Solidarity Forever
by Cat Gilligan, Juwayria Zahurullah & Lucy Freeman
In his 1949 essay “Cultural Criticism and Society,” Theodor Adorno insisted that “[to] write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric.” Frankly, it feels barbaric to write lighthearted listicles and snotty opinion pieces as two million Gazans are held captive and deprived of food, water, shelter and medical supplies, as they attempt to dodge missiles that both you and I paid for. It feels barbaric to eat microwave meals as mothers feed their children “bread” made of animal feed and “soup” consisting of twigs, leaves and brackish water. It feels barbaric to make frivolous purchases when $50 could mean the difference between life and death for a family in Al-Mawasi.
After nearly two years of bombardment, and tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of civilian deaths, the tide of opinion is finally beginning to turn amongst members of the American Establishment. “Good” Democrats, pseudo-progressives and even liberal Zionists have finally grown squeamish about the frequency with which they now encounter videos of children carrying their parents' remains in trash bags on their Instagram feeds. Student activists who have spent the past two years insisting that they feel “unsafe” at the elite private institutions they attend, whilst cynically weaponizing identity politics to manufacture consent for a genocide, feel a little sheepish now that their international student peers are actually being illegally detained and deported for daring to criticize Israel. Cowardly administrators who spent week after week condemning students for chanting “From the River to the Sea,” and disciplining SFP members for hanging banners “without a permit,” are gradually coming to terms with the fact that the extermination of a captive civilian population composed primarily of children is perhaps a more pressing issue than a handful of 19-year-olds who want to “globalize the intifada.” In time, many people will insist that they have always opposed this genocide. I wonder whether Oberlin’s administration will tout SFP’s accomplishments in the same way that they tout our institution’s illustrious history of student activism in a few years time. I wonder whether the Board of Trustees will have concocted a more compelling explanation as to why the college cannot divest from defense contractors by then.
I say all of this not in an attempt to provide some sort of catharsis, but in the hope that I might be able to convince you to take action. The anger, guilt, and despair that we feel about our complicity in these atrocities must be galvanizing, not stupefying. The powers that be want you to become desensitized, demoralized and convinced of your own impotence. What they fail to realize is that although we are powerless as individuals, we are powerful as a collective. If you oppose the genocide occurring in Palestine, it is imperative that in addition to providing material support to families in Gaza that you begin organizing. One way to start is by joining Students for a Free Palestine. I spoke with Juwayria Zahurullah and Lucy Freeman about the future of SFP, and the ways in which you can become involved with the struggle for Palestinian liberation here on campus.
What’s on SFP’s agenda for the year?
This year, SFP will continue to organize and maintain our fundraising presence on campus in order to support families in Palestine that our members are in contact with. This will be done through our consistent clothing, art, and bake sales, as well as through larger events that will be taking place throughout the semester, such as raffles and benefit concerts. We hope to continue our efforts of promoting education and dialogue about Palestinian liberation in the greater Oberlin community through events at the Oberlin Public Library and Firelands Association for the Visual Arts. We will also continue working on our divestment campaign, with the hope of building coalitions with other student organizations who have similar missions regarding institutional and financial transparency.
What are your thoughts on the BoT’s rejection of the recent divestment proposal?
In April of 2024, we submitted a proposal recommending Oberlin’s divestment from companies facilitating the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. In their rejection of this proposal released in August of 2024, the Board of Trustees stated that divesting would force the institution to take a clear stance on a “fraught and contested issue that divides the Oberlin community.”
In April of 2025, we resubmitted a proposal urging Oberlin to divest, this time from all companies that manufacture weapons. We chose to expand the scope of our proposal in recognition of the widespread military violence that remains rampant globally. We uphold that the struggle for Palestinian liberation is intertwined with all other liberation struggles, including the fight against state violence in our own cities.
In the Board’s rejection to our most recent proposal, they refer to divestment as a form of "institutional disengagement” and label it as inconsistent with Oberlin’s mission. While they present impact investing as an alternate form of engagement, they offer no direct channels for students to become involved and advocate for change. Impact investing is being used by the Board of Trustees as a shield from the moral responsibility they hold to divest. We plan to continue putting pressure on them to address this discrepancy and create more avenues for students to enact positive change.
How has SFP navigated the suppression of pro-Palestinian student activism? How have you been able to navigate challenges pertaining to persecution of international student activists?
We have had to navigate countless instances of suppression over the past two years, both from our own administration and from external influences such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Despite these challenges, we have banded together and created a strong network of individuals who support each other through the difficulties that accompany our activism work. With particular concern for our international peers, we have had to be more cautious with our outward facing and traceable media. We are thankful to the members of the Oberlin faculty who helped us navigate sensitive concerns regarding international student safety last semester.
This semester, you are co-teaching SolidarityCo, an ExCo focused on the history of the Palestinian Liberation movement; can you talk a little bit about your curriculum?
The curriculum for SolidarityCo was developed in accordance with what we noted students were interested in learning more about in regard to the politics and history of Palestine. It was additionally inspired by the syllabi of previous ExCos that had similarly focused on furthering education on the Palestinian struggle for liberation. Our ExCo was designed with the specific intention of encouraging students to become involved in local and global activist networks. Furthermore, we hope to provide a space in which the Oberlin community can engage with the issues informing contemporary Palestinian life, while discussing how to transform our knowledge into outward social action. Our ExCo’s curriculum is divided into three units, in which we will first engage with the history and present realities of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The second unit explores other social movements rooted in transformative justice and will feature guest lecturers from other activism-oriented student organizations at Oberlin. The third unit will focus on advocacy work and models of solidarity. We will discuss the history of Students for Justice in Palestine as a national body, as well as Oberlin’s specific history of our SJP chapter, Students for a Free Palestine (SFP).
How can students get involved with SFP? How can they support the Palestinian families that SFP members are in contact with?
To stay informed about SFP’s future actions and fundraising efforts, please follow our Instagram @oberlinsfp. On our page, you can also find plenty of information about the families we have been in contact with. We are always looking for more support in our fundraising team! Our next meeting will be held Thursday, September 18th at 5:30 pm in Wilder 215. We hope to see you there!
