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FSJP statement on charges of November 17th Ruthven protestors

Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) unequivocally condemns the decision by the Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit’s office to pursue what can only be construed as politically-motivated felony charges to intimidate and punish anti-genocide and pro-Palestinian protestors and chill their speech, at the behest of the University of Michigan.

On November 17, 2023, protesters including students, staff, and faculty advocating for the divestment of endowment funds from companies complicit in the genocidal assault on Gaza engaged in a sit-in at the Ruthven Building, where the U-M administration’s offices are located. They held this protest after 42 days of Israeli airstrikes on homes, schools, hospitals, refugee camps and civilian infrastructure in Gaza, which had by then killed almost 16,000 Palestinians.

In response, the University mobilized a battalion of police officers from 10 jurisdictions to suppress them.

In its statement about the charges, the Prosecutor’s office claims that “The building is generally open until 5 PM, but it was locked at the time—and law-enforcement personnel were stationed outside of its doors. A group of protesters, however, gained entry by pushing past officers. Other protesters followed them into the building.”

The statement does not explain why protesters should be denied access to a public building of their own university during normal business hours. Instead, it castigates protestors for their actions, cynically framing them as “resisting/ obstructing/ assaulting a law-enforcement officer,” and bringing the full weight of felony charges against four individuals.

The statement belabors the point that the “First Amendment does not protect assaultive conduct” while neglecting to mention crucial context—namely, that it was the police who brought the violence with them, and the protestors who were at the receiving end of it. As videos from the scene demonstrate, it was the police who used batons, pushed students, body-slammed and ripped off a student’s hijab, and denied student protestors access to medics, water, and toilets.

Despite the clear evidence of police violence, the Prosecutor’s office praises the police for their behavior that day, commending their "professionalism" and supposed ability to "deescalate" the situation "without lodging anyone in jail." This shows the hollowness of Prosecutor Eli Savit's "progressive prosecution” agenda in practice.

The statement’s assertion that “Officers are regularly called upon to ensure the safety of political protests” and “to protect community spaces that may be vulnerable” strains credulity in the face of the violence unleashed by the police on November 17, and again on May 3, 2024, where videos show Michigan State Police officers using pepper spray against protesters and slamming them with bicycles. Whose safety was ensured?

The word “justice” is repeated no fewer than twelve times in the Prosecutor’s statement. Denying “assaultive conduct” charges, we are told, would not be in the interests of justice. But somehow, we are asked to believe that prosecuting those protesting the injustices of summary executions, mass graves, the deliberate targeting, torture and killing of healthcare workers, the maiming and orphaning of Palestinian children, and the destruction of aid trucks and aid workers, is in the interests of justice.

Prosecutor Eli Savit has said repeatedly in policy statements and public speeches that prosecutors have complete discretion on whether to charge, or not, and what charges to bring. And Prosecutors can drop charges.

Protesters should not be politically prosecuted under the pretext of “assaultive conduct” and “unlawful behavior” in a nation built on stolen land.  Lawful (see apartheid, slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation) has never meant moral or just. And it is not the protestors who are guilty of “assaultive conduct.” We demand that the Prosecutor’s office drop these unjust charges, and we call on our community to demand the same.

If you are a U-M faculty, staff, alumni or parent:

FSJP members have written an open letter addressed to the elected Regents, President Ono, and University administrators. 

The letter:

1. Condemns the leadership's approach on the night of May 3rd to repress protesting students using local and state police units.

2. Calls out their ongoing disingenuous attempts to invoke anti-Semitism to repress and demonize the students at the encampment, and even laugh and turn condescending towards the students' attempts to engage with them.

3. Demands the reversal of any bannings from campus buildings, and amnesty for all students, 

4. Demands the leadership to fulfill their political duties and meet with the protesting students and address their demands.

Please read and sign the letter, and share far and wide with U-M faculty, staff, alumni and parents.

FSJP member speech at May Day Rally in the Gaza Encampment

On May 1st, 1886, more than 300,000 workers in 13,000 businesses across the United States walked off their jobs to demand an 8 hour work day. Those workers who participated in that first May Day action here in the U.S. had seen first-hand how Capitalism benefitted only the wealthy, while men, women and children died working 16 hour shifts in unsafe conditions. Children as young as eight, victims of industrial accidents, were among the protestors beaten down by company thugs and police.

138 years later, on this glorious first day of May, 2024, we stand here in solidarity with the men, women, and children of Gaza in their fight for life, dignity and freedom against the oppressive systems of colonialism, imperialism, and war capitalism.

We stand here in solidarity with hundreds of unions and labor organizations in the National Network for Cease-fire (NLNC), including the National Education Association, the unions of nurses, postal workers, electrical workers, flight attendants and the United Auto Workers (UAW).

And we stand here today on the Diag at the University of Michigan in fervent solidarity with these fine student activists who have learned well the lessons of this esteemed institution to be ethical, to question tyranny, to consider themselves inextricably connected in the global struggle for Justice and Collective Liberation.

They know that none of us can be truly free while our brothers and sisters in Gaza and throughout all the lands of historical Palestine, from the River to the Sea are not free.

And so, to the Regents, to President Ono, and to the Administration, we collectively say: Reflect carefully on this moment in history in which we all find ourselves. And heed the invitation of your finest and bravest students to come to the table here at this encampment for Gaza to negotiate in good faith divestment from Israel, as the students have been requesting that you do for six months. Listen to their demands, but also to their stories. March with us on the path toward justice and collective liberation.

Just we do in Palestine with Maqluba, it is time to turn the status quo upside-down!

Thank you!

Statement of solidarity and call to action for the April 15 Strike for Gaza

A coalition of 23+ national Palestinian and Muslim-led organizations across the US have called for a national strike for Gaza. 

The members of UM-FSJP encourage faculty and staff, who can, to support the strike according to their capacity. 

Here are some suggestions for how you may do so, in an increasing order based on your capacity:

If you cannot strike or choose not to strike but wish to show solidarity:

• Add a signature line to your U-M email on April 13-15, on the lines of I stand in support of the National Strike for Gaza, and the divestment of U-M’s endowment, direct and indirect, from any firm that invests in the illegal occupation of Palestine.

If you choose to strike, choose any or all actions based on your capacity:

• Set up an ‘vacation’ auto-reply for your U-M email with a message on the lines of Thank you for your email. I have chosen to take part in the Apr 15 Strike For Gaza. I shall respond to your message after this day. I stand in solidarity with calls to divest the U-M endowment from any firm that invests, directly or indirectly, in the illegal occupation of Palestine.

• Cancel any appointments other than those that have a direct impact on student learning (e.g. classes) and unrelated to Palestinian solidarity.

• Cancel all appointments and classes for the day. 

• For faculty facing repercussions from accusations of ‘jeopardizing the educational mission’, consider providing makeup recorded classes, take-home paper reviews, assignments, etc. If possible for your course, ask them to attend the Flint speaker event on Palestine.

• Whatever action you choose, inform your students about your decision and why you chose to do so.

• Likewise, inform your department/college head about your decision.

Download to print

More info, email templates & fliers: bit.ly/415StrikeToolkit

• Read the primary takeaways in this slideshow.

• Read the full survey report.

• Co-endorse the survey.

Key Findings

1. 90% of respondents express dissatisfaction with the university's communications regarding Gaza, and 89% deem the university's efforts to combat Islamophobia as inadequate  (pp. 3)

2. 50% of the surveyed faculty and staff have contemplated leaving the university due to its treatment or messaging regarding Palestinians (pp. 4)

3. 78% of respondents show demand for a structured U-M Strategy to combat Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian Racism (pp. 5)