Young Filipinos boycott Israel by joining the Global Student Movement for Palestine
Manila: Student organizers on Philippine campuses are calling for a cultural and academic boycott of Israel and Zionists as they join the global movement to support the Palestinians.
Pro-Palestinian student leaders and activists from various Philippine universities have been mobilizing their peers for months to raise awareness about Israel's war on Gaza and organize demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine.
Filipino youth are drawing attention to the struggle for freedom in Palestine and its parallels with the Philippines' history and experience of occupation and colonialism, as they hope to engage more people and inspire more collective action in their community.
“Filipino youth and students know that the (Palestinians') struggle against settler colonialism is similar to the struggles of colonial history in the Philippines, and we today understand a common struggle with the Palestinians that US imperialism,” said student organizer Rafael Juroy. Is. Gavino told Arab News.
Filipinos suffered more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule, from 1565 to 1898, and nearly five decades of American colonialism from 1898 to 1946. Despite independence, activists say the Philippines is still a “semi-colony” of the United States to this day. Referring to the dependence of this Southeast Asian country on the United States economically and militarily.
Gavino, who attends the Polytechnic State University of the Philippines, is one of the organizers of the PUP Initiative for Palestine. His school is famous for its student activities and is the largest college in the country in terms of population.
“Thousands of PUP students participated virtually, declaring their support for the Palestinians in their struggle against Israel's genocide and apartheid and demanding justice,” he said.
It is important to show solidarity and support for Palestinians as students and especially Filipinos because we cannot stand idly by while thousands of students, children and women are slaughtered right in front of our eyes.
Israeli ground and air strikes have killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza in the past nine months, according to official estimates, although a study published this month in the Lancet journal estimated that the actual death toll could be as high as 186,000.
Israeli forces have also destroyed schools, universities and hospitals throughout the Gaza Strip.
Gavino added: “No educational institution in the country should be in close contact with a government that ignores the future of children by bombing children's schools and universities.”
For the students of Ateneo de Manila University, one of the top colleges in the country, supporting Palestine is very important.
In a statement to Arab News, A4P said: “It is important for us, especially as students, to join the global call for freedom and an immediate end to genocide in pursuit of a just and lasting peace, because this is the world we will inherit.” win”.
The group said it was inspired by the courage and determination of overseas students, who set up encampments at their respective universities and called for disinvestment from “genocidal agents”.
A4P said: “We intend to identify our university links, if any, and demand their immediate end.”
We also call for a cultural and academic boycott of Israeli universities and our Zionist sources, and in return we support and support Palestinian academic and cultural institutions and defend a just and lasting peace with unequivocal support for the cause of national freedom.”
The Ateneo group, which has more than 5,000 followers on Facebook, also condemned the Philippine government for transferring billions of pesos in arms deals to Israeli companies including Elbit Systems, Rafael Advance Defense Systems and Israel Shipyards, as well as the Israeli government. .
“These weapons of destruction are also being used to perpetrate violence against indigenous communities in the Philippines and to inflict severe state repression against its own citizens,” A4P said.
At Far Eastern University in Manila, student leaders founded the Tamaraws Initiative for Palestine in June, which has so far held rallies, fundraisers and training sessions and discussions on campus.
As Filipinos, the terrorism that is happening in Palestine is not new to us because we have also been colonized and threatened by several countries such as Spain, America and Japan. Even now, China is because of their aggressive actions in the (South China Sea).
We are still oppressed by other countries and we face threats at home. Palestine is currently in this situation and as a nation that understands and is currently in this situation, we must stand in solidarity with them.
One of their main focuses is raising awareness in the larger Philippine community about the violence that is happening in Gaza.
“What we hope to achieve with our organization is to expand and achieve more collective action that can amplify the voices of the oppressed,” Elzado said.
“Most importantly, we hope that our calls for Palestinian rights can help support their freedom.”
