Inspired by the movement to Occupy Wall Street in New York and the wave of similar occupations around the country, SDS will be joining the rest of the radical Houston community this Thursday (Oct. 6 2011) for Occupy Houston.
The march will be at 9am, but the occupation will last at least the whole day.
Learn more: http://occupyhouston.org/ http://www.facebook.com/OccupyHouston
Posted in Uncategorized
Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that SDS will be having a preliminary meeting. We want to see what you guys are most interested in working on this semester!
WHEN: Thursday September 1st, 5 pm
WHERE: UC top floor, red couches
This is not our regular meeting time. If you can’t make it to this, please email sdsuhtx@gmail.com and let us know what time works better for you. Then we will decide on a time that is most convenient for everyone. So no excuses!! lol
See you guys soon! 
Posted in Uncategorized
Many SDS members have been working with The KPFT BDS ad hoc committee since January. Thanks to US Campaign to end the Israeli Occupation for helping to get the word out!
Students from new US Campaign member group the University of Houston Students for a Democratic Society have joined with other Houston activists to campaign for Houston-based Pacifica Radio station KPFT to endorse the Palestinian-led campaign for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS).
Students from new US Campaign member group the University of Houston Students for a Democratic Society have joined with other Houston activists to campaign for Houston-based Pacifica Radio station KPFT to endorse the Palestinian-led campaign for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS).
An ad-hoc KPFT BDS Committee of station listeners and members originally formed in response to KPFT’s giving air-time to “Voice of Peace,” a show promoting Israel historically produced by the Israeli Government. KPFT is a listener-supported radio station with a mission to promote peace and social justice. Airing this programming was a clear violation of the BDS call. The ad-hoc committee of concerned individuals sees BDS as “the fullest action to address the current situation and prevent pro-colonial propaganda in the future.”
The committee put together this petition- All are encouraged to sign!!
For a list of KPFT-affiliate signers, click here.
Posted in Palestine/Israel, Peace & Justice
UH SDS alumni Rob Block traveled to Palestine and Israel this summer as part of the Health and Human Rights Project Delegation, a project of American Jews for a Just Peace.
He will be blogging about the experience here on our blog. Below is some of the video taken on the trip.
Tour of Nablus Palestine
Students, Faculty and Community members from the West Bank city of Nablus gave a tour of the old city, including the cemetery, to a North American Delegation in June of 2011.
Eitan Bronstein of Zochrot: Learning the Nakba as a condition for peace and reconciliation
Part 2 | The Right of Return is our chance for Peace
Zochrot is an Israeli organization that raises awareness about the Nakba (“catastrophe” of 1948) primarily within Jewish Israeli communities. They lead tours to destroyed and depopulated Palestinian villages and support Palestinian refugees to symbolically reclaim their land by placing signs with the villages’ original names. Zochrot is one of the only Israeli organizations to actively support the Palestinian right of return.
Omar Barghouti Speaking about BDS to a delegation in Ramallah
Part 2 | Part 3
On June 29th 2011 Omar Barghouti met with a delegation from the United States and Spoke about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement.
July 8th 2011 Demonstration in Bi’lin against the wall
From the July 8th Demonstration against the Seperation wall. We marched from the village, past where the old wall was recently removed to the wall of the settlement of Modi’in. Member of the Popular Committee in Bi’lin addresses international activists. This is the second week in which the wall had been removed (http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=398774) based on a 2007 court decision on the wall.
Shireen Al-Araj of the Al-Walaja Popular Committee Against the Wall
On July 1st 2011, Shireen Al-Araj of the Popular Committee Against the Wall spoke with a delegation from the USA about the struggle against the apartheid wall and enclosure of their village of 2,300 people.
The village of al-Walaja sits between Beit Jala and Jerusalem next to the settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo, both of which have been built on historic al-Walaja land. Recently, Israel has started to construct a portion of its separation wall on al-Walaja’s land. The wall will completely surround the village leaving only one entrance to be controlled by an Israeli military checkpoint.
Posted in Palestine/Israel, Peace & Justice
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an annual international series of events held in cities and campuses across the globe. The aim of IAW is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement. Last year, Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) took place in more than 40 cities across the globe.
SDS strives to amplify the voices that have been silenced by blockades, travel restrictions and racism to show that Palestinians continue to persevere despite the oppressive system they face. We support the peaceful popular resistance movements that demand self determination, equality and respect from the Israeli government. Until the Israeli government respects human rights, the right of return and other international laws, and ends their apartheid policies we will continue the struggle in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We strongly oppose government funding to the Israeli government or any other government that commits crimes against humanity and we are working towards implementing BDS policies in Houston.
So this year, Houston will host IAW once again! Scroll down for our list of events:
March 7th – Dabke Flashmob
Butler Plaza in front of MD Anderson Library
11 am – 1 pm
We’re going to meet and dance dabke at 11, 11:20, 11:50, 12:20, and 12:50. This is a great way to get people’s attention, hand out information on BDS and the Palestine issue, and have fun! Come out and bring your friends for the dance party!!
March 10th – Movie Screening of Slingshot Hip Hop
Sedition Books, 901 Richmond Avenue, Houston, TX 77006
7 pm
Movie screening of Slingshot Hip Hop. Here’s the trailer:
March 21st – Women’s Panel on Feminism Under Occupation
MD Anderson Library, Honors College, 212L
7 pm
Sabreena Da Witch (Palestinian hip hop artist) will come speak on a panel of women activists about feminism in Israel/Palestine and how occupation and war have affected women and their rights.
Co-sponsored by the Student Feminist Organization
March 22nd – Viva Palestine Outdoor Concert
Lynn Eusan Park (behind the Hilton hotel, right in front of Cougar Village dorms)
4 pm – 6 pm
Sabreena Da Witch, Mohammad Al-Farrah, and many more musicians will be coming to perform at UH! Free food, nice weather, and awesome music!
IAW2011handbill [PDF] | Facebook Event for IAW | Israeli Apartheid Week International Website
Posted in Peace & Justice
Tagged BDS, Israeli Apartheid Week, Palestine, University of Houston
This Thursday (Feb. 24) from 5-7pm in the UC San Jacinto Room, Houston activist RoB will be reporting back on his experiences joining the protesters and organizers resisting the implementation of SB 1070 in AZ. The controversial bill SB 1070 has caused outrage for encouraging racial profiling, excessively targeting non-criminal immigrants, being harmful to immigrant and minority communities and giving local police the responsibility to enforce federal immigration policies. Not only is this …law inherently racist, it hurts all of Arizona’s residents by increasing police budgets, increasing funding for private prisons, and changing the priorities of police to target non-violent minorities rather than violent criminals.
A large resistance movement has formed in response to these racist policies and Rob will be sharing stories about what people are doing to resist.
This event is especially important right now due to the copy-cat legislation being proposed by the far right in our own state of Texas. Educated people need to unite against these attacks on minorities and migrants to build safer communities and to oppose racist and xenophobic agendas. Let’s stop Texas from being the next Arizona!
On current laws being proposed: http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2010/11/71569_comment.php#71673
On shifting federal immigration responsibilities to local police: http://www.justicestrategies.org/publications/2009/local-democracy-ice-why-state-and-local-governments-have-no-business-federal-immig
Contact SDS at sdsuhtx@gmail.com or call Marie at 832-474-5536 for questions or directions.
The Teach-in on Revolution featuring Dr. Hosam Aboul-Ela from UH, Dr. Ussama Makdisi from Rice, and Dr. Nivien Saleh from University of St. Thomas was a complete success! Thanks to the speakers who gave us their time and knowledge, the audience for asking such great questions and being so attentive, and the SDS members who made this happen. You are all amazing!
Dr. Hosam Aboul-Ela spoke about the different organizations and movements responsible for the revolution in Egypt. He clarified many points on the causes of the uprising, and explained that it was not a sudden outburst but a series of events that had culminated into dissent and eventually reached their tipping point.
Dr. Ussama Makdisi spoke about the American response to the events in the Middle East, particularly Egypt. He spoke on the history of US intervention and the prospect of democracy in the Arab world. Dr. Makdisi explained that American intervention has proven unhelpful in the region and damaging to our interests.
Dr. Nivien Saleh spoke on the question of whether facebook and other forms of social media “sparked” the revolution, as certain media outlets have claimed. She explained that although information technology is helpful for these movements, this industry was historically controlled by the Egyptian regime. Essentially, Dr. Saleh proved that “technology does not liberate people; people liberate people.”
The question and answer session that followed was focused and informative. We apologize for the few who did not get to ask a question because we ran out of time. We also apologize for the space. Since more than 80 people showed up, it was a little hard fitting into that room! We’ll try our best to get a bigger area for our upcoming events.
For those of you who enjoyed the event, or for those who missed the event and would like to learn more, please come to our meetings Tuesday at 5 in the UC Palo Duro room (top floor of the UC). With your help, we can keep these important events happening at UH.
Posted in Peace & Justice
By popular demand, SDS will be hosting a teach-in on revolution to discuss recent events in Egypt, Tunisia, and the Arab world and to answer all your questions.
Dr. Housam Abo-Ela from UH and Dr. Usama Makdisi from Rice University will be speaking to us and answering questions. Come by and invite your friends, this is a great opportunity to learn more!
Posted in Egypt
The Candle Light Vigil in Honor of Revolution was a complete success! Dozens of UH students and their supporters came out – despite the freezing temperatures – to stand in solidarity with the Arab people and their bid for self-determination.
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=7934634
The discussion afterward was also very effective, and with your ideas and support, we hope to mobilize the UH student body and the Houston community at large for this cause. Our friends at Amnesty International UH handed out letters that you can send to your representatives yesterday, but because there were so many of you, we ran out. Not to worry, here are links that you can pass on to your friends and colleagues: Egypt: The Letter for Egypt Here is some info on Egypt More Info Tunisia: Info on Tunisia Signature Page to the President – Fouad Mebazza Another Letter We are planning many more events on this topic, including a teach-in (for those who suggested an education campaign), so please keep checking our website. We thank you for your support!
Serious discussions happening here
Posted in Peace & Justice
