Young Filipinos call for boycott of Israel as they join global student movement for Palestine
MANILA: Student organizers at universities in the Philippines are calling for a cultural and academic boycott of Israel and Zionists, joining a global movement in support of the Palestinians.
For months, pro-Palestinian students and activists from various Philippine universities have been mobilizing their colleagues to raise awareness of Israel's war in Gaza and organize demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine.
Young Filipinos are drawing attention to the liberation struggle in Palestine and its similarities to Philippine history and experiences of occupation and colonialism as they hope to engage more people and inspire more collective action in their community.
“Filipino youth and students are realizing that the (Palestinian) struggle against settler colonialism is similar to the colonial history of the Philippines, and that today we perceive a common struggle with the Palestinians, which is American imperialism,” student organizer Raphael Jourvy Gavino told Arab News.
Filipinos suffered more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule from 1565 to 1898 and nearly five decades of American colonization from 1898 to 1946. Despite independence, activists say the Philippines is still a “semi-colony” of the US. referring to the Southeast Asian country's economic and military dependence on the US.
Gavino, who studies at the State Polytechnic University of the Philippines, is one of the organizers of the PUP's Palestine initiative. His school is known for its student activism and is the largest college in the country in terms of population.
“Thousands of PUP students participated virtually and expressed their support for the Palestinians in their struggle against Israeli genocide and apartheid and called for justice,” he said.
“Showing solidarity and support for the Palestinians is important as students and especially as Filipinos because we cannot just stand by while thousands of fellow students, children and women are murdered right before our eyes.
Israeli ground and air strikes over the past nine months have killed more than 39,000 Palestinian citizens in Gaza, according to official estimates, although a study published in the Lancet journal this month estimated the actual death toll could be more than 186,000.
Israeli forces also destroyed schools, universities and hospitals throughout the Gaza Strip.
“No educational institution in the country should be in close contact with a state that ignores the future of children by bombing their schools and universities,” Gavino added.
For the students of Ateneo de Manila University, one of the top universities in the country, showing support for Palestine is essential.
“It is important that we, especially as students, join the global call for liberation and an immediate end to the genocide in pursuit of a just and lasting peace because this is the world we will inherit,” A4P told Arab News in a statement.
The group said it was inspired by the courage and determination of students abroad who camped out at their universities and called for ridding themselves of “agents of genocide”.
“We aim to identify our own university's links, if any, and call for its immediate end,” A4P said.
“We would also like to call on our universities in Israel and Zionist sources for a cultural and academic boycott and instead support and encourage Palestinian academic and cultural institutions and advocate for a just and lasting peace by unequivocal support for the cause of national liberation.
The Ateneo group, which has more than 5,000 followers on Facebook, also condemned the Philippine government for funneling “billions of pesos in arms deals” to Israeli companies, including Elbit Systems, Rafael Advance Defense Systems and Israel Shipyards, as well as the Israeli government. .
“These weapons of destruction are also used to enact violence against indigenous communities in the Philippines and extreme state repression against its own citizens,” A4P said.
At the Far Eastern University in Manila, students launched the Tamaraws for Palestine initiative in June, which has so far organized rallies, fundraisers, and hosted educational sessions and discussions on campus.
“As Filipinos, the terrorism that is happening in Palestine is not new to us because we have also experienced colonization and threats by many nations like Spain, America and Japan. Even now by China because of their aggressive actions in the (South China Sea),” Kyla Mae Alzado, Tamaraws vice president for Palestine, told Arab News.
“We are still oppressed by other nations and face threats in our own home. Palestine is currently in this situation and as a nation that understands and is currently in this environment, we must stand in solidarity with them.
One of their main goals is to raise awareness among the wider Filipino society about the violence happening in Gaza.
“What we hope to achieve with our organization is to expand and get more collective action, which could amplify the voices of the oppressed,” Alzado said.
“Most importantly, we hope that our calls for Palestinian rights can help support their liberation.”
