Take Action to Support Student
Protesters Who Stood Up for Palestine
DROP ALL CHARGES
AGAINST THE IRVINE 11
Speaking Out for Justice Is a Right!

 
Last week, students peacefully protested Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, during a speech at UC Irvine. Eleven students, now known as the "Irvine 11," stood up and spoke out to condemn the Israeli government's representative for his country's inexcusable violence, occupation, war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people. After the protest, one-third of the room walked out in opposition to Oren. 

The Irvine 11 were escorted out of the speech by police and summarily arrested, simply for exercising their right to denounce Israel's crimes. The 11 were cited by the Orange County District Attorney's office for "disturbing the peace" and are being threatened by UC administrators with suspension and even expulsion.

But no pro-Israel students or other members of the crowd were arrested for calling the mostly Arab and Muslim students "apes," "suicide bombers," and other vile, racist epithets. A corporate media firestorm after the protest has framed it as only an issue of "free speech," without taking into account the political nature of the action. Apparently, UC Irvine, the Irvine police and media pundits only tolerate speech that justifies genocide or is full of right-wing hate, and not speech that demands justice for the oppressed.

Oren was invited to speak at UC Irvine by the UCI School of Law and the political science department. His address was part of a public relations mission in response to the United Nations' Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of committing war crimes against Palestinian civilians in its brutal assault on Gaza from December 2008 through January 2009.

TAKE ACTION to make your voice heard! Click here to write a letter to the UCI Chancellor and Dean of Students demanding:

• Drop all charges against the Irvine 11.
• Stop all threats of suspension and expulsion now.

Please also contact the Orange County District Attorney's Office, and direct your message to DA Tony Rackauckas: (714) 834-3600 or (714) 834-3952.

Stand for Justice!

It should be Oren and the Israeli government he represents who are charged with crimes, not the Irvine 11. Israel is guilty of crimes against millions of Palestinians, whose homes have been destroyed, whose land has been confiscated, whose villages have been bombed and demolished, and whose families have been displaced, imprisoned without trial, tortured and killed.

There is no justification for supporting apartheid and policies of genocide, yet this is what UC Irvine's administration did when it invited Oren to speak. UC Irvine -- an institution of higher learning funded by taxpayer dollars -- should be ashamed. UC Irvine should be ashamed for arresting students who were exercising their civil right to free speech, and now threatening to punish them. UC Irvine should be ashamed for its complicity in helping Israel "improve" its public image.

It's no wonder that the UCI law school dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, is now strongly arguing against the 11's free speech rights in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. As the head of UCI's law school, Chemerinsky was the architect of this event. He is covering up the real issue -- his school's part in "legitimizing" Israeli war crimes. This isn't just a matter of free speech; it is a matter of justice and human rights. To stand for justice, you must stand with the Irvine 11.

Join us to demand that all charges be dropped and all threats stop immediately! No punishment for the Irvine 11! Protect our right to speak out! Freedom and justice for Palestine!

TAKE ACTION to make your voice heard! Click here to write a letter to the UCI Chancellor and Dean of Students supporting the Irvine 11. And call the OC District Attorney's Office at (714) 834-3600 or (714) 834-3952.

For more info on how to support the Irvine 11 contact ANSWER at 213-251-1025 or [email protected]. 

Visit the Irvine 11's website, Stand With The Eleven, where you can read more about the 11, watch video of the protest, and sign a petition on their behalf.