To the Editors:

Students for a Free Palestine welcomes Oberlin’s student body back to campus. We hope you all had wonderful summers!

As we all dive into the new learning and commitments that the school year will bring, SFP would like to extend an invitation to anyone interested in learning more about the struggle for justice in Israel and Palestine to join us at our general interest meeting Sunday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. in Wilder 211.

SFP is a Palestine solidarity group made up of students with a variety of backgrounds and points of view. We strive to work within an anti-racist framework and stand against all forms of bigotry including but not limited to Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

Our work focuses on raising awareness of the oppression of Palestinians under Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies. We recognize that we do not speak for the Palestinian people and instead make every effort to enable Palestinian voices to be widely heard.

Last semester, in an inspiring moment for Oberlin College, our Student Senate voted to endorse an edited version of SFP’s resolution calling for the College to divest from the illegal occupation of Palestine. Specifically, the resolution calls for divestment from SodaStream, Caterpillar, the Hewlett-Packard Company, Group 4 Securicor, El-bit Systems and Veolia, six companies that effectively represent different aspects of the Israeli government’s oppression of the Palestinian people.

SFP was proud to work alongside many individuals and organizations who lent their support to this courageous first step.

This semester, Students for a Free Palestine is excited to move forward with this work, in addition to creating more opportunities for education and collaboration.

We look forward to engaging in critical discussion with our communities, and we hope to see many of you on Sunday and throughout the semester as we seek to deepen Oberlin’s role in working toward justice.

More information can be found at www.oberlin.edu/ stuorg/sfp/.

Contact SFP at sfp.oberlin@ gmail.com.

–Oberlin Students for a Free Palestine