statement with a quote from Comrade Leila Khaled, “BDS, of course, on the international level, is very effective. But it doesn’t liberate land.” As Comrade Khaled went on to say, “Now, there’s an experience, and it’s not something theoretical we are speaking about – the BDS during the apartheid era in South Africa, it helped the people who were holding arms. But if they were not holding arms it may have affected them politically, but it would not have liberated, not on the ground.”
BDS is an important part of the international struggle to liberate Palestine; it is one part of our overall strategy of resistance until national liberation. We urge the development and escalation of BDS campaigns at an international level just as we urge the escalation of resistance in all forms and all means here in Palestine to confront the occupier.
We also emphasize the important role of Palestinian communities in exile and diaspora, including Palestinian students in New York and throughout the United States struggling in all forms of student organizations, whose voices are critically needed in shaping the future, strategy and vision of our Palestinian national liberation movement.
We share NYC SJP’s call for “struggle to confront and defeat Zionism.” These strugglers led a march through the streets of New York calling for “Intifada” and the liberation of Palestine this week, as our people in the homeland are marching, resisting, and confronting occupation’s crimes and killing machines, rising up and confronting the US-supported and armed occupation forces killing our youth. We are proud to call them – and all of the students, youth, and progressive forces who raise up the banner of Palestine inside the imperialist United States – our comrades in the struggle for the liberation of Palestine.
Palestinian Student Labor Front – Gaza Strip
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