Student arm of the International Solidarity Movement
Supports the dissolution of Israel
The Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM) is the student arm of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). PSM describes itself as "an umbrella group of Palestine-related groups, primarily on campuses, across North America." It was established in February 2002 at a UC Berkeley event co-sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine and the San Francisco chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. This conference resulted in the adoption of a resolution affirming PSM's unreserved support for the Palestinian Intifada: "We, the national student movement for solidarity with Palestine, declare our solidarity with the popular resistance to Israeli occupation, colonization, and apartheid."
PSM members demand that their respective colleges and universities "divest from Israel all financial holdings until Israel ends its system of occupation and apartheid in Palestine." Moreover, the organization calls for "ending U.S. aid to Israel"; supports "the Right of Return of Palestinian refugees"; and endorses "education, public demonstrations and rallies, and non-violent direct action for the purpose of encouraging awareness of Palestine issues and of the above campaigns."
PSM has declined to condemn acts of terrorism against Israelis, stating that "as a solidarity movement, it is not our place to dictate the strategies or tactics adopted by the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation."
An honored guest at PSM's October 2002 conference at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor was former University of South Florida Professor Sami al-Arian, who has acknowledged his intimate ties to the terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Representatives of Al-Awda sold T-shirts bearing the inscription "Intifada! Palestine will be free from the river to the sea." Delegates in attendance chanted "Kill the Jews!"
The October 2003 PSM conference in North Brunswick, New Jersey was hosted by New Jersey Solidarity -- Activists for the Liberation of Palestine, and was supported by Al-Awda and the Islamic Association for Palestine. Resolutions adopted during the conference included reaffirmations of PSM's commitment to the anti-Israel divestment campaign; its support for the Palestinian Right of Return; and its demand for the cessation of "Israeli occupation of … all Arab lands." Refusing to denounce Palestinian terrorism, PSM conference organizer Charlotte Kates stated: "Why is there something particularly horrible about 'suicide bombing' -- except for the extreme dedication conveyed in the resistance fighter's willingness to use his or her own body to fight?"
PSM's November 2003 conference at Ohio State University was hosted by the local Committee for Justice in Palestine, and reaffirmed PSM's equation of Zionism with racism.
"During one of the workshops I attended at the conference, eager students were fed outrageous lies about Israel by ISM representatives, which then tried to convince students to join the ISM, attend a one-week training session in Palestine, and then begin fighting the evil Israelis, by building human walls in front of IDF Bulldozers, interfering at security checkpoints, and tearing down the security wall. Naturally, the bulldozers were not described as targeting terrorists and bomb-making facilities, but the homes of innocent Palestinians to "even out demographics." The security checkpoints were described not as being used to prevent explosives for suicide bombers from getting into Israel, but for the purpose of "humiliating and degrading Palestinians." And the security wall was described not as for keeping out terrorists, but for maintaining "and apartheid state," which, as we were told during the conference's opening lecture, was actually not a fair comparison, as what the Israelis were doing was far worse than the South Africans. One of the recruiters at this session was none other than the co-founder of the ISM, who admitted that the organization worked with Islamic Jihad and Hamas ..."
The Palestine Solidarity Movement has endorsed the "Declaration Regarding Caterpillar Violations of Human Rights," a document that impugns the U.S.-based Caterpillar Corporation for selling its machinery to the Israeli army, which in turn uses that equipment to demolish Palestinian terrorists' homes and bases of operation. This Declaration characterizes the Israeli actions as malicious and unprovoked acts of indiscriminate destruction and, in some cases, murder. The document reads, in part: "The Caterpillar Corporation's machinery is directly implicated in grave abuses of human rights and humanitarian law by the Israeli army ... causing widespread economic hardship and environmental degradation in rural areas of Palestine ... leaving tens of thousands of men, women, and children homeless."
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