Brown University students on hunger strike in support of Palestine
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The main request by the student coalition is the implementation of a divestment resolution by their university.
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Demonstrators rally during the March on Washington for Gaza at Freedom Plaza in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024(AP)
At Brown University in Rhode Island, a coalition of students has gone on an indefinite hunger strike in protest of "Israel’s" genocide in Gaza, calling on the university to cut ties with all companies profiting from the ongoing genocide.
On Friday afternoon, the group released a statement stressing that they would keep up their hunger strike until the university did its part to promote an “immediate and permanent” ceasefire, also demanding that the university implement a divestment resolution at the next meeting of its governing body on February 8 and 9.
"Given the escalating violence in Gaza, this hunger strike emphasizes the urgency of passing a divestment resolution in this meeting rather than delaying the process any further," the students stated.
Brown accused of investment in Israeli arms manufacturing
A report released in 2020 by the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Practices(ACCRIP) is the basis for the student coalition's request regarding resolution. They are urging the university to use the report that called for divestment from companies involved in the Israeli occupation of Palestine as a reference in creating its resolution.
AB Volvo, Airbus, Boeing, DXC, General Dynamics, General Electric, and Motorola were among the companies that the ACCRIP’s report had identified for divestment.
A Palestinian participant in the hunger strike, Nour Abaherah stated "As a Palestinian, I have witnessed colossal losses in Gaza, the West Bank, and around the world; the ongoing impact of this humanitarian crisis has fueled my commitment to justice."
“My family history, intertwined with the struggles of my people and occupied people everywhere, motivates me to stand against the investment and profiting of arms and weapons manufacturing and occupation that perpetuates violence in our world," she added.
The student coalition emphasized that support for divestment "as a material way of supporting a permanent ceasefire and lasting peace in Gaza" was growing on the campus.
The students, who also plan to launch a host of programs including teach-ins, performances, and prayers, added, "This strike is the student body’s response to Brown’s continued inaction in the face of the mounting crisis in Gaza."
Federal employees previously went on a hunger strike too
As a protest to Joe Biden's policy toward the Israeli war on Gaza and the occupation's use of starvation as a war weapon in Gaza, Feds United for Peace, representing employees from twenty-seven US government agencies and departments, planned a hunger strike on January 1, calling it a "day of fasting for Gaza" to draw attention on the ongoing war.
The federal employees previously stated that they would show up to their offices dressed in black or wearing Koufiyyehs or other symbols of Palestinian solidarity.
A federal employee, speaking on behalf of the group, stated that the "Day of Fasting" is a response to the occupation's use of “starvation as a weapon of war by intentionally withholding food from entering Gaza," citing a UN report that up to two million people in Gaza are at risk of famine.
Earlier this month, Feds United for Peace also organized an office walkout in solidarity with Palestinians triggering reactions in Washington, with national security officials from both US parties criticizing their protests as "insubordination".
Mike Johnson, House speaker and Republican, was triggered stating, “They deserve to be fired."
The main goal of the group is to encourage other employees to speak up as many urge for a ceasefire but are afraid of stating it and even discuss any form of politics because doing so might hamper their efforts to work on policy effectively.
