PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Brutus to Speak at Israel Divestment Campaign Launch
by Sam Waite Thursday, Sep. 30, 2004 at 7:51 AM
spw5@pitt.edu 412-681-1968

Pittsburgh, Penn., (September 29, 2004) – Renowned South African poet, University of Pittsburgh professor and anti-apartheid activist Dennis Brutus will call on Pitt to divest from Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a speech to be given on Thursday, September 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Engineering Auditorium.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Brutus to Speak at Israel Divestment Campaign Launch

Pittsburgh, Penn., (September 29, 2004) – Renowned South African poet, University of Pittsburgh professor and anti-apartheid activist Dennis Brutus will call on Pitt to divest from Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a speech to be given on Thursday, October 7th at 7:30 p.m. in the Engineering Auditorium.

The speech will mark the launch of the first major campaign of Pitt’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group intends to pressure the University to divest from Israeli military contractors and other firms involved directly in the occupation.

A petition in support of the effort will be circulated following Brutus’s speech. SJP members will also speak.

A growing number of groups throughout the country are advocating divestment. Among them are dozens student groups and several faculty bodies. The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. has also recently voted to divest.

Modeled after the South Africa divestment campaigns of the 1980s, the movement has won the support of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. “I've been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa,” Tutu has written. “I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about.”

Further outreach and actions in support of the campaign are planned for the weeks and months to come.

About Students for Justice in Palestine

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Pittsburgh is a new student group that aims to raise awareness about the devastating toll of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of the United States in blocking efforts at a fair and just peace.

Members are of different ethnicities, religions and political views, but are united by the common belief that the brutal Israeli occupation and its support from the United States are the main causes of the very real suffering felt by both sides of the conflict, and that it is our responsibility to do what we can to ensure that this situation does not continue.

Press Contact:
Sam Waite
Phone: 412-681-1968
Email: spw5@pitt.edu

www.pitt.edu/AFShome/s/o/sorc/public/html/pittsjp/

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