NEW JERSEY SOLIDARITY WELCOMES VICTORY OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH, LOOKS FORWARD
TO CONFERENCE
July 17, 2003
NEWARK- New Jersey Solidarity, the host organizing group of the Third
North American Conference of the Palestine Solidarity Movement, welcomes
the news of today's victory for freedom of expression, as Governor Jim
McGreevey has recognized New Jersey Solidarity's right to host the
conference at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, where it is a
registered student organization.
New Jersey Solidarity member Charlotte Kates said, "It is about time that
the Governor recognizes that students in the state of New Jersey have the
right to freedom of speech and organization." The governor announced today
following a meeting with Rutgers University President Richard McCormick in
Newark, NJ, that he will respect the University's decision to recognize
the conference as a student free speech issue, stating "This is America.
In America, we have a right to free speech."
Student organizations, including the Islamic Society of Rutgers
University, the Rutgers University Society of Arab Students, the Caellian,
Students for Environmental Awareness, the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin
Sorority and Rutgers Acts for Peace and Justice, had called upon McCormick
and McGreevey to "reject political baiting and attempts at repression of
student organizations and the student community at Rutgers University."
In addition, Palestine solidarity groups from across North America, such
as the Palestine Solidarity Group of Vancouver, Al-Awda: The Palestine
Right to Return Coalition, the University of Massachussetts Palestine
Action Coalition, and Students for Justice in Palestine - Yale University,
had called upon McGreevey to step away from comments critical of the
conference, stating that "the criminalization of student activism cannot
be tolerated."
McGreevey's comments, made at a press appearance in Totowa, NJ, "continued
to perpetuate the practices of stereotyping and criminalization that have
marked the governor's treatment of our movement," said Kates. "The
governor stated that we had been 'cleared' by the office of
counterterrorism of promoting terrorism. We are a student political
organization, targeted for our solidarity with the Palestinian struggle
for national liberation. To connect us to 'terrorism' is absurd. The real
terrorism is taking place with F-16s, Apache helicopters and Caterpillar
bulldozers, perpetrated by the Israeli military upon the Palestinian
people."
New Jersey Solidarity member Noel Winkler stated, "We are relieved to not
have the pressure of a constant free speech battle throughout the
conference preparation period. We are looking forward to organizing,
promoting and further building the conference." The conference, scheduled
for October 10-12 at the Douglass College Center, is expected to draw
hundreds of student and community activists to discuss divestment from the
state of Israel and corporations that do business with it, strategies for
the Palestine solidarity movement, and provide historical and educational
overviews of the Palestinian struggle for national liberation, the right
of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, and the connection
between apartheid South Africa and apartheid Israel.
Winkler continued, "Nonetheless, we are concerned that McGreevey continued
to state that the situation will be 'monitored'. This situation needs no
monitoring. Our conference can and will take place as scheduled, and will
bring our movement together for solidarity and action."