AT LAST, after 11 years, the situation in the student movement where the struggle for freedom and national liberation of the Palestinian people has been completely ignored at a national level looks set to be turned around. With the creation of a new national student organisation formed to raise awareness and solidarity with the Palestinians, the atmosphere looks set to change. Students for Palestine has just completed a tour of 40 colleges and universities around the country giving platforms to two students from Bir Zeit University on the occupied West Bank.
At NUS conference in December Palestiniar rights will be discussed for the first time in 11 years. The main motion for discussion tabled by the NUS executive aims to highlight the military harassment of the five Palestinian universities on the West Bank and Gaza strip by the Israeli authorities and the discrimination and lack of civil rights for Palestinians under Israeli military law. It calls for solidarity initiatives with Palestinians by students in COLEL• Campaign But the motion is confounded by a clause which calls for the recognition of the right to exist of all nations in the area 'including Israel and Palestine' within internationally borders. The problem with this of course is the implication that there actually is a sovereign Palestinian state. Neither does the motion address squarely the racism of the Israeli state as exemplified by the Law of Return which allows any Jewish person to gain citizenship of Israel while denying it to Palestinians, even those born in the area.
Students for Palestine is campaigning for all of these issues to be highlighted. Unlike previous years, when the practices of the Israeli state have not been discussed or only raised in the context of outrage at the banning of a student Jewish society for supporting zionism, this year's debate is on favourable ground for the Palestinian cause. Much support has been generated during the course of Students for Palestine speaking tour. Since the last NUS discussion on Palestine massacres have occurred at Sabra and Shatila in the Lebanon and refugee camps at Bourj al Barajmeh and Beirut have been placed under size.
Solidarity compared to the student union's position of support for British withdrawal from Ireland, for the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa, and for the defence of the revolution in United States aggression. With the formation of Students for Palestine, a network of Palestine solidarity groups has been brought student organisations to raise the issue and build concrete solidarity with the Palestinians.
this recognised secure This NUS silence is incredible, particularly when