Friday, February 2, 2024 ·

To President Hilary Link, the Cabinet and the Board of Trustees:

This letter and all future statements are being sent to you on behalf of a Drew University alumni collective, the Drew University Alumni for Justice in Palestine (Drew AJP). We have come together in solidarity with the Palestinian people from across Drew generations, many of us having never crossed paths before, to speak up. We feel connected not only as fellow Drew alum but also as human beings who can recognize wrongdoing and condemn colonial violence and mass atrocities. As an institution that prides itself on being diverse, equitable, and inclusive, we expect Drew to take a stand against this blatant atrocity.

We are appalled that our alma mater has not publicly and unequivocally opposed the genocide against Palestinians, mainly in Gaza. It is, in no uncertain terms, nothing short of cowardice. Drew University’s silence on the violent and systemic genocide of Palestinian people represents a betrayal of Drew’s mission and a rejection of the values of diversity, service, and community. In terms of the Drew community, it is necessary to provide support and acknowledge the mental and emotional toll students are experiencing while witnessing a genocide. We call on you and your administration to recognize and speak out against the genocide of the Palestinian people.

While the administration has stayed silent and grappled with the Trustees of Drew, at least 26,000 people have been murdered by the State of Israel, in the past three months alone (NPR). It is abhorrent that Drew has failed to acknowledge the longstanding historical oppression of the Palestinian people, which has been systematically intensifying for decades. Your statement to the “Members of the Drew Community” on January 22nd fell far short of recognizing this reality. You remarked that “It tests our values and our feelings”. but you failed to address how the ongoing persecution of Palestinians should make us all feel ashamed of our apathy. Palestinian families have had their hopes for the future cut short by the intentional brutality of the Israeli offensive forces and by extension, the international foreign policy of the United States.

Simultaneously, as international organizations explain to the world how objectively dire the situation is in Gaza, the United States announced on January 30—the same week as the delivery of this letter—that it has paused its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, 2 million Palestinians in Gaza rely on UNRWA for basic necessities such as medical care, education, and social services (Krauss). This is a deliberate act on the part of the United States to deprive Palestinians of basic resources to merely survive, let alone thrive in their homeland. As an institution situated in the United States, and as U.S. taxpayers, we must all reckon with our role in this genocide and demand our dollars not be spent to fund a genocide.

The World Food Programme has estimated that 2.2 million people in Gaza—which is the entire population of Gaza—are “in crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity” (World Food Programme). Furthermore, the Integrated Food Insecurity Phase Classification (IPC) has projected that the entire population of Gaza will be at Phase 3 or higher of food insecurity, which is considered a crisis or worse. The IPC also says that this projected level of food insecurity in Gaza will be the highest share of food insecurity experienced by a population that it has classified in its history (Integrated Food Insecurity Phase Classification).

As a university that prides itself on ‘prepar[ing] its students to flourish both personally and professionally as they add to the world’s good by responding to the urgent needs of our time,’ Drew is also responsible for taking a stand against this genocide as an academic institution (Drew University). Every university in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed by Israel along with at least 94 university professors killed (Al Jazeera). If Drew University students deserve a higher education, why don’t Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank? Academic institutions have an inherent responsibility to protect other academic institutions and the sanctity of education. This is why statements in solidarity with Palestinians from universities are not only encouraged, but essential.

While Palestinians in Gaza are unable to receive any kind of education, students at universities in the United States face violent threats—or have even faced violence—and fear for their safety due to advocating for Palestine or for just being Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab. Universities should come together to protect one another and the right to education while maintaining the responsibility to protect their students.  Students at Drew University who are Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, or in support of Palestine do not feel safe or protected by the university. Namely, Students for Justice in Palestine have faced pushback from university officials as well as fellow students and student groups due to their activism. Speaking out against this genocide would create a safer environment for not just Palestinian students at Drew, but for all students at Drew; a call for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide is a condemnation of settler-colonial violence and oppression.

The onslaught of atrocities committed against Palestinians both abroad, and within the United States, including within Drew University, needs to be met with swift action. Regardless of educational background, socioeconomic status, or ethnicity, it is widely regarded by over 67% of Americans that a permanent ceasefire must take place (Bresnahan).

We are calling on Drew University’s administration to rectify this utter lack of conscience. Our collective, the Drew Alumni for Justice in Palestine demands the following actions:

1. Leverage its influence to condemn all loss of life and advocate for an immediate and permanent ceasefire;
2. Divest Drew University’s endowment from any company that profits from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land;
3. Protect students’ rights to express and associate by supporting Drew University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and consider & approve SJP’s events in a timely manner;
4. Acknowledge the longstanding and historical oppression of the Palestinian people;
5. Create more resources for Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim students;
6. Initiate a conversation among administration, students, and faculty about divestment.

We demand you take action now and realize the plight of the Palestinian people while there are still lives left to save and further atrocities to prevent. Speak out against the genocide of the Palestinian people, unambiguously. Divest from the military-industrial complex that manufactures death and destruction. Protect students’ rights to express and associate by supporting Drew University’s SJP.

We await your response.

Sincerely,
Drew University Alumni for Justice in Palestine

Last updated 5/24/2024 at 12:46pm EST.

Works Cited

Al Jazeera. “How Israel has destroyed Gaza’s schools and universities.” Al Jazeera, 24 January 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/24/how-israel-has-destroyed-gazas-schools-and-universities. Accessed 1 February 2024.

Bresnahan, Timothy. “Voters Want the U.S. to Call for a Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza and to Prioritize Diplomacy.” Data For Progress, 5 December 2023, https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2023/12/5/voters-want-the-us-to-call-for-a-permanent-ceasefire-in-gaza-and-to-prioritize-diplomacy. Accessed 1 February 2024.

Drew University. “Mission & History.” Drew University, https://drew.edu/about/mission-history/. Accessed 1 February 2024.

Integrated Food Insecurity Phase Classification. “Gaza Strip: Acute Food Insecurity Situation for 24 November – 7 December 2023 and Projection for 8 December 2023 – 7 February 2024 | IPC.” Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, 7 December 2023, https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1156749/. Accessed 1 February 2024.

Krauss, Joseph. “What is UNRWA, the U.N. aid agency Israel accuses of having militant links?” PBS, 29 January 2024, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-is-unrwa-the-u-n-aid-agency-israel-accuses-of-having-militant-links#. Accessed 1 February 2024.

Staff, NPR. “Scenes from Gaza and Israel as Palestinian deaths pass 26,000 : The Picture Show.” NPR, 29 January 2024, https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2024/01/29/1225728725/israel-gaza-war-photos. Accessed 1 February 2024.

World Food Programme. “State of Palestine emergency | World Food Programme.” WFP, 2024, https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/palestine-emergency. Accessed 1 February 2024.