Meeting and events today and updates.

The last meeting before the easter break will take place today at 2pm (not 4pm as previously). Please come along to figure out how we can make use of this time. Meet Falmer common room.

Where we're at at the moment:

Boycott and divestment working group - have a list of stocks and shares worth £4m of uni investment. We are also liaising with Corporate Watch. Easter will be a time for research. The movement to put traffic light stickers on all produce is currently going through.

Events - Big event highlighting ethical investment issues being planned for next year. There is also talk of a video-link Q&A with a very prominent anti-war academic. Lots of work required to organise - please come and get involved.

Surplus resources - Efforts are currently being made to co-ordinate things on the national level. Help welcomed.

National liaison - We are currently involved in helping to co-ordinate a national student congress on the 18th of April. Open organisation: please email sussexnational@gmail.com to help or add your email to the national list at studentcoordination@gmail.com.

Events today:

Prominent Israeli Socialist Eric Lee - Arts A103 6pm, Wednesday 18th.
Eric Lee will be talking on socialism in Israel. As a controversial figure with a background leading from trade unions and the mayor's office in New York to being a socialist author, journalist and lecturer in Israel, he'll definitely have an interesting perspective on issues in the middle east. Includes time for questions and answers.

Tonight's student night at the Cowley club will again be raising money for the Brighton-Tubas twinning project (who last week brought a women's delegation over from Al Quds university). Cheap organic beer and vegan food and open mic. Come down and celebrate the end of term!

Support to Sheffield:

The management of Sheffield uni have now locked the occupied building so that no one can enter and have threatened the occupation with a court injunction. They have also disrupted students by relocating lectures despite the occupation having made it clear that they wish lectures to continue as normal in the occupied space.

Please sign the petition here:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sheffield_occupation/index.html

And copy and paste the following text (feel free to amend or add your own) to Vice Chancellor Keith Burnett at vc@sheffield.ac.uk CCing in Rowann Sharples, his personal secretary, at r.sharples@sheffield.ac.uk, and the occupation at sheffieldoccupation@googlemail.com.

Dear Professor Burnett -

We believe that your position of refusal to engage with the occupiers of the Hicks lecture theatres is entirely unreasonable. The occupation began as a response to your failure to respond to earlier correspondence well before the occupation took place; the onus was on you to continue negotiations and discussions in this manner, and your refusal to do so is what led the occupiers to conclude that direct action was the only option left to them.

Furthermore, the Student Union's statement of condemnation - upon which you base your refusal to negotiate - was predicated entirely on a falsehood. The occupiers have consistently express their willingness for lectures to take place in the occupied space, and indeed have taken it upon themselves to facilitate this despite University management's attempt to unilaterally relocate lectures. The vast majority of students and lecturers who have visited the occupied space have found it a welcoming, non-intimidating environment that would be in no way disruptive to learning and education.

An emergency meeting of the Student Union Executive Officers (which only reached its decision by a majority of 5-3) cannot possibly be held to be meaningfully representative of the wide layers of deeply felt student opinion around this issue. We call on you and other members of the University's senior management to immediately retract your position of refusal to negotiate with the occupiers and enter into open discussions with them.

Additionally we would like to condemn the heavy handed and overblown reaction by the management to the occupation with regard to threats received today in relation to legal action against participants.

Yours -

[Insert your name and contact details here]

You can also ring Rowann Sharples on (0114) 222 1006.

Updates and events

What we have been doing:

On Thursday, a member of the boycott and divestment group spoke as part of a panel at the War on Want talk 'Banking on Bloodshed' updating us on progress relating to the occupation demands.

Last Friday we were honoured to have a talk from 19-year old Israeli student and war-refuser Tamar Katz, who was jailed several times for defying military conscription. She spoke of the incredible difficulties of political dissent including widespread social stigma, estrangement from family and friends, lack of organisational support due to the illegality of political criticism and media complicity in maintaining the occupation.

On Sunday a group of Sussex students blockaded the main depot of Carmel-Agrexco, which imports agricultural produce from illegal settlements in the West Bank to supply supermarkets across the UK. Several people blockaded the gates, locking themselves to ladders, and one person superglued themselves to the tarmac. Several trucks were unable to deliver produce to the depot, and no arrests were made. This direct action was carried out in solidarity with the students of Jayyous who were arrested when the Israeli military stormed their village on 18th February and who have called for a boycott. Since then, the village has been invaded two further times, with a curfew imposed on the town and residents also threatened with home demolitions.

Also on Sunday a representative from the occupation spoke on a panel at the Oxford Radical Forum with students from other occupations about the national wave and the potential for a new radical student movement. A national congress is planned for April 18th. To get involved in organising this event, contact the national liaison working group at sussexnational@gmail.com, and add your name to the organising list at studentcoordination@gmail.com.

We have also written an update for our fellow students on the progress that has been made on the implementation of our demands so far, which you can find here, or pinned to the door of Arts A2.

Don't forget to vote in the referendum to get rid of the military from our campus! Voting tomorrow and Thursday in the library.

What we have planned:

Tomorrow (Weds) there will be a party at the Cowley Club to raise money for the Brighton-Tubas twinning group. There will be cheap vegan food and drink from 7pm and an open mic...

This Thursday, the Women’s Delegation from the West Bank of Palestine will be visiting Sussex University, to relate their experiences as women living in the occupied territories. The speakers are Sirien, a student from Al-Quds University, who has been closely involved in the twinning project with Sussex; and Ghada, a member of the Patients and Friends Society in Jenin. Entrance is free and there will be time for questions and answers. (Pevensey 2, Rm 5A17, 4-5:30pm).

Meetings this week:

Weds 3pm - Boycott and Divestment group meeting. Meet Falmer common room, or library square if the weather is nice.

Weds 4pm - General organisational meeting, meet Falmer common room.

Sussex Students Blockade Carmel Agrexco!

Press Release: Carmel Blockaded in Jayyous Solidarity Action

At around 6:30 this morning a group of students from Brighton locked themselves to Carmel Agrexco, the Israeli state owned export company, toprotest against their complicity in the illegal annexation of the WestBank and the repression of students in the Palestinian village of Jayyous.Carmel Agrexco grows and imports agricultural produce (including fruit,vegetables and flowers) from illegal settlements in the West Bank whichare then sold in supermarkets such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco andmany others. As such, companies such as Carmel Agrexco are responsible forthe systematic annexation of Palestinian land.In these settlements workers, including children, are known to work inslave-labour conditions, with low wages, inadequate access to food andwater, and no contract. Furthermore, the settlements have not only stolenland, but use up much needed agricultural resources such as water.This action has been done in response to a callout for boycott, divestmentand sanctions against Israel, after the events of 18th February andonwards in Jayyous. On this day, occupying Israeli Defence Force soldiersinvaded the town of Jayyous, where regular protests have been held againstthe building of the apartheid wall, which will annex 5,585 dunums (558.5hectares) of land from the town, much of which is to be used for theexpansion of the illegal settlement, Zufim.75 soldiers and 25 army jeeps invaded the town in the early hours of themorning, conducting house to house raids: throwing sound-bombs at housesbefore forcing families out at gunpoint and ransacking their houses. Atleast 75 people were arrested, the vast majority students, including theentire student Stop the Wall Committee. Those arrested were taken to aschool that the army had turned into a detention centre. Most of thepeople were blindfolded and handcuffed and all were forced to sit instress positions. They were not allowed to eat, drink or talk to eachother as they were taken in for interrogation one by one. They were heldfor as much as 19 hours and 15 young men were taken to Huwarra militarybase on unknown charges. Bulldozers were then brought in which createdblockades at the entrances to the town and the population were put undercurfew for 18 hours.Since then, the village has been invaded two further times, on the secondtime a half-day curfew was imposed on the town. Residents have also beenthreatened with home demolitions.James Robinson, one of the protestors, said “the situation in Jayyous isdemonstrative of the systematic human rights abuses perpetrated againstthe Palestinians for the expansion of the settlements which Carmel Agrexcosupports and profits from”.Press Contact: Katie Phillips 07774083705 studentboycott@hotmail.com

Week of Action! (and of Meetings).

This week is the week of action for the arrested Jayyous students. We are having stalls everyday from 12 in library square (if the weather holds) and under the cover of Falmer House if not. Feel free to come down and help.


The general organisational meeting will be back to the usual time of 4pm on Wednesday this week after last week's meetings were disrupted by the Free Education demo. We've got lots to catch up on and make sure that we keep the ball rolling so please come along... meet Falmer common room.


Just before that at 3pm will be the boycott and divestment working group meeting in Falmer Common Room (or outside in the concrete square if the weather is nice). Some excellent research has been done and it is now broadening to ethical investment more generally (which everyone seems to agree is a natural progression). Come down to find out what we are up to ... there's a few plans afoot, although progress is quite slow. We are assessing the companies which the university invests in and assessing how best to pressure the uni administration to form an ethical investment policy.

This Friday lunchtime there will be a talk with Tamar Katz, a 19 year old Israeli student who was jailed for 51 days last year for refusing to serve in the army. 12-2pm Arts A5. See http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=54315469230 for details.


Huge solidarity to Manchester uni, who after nearly a month of creative and energetic occupation which saw them take several different rooms on their campus and despicable threats and intimidatory strategies from their VC are still going stronger than ever! They say:

We in Manchester have been in occupation for almost four weeks now, yet the University has so far refused to negotiate with us. The University still invests in the arms trade, leading to some students having to disrupt a DSTL stall (an agency of the MoD) at an official graduate recruitment fair.

The Vice Chancellor Alan Gilbert has threatened expulsion for students who are involved.

Our demands are in line with current Union policy having received an overwhelming majority at an Emergency General Meeting, attended by over 1,100 students.

They have called for a national demonstration of support at 2pm this Wednesday 4th March (see http://manunioccupation.wordpress.com/). This is a critical time for the occupation: please support them by sending an email to VC Allan Gilbert demanding that he negotiate with occupiers: president@manchester.ac.uk.

Indymedia are putting together a feature page and article on the occupations and have put a call-out for occupation-related writings that people have done. Post your article to the Indymedia newswire (make sure you tick the'University occupations for Gaza' action topic when you post it) and then send an alert to baylott@riseup.net so that it can be linked into the main article. See the current occupations news page here: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/actions/2009/occupations/.

Call to Action: solidarity with arrested Jayyous students

Please circulate widely.

Week of action in solidarity with the arrested students of Jayyous
2nd- 9th March

On February 18th 2009 in the early hours of the morning, Occupation forces rampaged through the West Bank village of Jayyous conducting violent house to house raids and carrying out mass arrests totalling over 50 students and nearly the entire youth committee of Stop the Wall Campaign.

For months the youth movement in Jayyous had made it one of the most active villages in the West Bank , embodying a strained resistance against occupation and the wall which will carve through village land destroying hundreds of olive trees and cutting the village off from many of its primary water supplies.

The students of Jayyous have called for IMMEDIATE BOYCOTT AND DIVESTMENT action in response to the incursion.

The students of the University of Sussex stand in solidarity with those in Jayyous and appeal to the wider student body to join us next week in a week of action against Israel ’s attacks on the basic human rights of those students in Jayyouss who dared to express dissent.

It is crucial that we recognise the severity of this event and draw wider attention to it as an example of the crimes on humanity that Palestinians experience every day.

In solidarity,

Sussex .

Two new occupations today! And one meeting...

We are still paying attention and we are still angry! Today saw two new occupations at St. Andrews University and the University of East London.

At St. Andrews, 50 people occupied the Lower College Hall in protest at the University's complicity in the Israeli occupation after having presented the principal with a petition signed by over 30 academics and 700 students. They say:

"Now is the time for students, staff and management to show that we do not lack the courage to condemn crimes against humanity, nor the generosity to help those who are in such desperate need."

Please send messages of support to: campaign@scottishpsc.org.uk

Our congratulations and solidarity to both.


Another productive general meeting today with feedback from the various working groups on progress with our demands among other things and lots of plans and ideas for more events and initiatives including some exciting things going on in library square and a new website in the offing. We've tried to ignore our deadlines and obligations, but they still won't go away: we still very much need people to volunteer for tasks and get involved. The Events and Education and Scholarships and Supplies working groups could both do with some extra help at the moment. Please email the relevant working group contacts (previous post) to find out about things that you can do or scheduled meetings.


Coming up next week are a couple of events:

On Monday 23^rd 5:00pm in Mandela Hall there will be a Stop the War event with speeches from Lindsey German, convenor of Stop the War Coalition, and Rose Gentle, Military Families Against War.

Then on Tuesday 24^th at 5:00pm, SWSS are hosting a talk with John Rose, author of 'The Myth of Zionism' in Engineering 2, AS03

We will be rescheduling next week's organisational meeting as lots of us will be off to London to overthrow NUS president Wes Streeting who, after last week's sensational attempt at claiming that the occupations were actually the inspiration of the NUS, this week treacherously attacked the occupations with inexplicable accusations of causing intimidation and inciting racism, saying "I do not believe that the sit-ins relating to the Gaza crisis have been the student movement's finest hour". Lucky you don't speak for the student movement then Wes. Oh no wait a moment...

Occupation Victories, Divine Divestment, Disciplinaries, Debates and Free Popcorn!

OCCUPATION NEWS

Amazing news from the Goldsmiths Occupation, who won all of their demands in 29 hours! Congratulations to the members of the occupation, as well as the university management for their swift and total cooperation in developing and fully funding 4 new scholarships (2 for Palestinian students, and 2 for students from other conflict areas). 20 scholarships are guaranteed, starting from 2009-10 to 2019-20, after which a review board involving the entire student body will vote on further funding for these scholarships. More details, as well as the official response and agreement from Goldsmiths university management can be found on their blog.

The university management at UEA has been less cordial in their response to the members of the occupation on that campus, which included a vague threat to forcefully remove students from the Arts building if the occupation didn't cease. However, the management has agreed to negotiate with the members of the occupation outside of the occupied building, so for now the UEA Occupation has ended. We wish them the best in their negotiations and solidarity in their efforts.

Edinburgh also ended their occupation this morning with some solid victories including five scholarships and a lecture series, and a vow that "This is only the beginning of the movement to end the university’s role in the occupation and oppression of Palestine by the Israeli government and military." They say: "We feel it’s important to emphasize that the student occupation should be understood not simply as a tactic or a bargaining chip in getting our demands... At it’s best, the occupation provided a space for a process far more democratic than what conventional university structures are able to achieve. The changes we want to see will be attained through our direct action but also by creating such spaces, and expanding them indefinitely."

We hope that these victories will be motivation for more students to occupy!

Manchester university continues to occupy, using creative methods to continue to gain strength and support despite pressure from their VC. They have posted a radio interview with members of the occupation on their blog.

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OTHER NEWS

The past few weeks have seen lots of interesting new abuses of the English language, what with the BBC desperately cleaving to a meaningless notion of 'impartiality', 'anti-semitism' and even 'Zionist' gaining the popularity of playground insults, educational establishments with arms investments claiming to be 'apolitical', and various other complex concepts being reduced to vacant media cliches... but it seems that the British constabulary are still hung up on good old 'terrorism' as, within hours of the Viva Palestina convoy setting off from London to provide vital aid and humanitarian supplies to Gaza, it was apprehended by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit. Nine people were arrested, vehicles seized and several houses raided. According to that old bastion of British impartiality, the Telegraph, 'one van bears an image of the Palestinian flag on its side while the other has signs saying Stop Killing Children, Free Palestine, and From Blackburn (UK) to Gaza... A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said the men were arrested "on suspicion of committing offences under the Terrorism Act 2006."' We wonder if it was the urgently needed medicines, or the warm clothing. or the art supplies for students that made them suspicious? Nice one guys; thanks for keeping us all safe there.

The disciplinary hearing for victimised Sheffield Hallam union officer, Matt Vickery has been scheduled for Thurs 19th Feb. Please continue to email Russ Swannack, the union president, to express your sentiments: r.swannack@shu.ac.uk, uuspresident@shu.ac.uk.

Divestment: even the Church of England is getting in on the act, having just withdrawn shares from heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, whose bulldozers have been used to raze the homes of thousands of Palestinians. According to an article on Indymedia, the Church had "about £2.5m invested in a company that manufactures one of Israel's weapons of mass misery and destruction." Apparently even the Church is now starting to recognise the blatant immorality of profiting from senseless death and destruction: we hope that with God's ministers guiding the way and divestment from the Israeli war machine now divinely sanctioned, other less trailbreaking British institutions will soon see the light and follow suit.

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SUSSEX NEWS

Come and indulge in some Arts A2 nostalgia with us this Tuesday:
At 6:00 there will be an exciting debate between the URNU and Students Against the Arms Trade on whether military-funded bodies should be allowed on campus.
Then at 8:00 is the Free Film Soc screening of the extraordinary animated documentary, 'Waltz with Bashir'. Film starts 7:00pm, followed by discussion, with a free popcorn policy.

On Friday several members of other occupations came down to Sussex for an informal chat about the next steps for the national movement and share experiences and ideas. Discussion was productive and we all left feeling very enthusiastic. Feedback will follow to the national list shortly.

The next weekly organisational meeting will take place on Wednesday 18th Feb at 4:00pm. Meet in Falmer Common Room.

General update Sunday

First of all, an urgent call-out for art materials for the Viva Palestina convoy that will be leaving from London on Sat 14th February. This is a request from art students in Gaza, whose university was bombed. They are looking for paint, paintbrushes, canvases, sketch pads: in fact anything that an art student could use. If you can help with this request, please contact Harriett, from the Surplus Resources and Scholarships working group asap.

The national wave has gone international! We received news yesterday that the University of Rochester in New York had gone into occupation, and within nine hours they had claimed a complete victory! Their demands, which the Dean of Student affairs signed without amendments, were divestment from arms companies and other war profiteers, a day of fundraising for humanitarian aid for Gaza, twinning with the devastated University of Gaza and the sending of surplus academic resources, and five annual scholarships for Palestinian students. No students faced repercussions for their actions. Congratulations to Rochester for their swift success, and to other unis internationally: get on it guys!

In an amazing and appallingly unpublicised act of individual solidarity, Maria Gallestegui has entered the 4th week of a hunger strike in Parliament Square in London. She has been delivering a petition to Downing Street every day, having pledged not to end it until the blockade on Gaza is lifted. We hope that, with the blood of over 1300 Palestinians on their hands already, the British government will listen to the public voice before another life is lost to the Israeli occupation. Peace, solidarity and awe to Maria. 

On Saturday, a few members of the occupation went down to the demo at warehouse of Carmel-Agrexco, the main UK importer of produce from the occupied territories. After a few organisational hiccups, protestors arrived to find that the Met police had already set up their own blockade with 150 policemen blocking off the entrance having been camped out all night, so they waited around being photographed by the Forward "Intelligence" Team before the banners and the media arrived, and then had a bit of a chant and a rally. 

Last week saw a variety of different educational public events around campus including a moving performance of the Palestine Monologues, a panel including the Palestinian ambassador, and a screening of Occupation 101. All events were well-attended, showing the continued interest and energy  across campus around the issues motivating the occupations around the country.

We are also working hard to continue extending our links nationally with representatives attending the Stop the War conference on Saturday and a delegate visiting the Manchester occupation (which is still going and urgently need support: email VC Alan Gilbert at president@manchester.ac.uk) this weekend. We will also be hosting a national forum next Friday for representatives from the different occupations to meet and discuss our next steps as a national movement. 

And also on the subject of the national movement, check out the article in today's Independent, particularly notable for the following shock statement which almost sounds like an endorsement from NUS president Wes Streeting: "It's about time we got [sic] the student movement going again and had an impact." Glad to have you on board at last Wes! We look forward to seeing the national student union joining in with the national student movement! Check out as well the coverage of the occupation in the Badger last week. We made the front page! 

Campaigning workshops today!

There is still space on the these two workshops taking place this afternoon. They are both being run by Seeds For Change; a non-profit co-op providing training and resources to activists.

The following sessions will run concurrently from 2-5pm, Falmer House

Introduction to Campaign Planning - An effective campaign plan is vital if you want campaign success. A campaign plan is like a map that helps you get from where you are now to where you want to be - the goal of your campaign. In this workshop we'll practice using a series of campaign planning tools that will help you create a winning campaign.

Creative Campaigning - What draws a crowd and makes them stop? How can you communicate your campaign message? How can you get media attention for your campaign? We'll explore these questions and more in this workshop.

Email societies@ussu.sussex.ac.uk to book a space. You can also find the Facebook Event page here.

The Next Steps...

Loads of people turned up for the strategy meeting this afternoon showing that even though the occupation has officially ended and our demands have been met, nothing's over yet.

We've decided to set up several temporary working groups to plan new events, strengthen our national links, and to make sure that the university follows through on its promises. Everyone's welcome to get involved, even if you weren't previously a part of the occupation:

Boycott & Divestment - Meeting Friday 12pm Room 126 Falmer House - Contact Raz (campaigns@ussu.sussex.ac.uk)

Education & Events - Next meeting Monday 10am Falmer Common Room - Contact Josh (joshua.c.j@gmail.com)

National Liaison (working together with other occupations) - Contact Chas (sussexnational@gmail.com)

Publicity - Contact Alex (abcs20@sussex.ac.uk)

Scholarships & Surplus Supplies - Contact Harriet

The next weekly organisational meeting will be this coming Tuesday in FH126 at 6:00.

We also heard back from Lee (Finance Officer, USSU) and Laura (President, USSU), who told us how the Union is working hard to hold the Uni management to account for its promises. Lee said that the best thing we as students can do is campaign hard - and that it's the Union's job to represent its students, so we need to get on to our fellow students and raise awareness of the situation in Palestine and Israel, and our role in it. At the same time, both Laura and Lee agreed that the research of our group will still prove invaluable in holding the Uni to account.

Next week is Palestine week and there's a whole schedule of events planned:

Monday - Street Theatre - Library Square, 11-2 We'll be setting up a noisy checkpoint in Library Square and asking everyone to show their ID. We have some volunteers for flyering and being friendly, but need lots of soldiers. We also need volunteer detainees.

Interested? Email Josh and come to the rehearsal meeting in Falmer Common Room, 10am. If you can only come for an hour or two during the day, that's fine - just send Josh an email.

Tuesday - PALESTINE: Exhibition and Talks - Mandela Hall, 9-5 We still need lots more people to be invited to the facebook event, so go to it now and get your friends to come - go, go! We also need volunteer porters, to help people and be responsible for safety - email Josh to come and volunteer a few hours of your day.

Thursday - The Palestine Monologues - Arts A 103, 7pm The best thing you can do is turn up - it's going to be a really special performance by talented friends. Bring your housemates (and maybe tissues).

Friday - Film screening: Occupation 101 - EDB 121, 4pm A really challenging but informative film that introduces the history of the creation of 'Israel' and 'Palestine' and goes right up to the present day. Followed by relaxed discussion and nibbles.

Facebook events will follow - make sure you're in the Sussex Palestine Initiative group and that you let all your friends know about them too. They will be grateful to have been invited to something that does not involve pirates or pub crawls!

Update and information Weds afternoon

Well after a little bit of a celebration last night, it's back to work again today for many of us, organising tomorrow's events and thinking about our next steps. The rally did not take place this morning as planned due to pretty horrible weather and it feels a little strange being back on campus and not being in occupation: walking up to Library Square and not seeing the Palestinian flag hanging above the Arts A building, but after a very long and trying week, the general mood is definitely one of victory and relief. Again, immense thanks to all those who supported us throughout the week in many different ways and who helped to make this a success, and solidarity to those around the country still in occupation.

Tomorrow we will be holding what may well be our final speaker session in Mandela Hall from 5-7pm, with Jeremy Corbyn MP (for real this time!) and a speaker from the International Solidarity Movement, as well as others. This will be followed by a discussion where students who were not a part of the occupation will have the chance to ask questions of those who were. Then afterwards we will all head to the bar for a well-deserved celebration and fundraiser with an open mic session followed by DJs.

If you're feeling that the end of the occupation has left a gap of action in your life, then this afternoon is the regular weekly Smash EDO noise demo from 4-6pm outside the ITT factory on home farm road (Moulsecombe, just past the bridge on the way into town from campus). Bring whistles, pots and pans etc. Also tonight is a screening of the excellent animated film Persepolis by the FilmSoc in Arts A2 at 7pm. Or if you just fancy a drink and maybe a bit of a song then come and join us in the Cowley Club on London Road for the regular weekly student night where we'll be trying to raise more funds for Palestine.

For all those interested in helping to take things forward, an organisational strategy meeting has been scheduled for Friday in Falmer House Rm 126. We will be organising through the Sussex Palestine Initiative, which brings together groups and individuals on campus and in Brighton interested in Palestine-related events. Please sign up to the email list for a a weekly email with a summary of events to come, and links to the relevant websites and facebook events, or join the facebook group.

Holocaust memorial day

Today is holocaust memorial day. There is a programme of scheduled events on campus starting at 1:45pm. See http://www.sussex.ac.uk/cgjs/documents/090116_hmdprogramme.pdf for details.

Schedule tomorrow...

Rally tomorrow in library square at 1pm! Please come!

General open meeting in the Friend's Meeting House at 11am.

Speaker session Tuesday evening

130 people attended today's speaker session to hear the following speakers:

Geoffrey Whitfield, former chaplain of Sussex and executive director of 'The World Sports Peace Project', spoke of the importance of conflict prevention over conflict resolution and gave us ideas for actions that we can ourselves take towards this end.

Kees Van Der Pijl, of the Sussex International Relations department, educated us on the history of the conflict in relation to Western imperialism and the Napoleonic empire, explaining the historical origins of Israel as a European colonisation project for displaced Jews.

John Molyneux dismantled some of the common media myths that operate as smokescreens for the issues, including the conflation of a stance against the policies of Israel with anti-semitism; the notion of 'impartiality' as not taking sides in situations of the absolute dispossession and oppression of a people, and the idea that the Israel-Palestine conflict is simply a matter of two peoples that don't get on rather than occupation.

Update Monday evening

Despite rumours to the contrary today, our occupation is still very much ongoing and we are now preparing for day seven of our occupation tomorrow. We received some very positive communication from the university management today and having talked everything over at our general meeting tonight it seems that a positive resolution is in sight. Tomorrow daytime is wholly given over to lectures in Arts A2 and we need to maintain our strong silent presence: please do come and sign up to the rota if you have a spare hour in your day.

A member of the occupation was interviewed today for the awesome radical culture 'zine last hours and more media appearances are on the cards: watch this space!

Another speaker session is scheduled for tomorrow at 6pm with Geoffrey Whitfield, former chaplain of Sussex and executive director of 'The World Sports Peace Project', a conflict prevention NGO. We will also hear from Kees Van Der Pijl of the Sussex International Relations department, and will be very pleased to welcome the former national executive of Jews for Justice for Palestinians.

Debate on the boycott

170 people came along this evening to the occupied Arts A2 to hear and discuss different perspectives on the question of the boycott of Israel:

Lee Vernon of Socialist Students spoke against a blanket boycott of Israeli goods on the grounds that it would affect the working class and increase a siege mentality, calling for an active condemnatory working class movement.

Alana Lentin of the Sociology department spoke for a consumer boycott, arguing that this is something called for by Palestinans and Israeli radicals and drawing attention to the way in which an economic boycott, although largely symbolic, would enable engagement with ordinary people who would not otherwise be politicised by the situation.

Dr. Paul Oestreicher, speaking for Jews for Justice for Palestinians, called for a partial boycott of targeting the import of arms. Boycott as an instrument in the hands of all people that really want to help the Palestinian people.

Dr. Paul Oestreicher, speaking for Jews for Justice for Palestinians, called for a partial boycott targeting the import of arms intially followed by a gradual boycott targeting other areas that enable the military to function. He spoke in opposition to an academic boycott, expressing the view that the exchange of music, knowledge, culture and humanity is desperately needed by Israel in order not to be isolated from the world.

Tom Hickey, national executive of UCU, spoke in favour of an academic boycott of Israel stating that inaction against those institutions complicit in the occupation of Palestine is to become complicit in this crime ourselves. He made the points that an academic boycott targets institutions not individuals, and "constitutes a dagger threat that goes straight to the heart of the Israeli state" stating that "when you have that kind of pressure it is grossly irresponsible not to use it in these circumstances."

Another speaker session is scheduled for tomorrow at 6pm.

Update Sunday evening

Well we've all been working really hard over the past week but I guess that we're still students at the end of the day: this morning we overslept our scheduled meeting time by 15 mins before somebody woke us up with Rage Against The Machine. We got stuck straight into our schedule, reviewing and finalising our response to the management and it was sent out to them this afternoon.

After a bit of lunch, the rest of the afternoon was taken up with organising in our working groups and catching up on all our jobs ready for tomorrow morning. A delegation attended the visiting conference of the model United Nations and were received with interest and enthusiasm. After a bit of feedback in the afternoon, we watched a dispatches documentary on the Israeli control of media coverage of the war on Gaza and then (after an awesome curry and surprise home-made apple pie) the rest of the evening was spent chilling out with some songs.

Its been an intense and pretty inspiring week with everybody working together to establish an accessible and organised occupation, not to mention all the solidarity and support that we have received, excellent educational talks, and the news of new university occupations around the country reaching us sometimes more than once a day and the feeling generally is one of positivity and strength.

We've got silent occupations of lectures for most of the day tomorrow and Tuesday so please do come along and sign up to the rota if you have an hour or two in your day. Then tomorrow evening at 7:00 we'll be hosting an open discussion on the question of boycott (point 3 of our demands) with invited speakers representing four different perspectives on the debate. We look forward to seeing you there!

Sunday: Work carries on!

Press and Publicity groups meet

Five days in and still going strong, the occupiers are hard at work contacting press and other occupations across the UK.

Efforts are still being made to meet coursework deadlines!

Schedule for the rest of the day:

4:30pm Feedback from working groups

5:30pm Lunch

6:30pm Screening of Dispatches documentary: 'Unseen Gaza'.

Evening: Open Mic.

images © photography without borders.

Schedule of events Saturday

We will be holding point-by-point discussions on our demands in Arts A2 from 12:00pm until 5:00pm.

12-1pm Statement
1-2pm Divestment
2-3pm Boycott
3-4pm Scholarships
4-5pm Shipping of resources

5-7pm Film showing: Paradise Now
7-8pm Feedback on safer spaces policy


We have also kindly been given use of the Friend's Meeting House, scheduled events are as follows:

10-12pm Consensus decision making workshop
12-1pm Discussion and formulation of 'safer spaces' policy

5-6pm Chill-out: massage and relaxation

Please come along and get involved in as many of these events as you wish. There will also be creative activities throughout the day.

Update Friday evening

We must be getting better at this: tonight our evening meeting finished exactly on time! Our third full day of occupation was as action-packed as ever: after being rudely awoken at 8am by the invigorating sounds of Wham blaring out over the speakers, we set about the day's activities: updating publicity, speaking to students and other university members, meeting journalists, cooking, conducting research pertaining to the demands, maintaining the silent occupation during lectures, and many more things that comprise the daily organisational activities of an occupation.

The infostall outside Arts A2 is full of flyers, timetables of events, relevant reading material and other useful information (as well as the petition) to read or to take away with you so please come along and have a look.

We had an excellent speaker session today comprising members of Sussex university faculty: Jan Selby from International Relations, Alana Lentin from Sociology who gave a biographically informed account of the conflict, and Andrew Chitty from the Philosophy department (thanks for the donations guys!) who gave a historical account of the conflict and the need for a one-state solution. We also heard from Mark Cushman from LSE (who were recently successful in achieving their occupation demands) who gave an excellent account of the strategies and ideologies of the Israeli occupation as it manifests itself in the day-to-day realities of life in Palestine. A lively discussion on the method of boycott ensued: we will be holding a public informational session on this topic next Monday. Later on in the day we heard from Stuart Halforty from Stop the War coalition.

Massive congratulations and solidarity to the 100+ Cambridge university students who have staged a peaceful occupation of a law building on their campus tonight. You heard how excited we all were! We also have news that Bristol, Nottingham, Kingston, Manchester university and Salford have all occupied! A round-up is given in an article in tomorrow's Guardian, in which Sussex students are quoted (with a lovely photo). More press reports forthcoming: keep an eye on the 'Media' links-list for info.

We spent some time tonight discussing our group dynamics and how to ensure a welcoming environment for all that is conducive to everybody being able to contribute to the organisation and decision-making process in equal measure. It was decided that a working group will draft a safer spaces policy tomorrow that will then be reviewed and adopted by the group. In this way our occupation combines our serious motivational objectives for concrete positive effects in Palestine with the creation of a positive political reality within our own community.

We have many exciting events scheduled (and in the process of being scheduled) for the weekend, including a workshop being hosted at 10am tomorrow on consensus decision making. We will also use the time to creatively reorganise our space to create a more visual and informative environment. A delegation will also be representing us at the national demonstration in London tomorrow.

We have had no further communication to speak of regarding our demands from the vice-chancellor's office. We are going to take this weekend to consolidate our research and ideas in order to have something solid and fully representative of all of the opinions of the occupation to resume dialogue next week.

Of course, there are no lectures timetabled now until Monday morning, so please come down any time to join in activities and get involved.