The history of Middle Eastern/Arab student organizing at UCSB has taken many shapes since the 1960's.  This section will expand to include a more detailed history of the formation, social/political engagement, and perspectives of Middle Eastern/Arab student at UCSB.  

Persian Student Group and the Third World Coalition at UCSB co-sponsored an film night and discussion at the Ucen showcasing two documentaries on the history of the Iranian Revolution and the history of the Palestinian conflict. 

UC Santa Barbara professor William Robinson sent an email in his Sociology of Globalization course drawing parallels between Nazi atrocities against the Jews and Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians and using images side by side to highlight the visual similarities.  This e-mail created an organized backlash against Dr. William Robinson by the Anti-Defamation League [ADL] and the Israel Lobby group "Stand With Us" in an attempt to get him fired from his job at UCSB.  Click here to hear Professor Robinson tell Hesham Tillawi of Current Issues TV about his struggles with the Anti-Defamation League.  

Thank you to UC Santa Barbara student Noor Aljawad for providing the following write-up and images of Student For Justice In Palestine projects from 2010-2011.  She also provides helpful context, explaining some of the goals and rationale informing SJP’s programming and actions throughout the years.  

Title: Palestine/Israel: Is A Just Peace Possible?

Location: MultiCultural Center Theater

Content: A presentation by Ali Abunimah, author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, which argues for a one state, as opposed to a two-state, solution. Abunimah is also a Palestinian American journalist and co-founder of Electronic Intifada, a non-profit, independent online publication about issues concerning Palestinian self-determination and the Israeli occupation.

Context: Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) brought this speaker because we wanted him to provide an explanation as to why he believes the one state option is more feasible than the two-state solution that is often advocated for by those supportive of the Israeli occupation. This was my second year as a member of SJP and I was especially motivated to organize this event because I noticed that the speakers brought to campus by UCSB’s Center for Middle East Studies (and by other departments that are not run by students) addressing this issue tended to promote the two-state option as a solution; few provided alternative viewpoints on how Palestinian’s may achieve a dignified life unaffected by Israeli incursions which include, but are not limited to, settlement building, the appropriation of Palestinian resources vis-à-vis the apartheid wall, the demolition of homes, checkpoints and strip-searches. At the event itself, we nearly reached maximum capacity and we had many pro-Israeli students attend to challenge Abunimah. Despite not agreeing with what they had to say, I appreciated their questions because Abunimah was able to promptly explain to them why their approach necessitated the dehumanization of Palestinian life. A reporter from the Daily Nexus attended the event and published comments made by both SJP and American Students for Israel (ASI) members. “Common Face of Colonialization” visual explanation: Zack King, a UCSB student and Santa Barbara local, created this visual to draw parallels between the European theft of lands inhabited by First Nation peoples in the States and those which were (and continue to be) stolen from the indigenous Palestinians by European Zionist settlers. King is an ally of SJP and a member of the Bonfire Collective, which is a local anarchist group active in organizing events such as the Really, Really Free Market that is meant to encourage people to consider the possibilities afforded by gift economies.

December 10, 2010

This display was a part of SJP’s Gaza Awareness Week, which took place in December in order to commemorate the lives lost as a result of Operation Cast Lead. Operation Cast Lead was the Israeli military assault on Gaza that began on December 27, 2008 and ended on January 18, 2009. There were 1,400 stakes hammered into the ground in front of Storke Tower painted red, black, green, and white; they represented the estimated number of Palestinians who died during this 23-day attack. The 1,400 stakes were juxtaposed to 13 stakes painted blue and white; these 13 represented the death of Israeli soldiers, four of which were killed by friendly fire. This was the second year that SJP put up this display and both years it was vandalized. The year this photo was taken, the stakes had been uprooted and thrown into the trash. Unrelenting SJP members recovered the stakes and once again set up the display.

Spring 2010

This is a picture of SJP members Miriam Zouzounis, Giselle Garcia, and Noor Aljawad. We were taking materials used for the annual Palestinian Awareness Week, held every spring quarter, back to the Middle Eastern Resource Center (MERC). We had set up a tent in the Arbor featuring Palestinian foods and traditional clothing, as well as pictures of Palestine taken by Miriam Zouzounis, who visited Gaza while she was studying abroad in Egypt. We encountered a lot of opposition by Zionist students, but, overall, the event was very positive in the sense that it had informed a lot of people. What attracted the most attention was the performance by an LA-based hip hop artist group, the Aesthetics Crew, whose debut song goes, “Gaza, Oakland, LA, same shit!”

Fall 2010

This picture is of SJP’s participation in the Isla Vista fair that takes place annually at the beginning of the school year. SJP members brainstormed on ways to grab the community’s attention in order to effectively advocate for Palestinian human rights. Jaret Ornelas, an active member of SJP, suggested that we set up wooden boards and provided spray cans so that passer-bys could write messages on them. The boards were meant to represent the apartheid wall constructed by the Israeli government on Palestinian territory in the West Bank. We provided stencils, including one that read, “No borders, no nations, no police stations,” which can be seen in this picture. When a passer-by would approach the boards out of curiosity, we offered them pamphlets that provided information on the infringement of Palestinian rights. We then explained the symbolism of the boards and offered them cans to write either a response to the information we had just provided them or whatever came to mind; we were not strict in policing what was or was not written on the board. By the end of the day, several messages overlapped one another and others were modified or added to.