2005, University of Massachusetts Amherst To the Editors:
The UMass Graduate Employees Union (United Automobile Workers affiliated) is now currently debating and voting on a resolution as to whether their organization should join the “BDS movement,” a campaign to isolate and stigmatize Israel based on a one-sided and radical perspective on the Middle East conflict.
It is disappointing to us as faculty that the University of Massachusetts graduate students are considering this misguided and polarizing action. These resolutions, which blame one side entirely for a complex historical conflict, do not promote peace and dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis. They encourage polarization by stigmatizing any engagement or affiliation with Israel.
We encourage open-minded graduate students at UMass Amherst to reject this measure and to vote “no.” Graduate students, like faculty, administrators or anyone else, certainly have the right to their political opinions and should express them. Like-minded graduate students are free to start “graduate students for Palestine” or “graduate students for Israel” or “graduate students for human rights everywhere” or any other group, just as individual faculty can sign whatever petition or join whatever group they like.