Contra Costa College held a Palestine “teach-in” Monday, hosted by the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the Middle Eastern North African Club, (MENA) Asian Pacific Islander Student Association with help of the Palestine Youth Movement. The event was intended to help students understand the history of Palestine and increase solidarity with Palestinians.
“Genocide has been on going on for a year. Not only have tens of thousands of people lost their lives, but everyday more horrific stories unfold,” said Sophie, who is one of the founders and the president of the Middle Eastern/North African, also known as the MENA club. “In Gaza, we have seen how people have repeatedly been told to evacuate, forced around back and forth between the north and south, hoping they aren’t the next target.”
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 42,600 people, and wounded 99,800 others since October last year, according to Al Jazeera. That onslaught followed Hamas’ attack on Israel in which almost 1,200 people were killed and 250 kidnapped, per the Associated Press.
“This year in the west bank, over 700 Palestinians have been killed including nearly 200 children, making it the deadliest year,” Sophie cited. “There have been over 1330 demolished structures and 3,349 displaced Palestinians in the west back this year.”
“Everything I described is an example of either ethnic cleansing, occupation, or apartheid. According to the Miriam Webster dictionary, ethnic cleansing is the expulsion, imprisonment, and killing of an ethnic minority,” Sophie continued. “The world is turning a blind eye; we cannot continue to believe the lies told by Israeli controlled western media. We as a society must be able to recognize when news is one-sided.”
Camille Santana, who is a counseling faculty member at Contra Costa College also emphasized the media bias.
“It is a fact that western media, including social media, has been censoring and suppressing free speech about Palestine,” Santana said.
Some of the speakers at the teach-in expressed that they are still unsure on who to vote for because “none of these leaders who are currently in the run for president have touched on how to stop what is happening in Gaza.”
Members from thePalestine Youth Movement talked about the history of Palestine with Mahdi Fariss and Layan. They mentioned how they will mainly focus on the materialist framework on what is happening in Palestine. They touched on many topics such as how Palestine is divided today, how we live on settler colonialism and how it is currently similar to Palestine, how some have demonized Arabs in Palestine as “bloodthirsty criminals.”
The PYM and APISA MEDA and MSA members urged people to help. They recommend donating to Palestinians trying to leave Gaza and or donate to charities, joining an organization for Palestine, buying a keffiyeh – which is the Palestine scarf – or the Palestine flag. They also urged supporters to call local representatives, email them, and educate ourselves and each other on what is currently happening in Gaza. One website that was recommended was called Decolonize Palestine
