Great job Brooke and Professor Wilcox!

A tenured professor in Ithaca College’s Sociology Department included the above statement in an email he wrote to the Sociology Tenure and Promotion Committee at Ithaca College in 2005. The woman to whom he was referring to is Margo Ramlal-Nankoe, an assistant professor seeking tenure in Ithaca College’s Sociology Department.

This email is about Margo’s struggle for tenure at Ithaca College. Margo’s tenure process became a struggle when a small number of influential faculty and administrators began campaigning against her. Margo became a target of their negative campaign because she (a) spoke out against sexual harassment within her department and (b) challenged students and community members to think critically about US and Israeli policy in the Middle East. The campaign against Margo is about to succeed: Ithaca College’s Board of Trustees has denied Margo tenure and she is scheduled to be fired on May 12th.

If Margo is fired, both Ithaca and Ithaca College will lose a fabulous teacher and citizen. Despite the campaign being waged against her, Margo’s tenure review file is full of glowing letters from her students and colleagues. The Chair of the Sociology Tenure and Promotion Committee summarized the content of the numerous letters of support Margo received from her students: “Most students tell us that working with Dr. Ramlal-Nankoe has transformed their views, their life, and/or their plans for the future…” The letters of support Margo received from her peers also note her excellence. A typical faculty letter states that Margo provides a, “superior example of pedagogy and of the teaching of traditional sociology.”

With glowing reviews from students and peers, we need to ask: “Why is Margo being fired?” On April 16th, at 7:00pm in Autumn Leaves Book Store (on the Commons; Ithaca, New York), Margo and her lawyer will answer this question, documenting the fact that she was fired because of her complaints about harassment and discrimination, and her professional and personal involvement with politically controversial issues. Come to this meeting so that you can determine for yourself whether or not Margo deserves support from the community (Margo is asking for Ithaca College to hold a public tenure review for her). But this is not just about Margo. If we stand by, without question or concern, and allow institutions like Ithaca College to ignore sexual harassment and stifle free speech, the quality and diversity of our workforce and political dialogue will suffer.

If you have questions or are concerned about this injustice, please attend “Ithaca College Injustice: A Tenure Travesty” on April 16th at 7:00pm in Autumn Leaves Bookstore. Also, if you’d like to help advertise for this event or need directions or transportation to the event, please contact us at 312-286-9620 or email EEOCampaign AT gmail DOT com.

Thank you,

The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Campaign)

Contact: Katherine Fuchs, National Organizer, 202-332-0994 (office), 414-324-4228 (mobile), organizer[at]endtheoccupation[dot]org
Contact: Andrew Stachiw, Hampshire College Students for Justice in Palestine, 860-208-1404 (mobile), hampshiresjp[at]gmail[dot]com

Washington, DC (April 2)-The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and allied organizations participating in a national boycott campaign against Motorola welcomed news that Motorola Israel Ltd. has sold its Government Electronics Department, which made several products that enable Israel’s military occupation of and human rights abuses against Palestinians.

The reported sale of the Motorola Israel department occurred just two days after a globally-coordinated day of action to promote campaigns of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel and corporations that profit from its human rights abuses of Palestinians. This day of action and the growing global BDS movement were inspired by the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society for BDS campaigns targeting Israel, similar to campaigns targeting South Africa’s apartheid regime during the 1970s and 1980s.

In Brooklyn, the New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel (NYCBI) launched a city-wide boycott campaign against Motorola, and cell phones stores selling Motorola products were picketed in places such as Cambridge, MA and Santa Clara, CA. The protests called on Motorola and its fully owned subsidiary, Motorola Israel Ltd., to end their sales of bomb fuses, communication devices, and surveillance equipment to the Israeli military. Human rights activists argue that these technologies are used by the Israeli military to violate human rights and international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Human Rights Watch researchers found shrapnel with Motorola serial numbers on it at the site of bomb blasts after Israel’s recent assault on the Gaza Strip, dubbed “Operation Cast Lead.” For additional information about the case against Motorola, click here.

In February, HampshireCollege divested from several companies involved in Israel’s military occupation, including Motorola. Hampshire College Students for Justice in Palestine member Bryan Van Slyke had the following response to Motorola’s recent actions: “Hampshire Students for Justice in Palestine are proud that, following the historic successful divestment campaign from the Israeli occupation at our college, another milestone has now been achieved by the global BDS movement. This proves that activists around the world can and are truly making an impact in the cause for Palestinian self-determination.”

According to Katherine Fuchs, National Organizer for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, “Motorola is a corporation with a history of supplying products to human rights abusing regimes. Consumer pressure forced Motorola to sever its relations with the South African apartheid regime and the military junta in Burma, and we won’t stop until they do the same with Israel. The sale of Moto’s Government Electronics Department is a positive development and a sign that Motorola is being forced to respond to our boycott campaign. However, we will continue to investigate Motorola’s remaining ties with the Israeli military and illegal Israeli settlements; we will continue our campaign until we find that Motorola no longer profits from human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is a national coalition of more than 270 organizations working for a U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine and responsible consumer choices to support human rights, international law, and equality for all in Israel/Palestine. For more information about the US Campaign, please click here.

UPDATE from New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel (NYCBI):
Apr 5, 2009 — Motorola has sold a controversial unit that produced bomb fuses and other equipment for the Israeli military, according to the Israeli financial newspaper Globes. The sale rids Motorola of some activities that had made it the target of a growing boycott in the US and worldwide. No explanation was offered in the media reports for the sale by Motorola Israel – a wholly owned subsidiary of Motorola – of its unit called Government Electronics Department (GED) to the Israeli company Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd.

The sale came just days after a March 30 protest in Brooklyn by The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel (NYCBI) kicking off a city-wide campaign to boycott Motorola over its support for Israeli apartheid. Ryvka Bar Zohar from NYCBI commented, “We are heartened that Motorola has eliminated at least its production of bomb fuses for bombs that Israel dropped on the Palestinian and Lebanese people. But we will continue our campaign to boycott Motorola until it is clear that it has eliminated production and sale of all products used to support Israeli apartheid.”

Human rights advocates in Boston and California also recently protested against Motorola. These campaigns build on the national “Hang Up on Motorola” campaign initiated by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, as well as initiatives by the Presbyterian and Methodist churches. University students have also recently taken up the call to boycott Motorola, achieving a divestment success at Hampshire College. Previously, Motorola had been the target of a successful boycott campaign for its support of the government of apartheid South Africa.

Motorola Israel produced fuses used in cluster, ‘bunker-buster,’ and other bombs. Cluster bombs are specifically condemned by an international consensus of human rights organizations, and banned by many countries. The US government has voiced concern over the use of these bombs and recently took steps towards a complete ban on their use. Human Rights Watch researchers reported that they found Motorola parts at the site of the bombing that began Israel’s latest assault on Gaza that killed around 1400 Palestinians, over 400 of whom were children.

While the sale of GED eliminates Motorola’s production and sale of bomb fuses, it has not yet been verified whether the sale of GED will rid Motorola of all other products that are boycott targets. Motorola Israel acquired a $100 million contract to provide a data encrypted cellular network, “Mountain Rose,” to allow the Israeli army, which consistently and severely violates Palestinian human rights, to communicate securely anywhere they operate. Motorola supplied the Israeli military with the Wide Area Surveillance System (WASS) and other high-tech configurations of radar devices and thermal cameras. These surveillance systems are installed around Israeli settlement/colonies and the apartheid wall, both of which Israel has constructed in the Palestinian West Bank in violation of international law.

On March 30th, NYCBI organized over 50 New Yorkers in a morning protest outside the Motorola office in Brooklyn. Protest chants included: “No More Fuses, No More Bombs, Moto’s Killing Kids and Moms,” and “Motorola You Can’t Hide, You’re Supporting Apartheid.” Signs read “Goodbye Moto! Goodbye Apartheid!,” and “Israeli Apartheid, We Don’t Buy It, Boycott Motorola.” The protest coincided with Palestinians’ annual commemoration of Land Day, and was part of the Global Day of Action for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, that included over 40 events worldwide. An NYCBI online Motorola boycott pledge has very quickly gained over 160 signatories.

In 2005, following thirteen years of fruitless negotiations that were accompanied by continued Israeli human rights abuses, hundreds of Palestinian civil society organizations called on the world to implement campaigns of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli institutions and businesses. Supporters of the growing worldwide BDS movement argue that a moral campaign of non-violent public pressure like that used to topple apartheid in South Africa will pressure Israel to change its treatment of Palestinians. Adalah-NY, a member group in NYCBI, has carried out a highly successful New York campaign to boycott diamond mogul and Israeli settlement-builder Lev Leviev.

Here in Tompkins County, the Ithaca Alliance for Justice in Palestine is considering how best to launch the Motorolla boycott locally. And, we have good reason to do so.

Bil’in is the site of a weekly demonstration against the separation wall. In 2007, video journalist Emad Bornat toured the US and Puerto Rico with Puerto Rican activist Tito Kayak. Emad, who had filmed Tito scaling an Israeli surveillance tower in Bil’in and unfurling a Palestinian flag, visited Ithaca on the tour where he presented his documentary work Bil’in Against the Wall. When he is not documenting the struggle, he supports himself and his family by farming.

Since his return to Bil’in, Emad was injured by a rubber bullet while videotaping the weekly protest against the wall in February of 2008. Then in November of 2008, the brakes and gears of his tractor failed and he collided into the barbed wire fence of the Israel’s occupation wall that cuts his village land in two.  He has now  recovered, but when you think about Emad, as for all Palestinians involved with constant non-violent actions against the wall, it is amazing they keep on with their struggle, despite the risks.  The least we can do is shake off our cynicism and disappointment.

The Motoriolla boycott offers a good way to channel and focus our energies.  You can start now to learn more about the boycott and sign the I won’t buy MOTO! pledge.

Here is the transcript of this segment from Democracy Now:
Israeli Troops Shoot at West Bank Protesters

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Friday at a crowd of Palestinians protesting the construction of the separation wall in the town of Bilin. Reuters video showed an Israeli soldier shooting a Palestinian demonstrator with a rubber-coated bullet at point-blank range, injuring his leg. Palestinian legislator Mustafa Barghouti attended the demonstration and said the new Israeli government will further damage the lives of the Palestinians.

Mustafa Barghouti: “The only thing that the new Israeli government is bringing is more settlement, more land confiscation, more discrimination, more apartheid and more building of this wall that is killing the lives of the Palestinians and destroying the option of peace based on two-state solution.”

Campaign to Boycott Motorola Launched in New York

The company Motorola is a target of a new boycott campaign organized by the group New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel. Organizer Ryvka Bar Zohar accused Motorola of supporting Israel’s military occupation.

Ryvka Bar Zohar: “Motorola produces bomb fuses, communications devices, surveillance technology, that’s used directly by the Israeli military in its ongoing occupation of the Palestinian people.”

This morning the black flags lining the arts quad were taken and made into a Star of David. Anyone wanting to help took the flags and we made a giant peace sign. The police & university are patrolling to make sure it is not removed or vandalized. Check it out as you walk by.