Yale SJP activists on the real-life rights violations that inspired their mock eviction notice action

Earlier, I blogged about how Students for Justice in Palestine activists at Yale delivered mock eviction notices to dormitory residents, in an effort to highlight the ongoing home demolitions in Palestine.

Today four SJP activists — including The Electronic Intifada contributor Yaman Salahi write in the Yale Daily News about the real-life violations that inspired their action, responding to criticism from pro-Israel detractors:

Our initiative aimed to highlight that, in 2010, the Israeli government demolished over 100 houses and over 240 commercial and community structures belonging to Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, affecting the lives of over 13,000 people, including nearly 8,000 children, according to the US State Department. We wanted to juxtapose the destruction of Palestinian homes with the construction of illegal Jewish-only settlements to highlight the discriminatory logic that drives Israeli policy.

The mock eviction notices are just the latest creative action taken by campus activists to put the Israeli occupation on students’ radars.

Earlier this month, The Electronic Intifada reported on a campaign to build mock walls highlighting both the US wall along the increasingly militarized border with Mexico, as well as Israel’s wall built illegally in the occupied West Bank.

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Maureen Clare Murphy

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Maureen Clare Murphy is senior editor of The Electronic Intifada.