Tag: Palestine

Memorial of Fraidoon Hovaizi

Death reminds us of the path that awaits every one of us; it is the inseparable counterpart of life. Each human being passes through four stages of existence: the fetal realm, earthly life, the world of the grave, and the Resurrection. Dr. Fraidoon Hovaizi—an economist and an Iranian Arab from Khuzestan—played a singular and enduring role in the Muslim community of Charlottesville. He offered valuable counsel and support to Arab, Iranian, and Afghan immigrants alike. He lived with joy, and he departed this world with the same serenity.

The Grave Mistake of an American War on Iran

U.S. involvement in Israel’s illegal war against Iran runs counter to the core slogan of “America First” and marks a shift to “Israel First.” President Trump could repeat the mistakes of Presidents Eisenhower and Bush and go down in history as the first American president to launch a military attack on Iran. This would kill civilians and return many coffins to America. The United States, like Israel, would further its legacy in the Middle East as a symbol of injustice, lawlessness, immorality, and the violation of dignity, ethics, and humanity.

Reflections on Israel’s War Against Iran

Israel’s aggression on Iranian soil must be unequivocally condemned from every perspective. Although Israel has pursued its objectives in the Middle East through military means, backed by highly advanced American and European weaponry, it has failed miserably in the realms of law, morality, and humanity. As a result, Israel is arguably the most hated country in the world. There is no doubt that the aggressor’s hold must be broken and the homeland firmly defended, regarding two principles: prioritizing public consent over governmental demands and respecting national capabilities.

Iran: The Domination of a Minority Over a Diverse Society

The back-breaking U.S. sanctions impact the lower classes far more than the theocratic regime or the IRGC. The major problem in Iran is the domination of an ideological minority over a diverse society. While the regime pours resources into regional ambitions, domestic discontent grows, poverty, repression, and a generation that rejects the politicization of religion. Most Iranians today overwhelmingly prioritize national interests. Palestinians have the right to their land, their country, and their sovereignty. U.S. military aid to Israel has been used to support acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Against Campus Militarization and Repression

We Condemn the Militarization of Campuses and Repression of Students, Faculty, and Staff Demanding an End to the US-Supported Israeli Genocide of Palestinians, “Disclosure and Divestment” from Israel, and “Re-investment” in our communities. We demand that Duke disclose its holdings and divest from all financial and academic projects that support the Zionist settler-colonial project and re-invest in the workers who make our communities places we call home. We demand a commitment to free thinking and dissent on campus and off, and reversal of the increased militarization and securitization of campuses.

Duke University Academics and Staff for Justice in Palestine Stands with Gaza Solidarity Encampments

We insist that universities and colleges allow all community members including students to freely express their ideas and opinions rather than actively repress them; demilitarize our campuses and refrain from militarizing and policing them further; outline a policy for the future protection of speech, including and especially dissent; take seriously campus demands that universities and colleges divest from companies supporting the military-industrial complex and Israeli state violence, genocide, apartheid, and occupation; and
take seriously campus demands that universities and colleges boycott Israeli institutions through the BDS campaign.

Statement on Palestine

The atrocities we have witnessed on and after October 7th did not happen in a vacuum. We condemn the brutal and inhumane attacks against civilian lives and call for an immediate ceasefire. The situation is a crime against humanity and an ethnic cleansing. The Duke University Faculty for Justice stands in solidarity with those fighting for anti-colonial liberation, including the freedom struggle in Palestine. Over two million people, nearly half of whom are children, have been entrapped in an open-air prison, given very little freedom of movement in and out.

Statement on Palestine from North Carolina Academics

We, faculty from 19 colleges and universities across NC, are writing to strongly condemn Israeli attacks on historic Palestine, from the bombing of the Gaza Strip to the forced evictions in East Jerusalem, and to express our solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle for liberation. We view this struggle for liberation as closely entwined with many struggles for racial and Indigenous justice in America, from Ferguson to Standing Rock. We reaffirm our commitment to combating racism in all its forms, including anti-Blackness, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Asian racism.