Dozens of UCSF healthcare workers and students rallied at the UCSF Parnassus campus to remember the Palestinian healthcare workers who have been killed and to demand freedom for imprisoned healthcare workers in Gaza and the West Bank. Also fired UCSF worker Denise Caramagno spoke about her firing and supporting other UCSF healthcare workers who were organizing against the genocide. The action took place on September 6, 2024 and it faced growing repression by the UC management and Regents who have instituted new rules to limit free speech and organizing for Palestine. Additional Media: UCSF Doctor & SEIU 1021/CWA UPTE Workers Speak Out On Palestine At SF General Hospital • UCSF Doctor & SEIU 1021/CWA UPTE Work… SFGH UCSF Healthcare Workers Protest Israeli US Genocide In Gaza Against Palestinians • SFGH UCSF Healthcare Workers Protest … The War On Palestinians & The US Labor Movement with NWU President Larry Goldbetter • The War On Palestinans & The US Labor… The AFL-CIO Squashed a Council’s Cease-Fire Resolution. What Does It Say About Labor Right Now? https://inthesetimes.com/article/afl-… Palestinian Trade Unions Call for an End to Arming Israel https://merip.org/2023/10/palestinian… UAW 2865 Calls On California Leaders To Demand. A Ceasefire And An End To The Occupation Of Palestine https://uaw2865.org/uaw-2865-calls-on… The Israeli Histadrut, Zionism, The AFL-CIO & Imperialism With Carol Lang • The Israeli Histadrut, Zionism, The A… The AFL-CIO, Racism, Apartheid & Zionism With Jeff Blankfort / ww-11-2-23-the-afl-cio-racism-apartheid-zi… The Labor Voices Opposing U.S. Military Support for Gaza Siege https://inthesetimes.com/article/gaza… Palestine Journalists, Educators & US Labor-An Education Panel • Palestine Journalists, Educators & US… Production Of Labor Video Project www.labormedia.net
Transcript:
0:08everyone please join us in a [Applause] circle we’re so grateful for your being
0:16here and we’d like to join first in a prayer for prayerful
0:23Circle giving thanks to the indigenous
0:30stewards of this land who have given permission and
0:37blessing for us to be here today and to stand with the
0:42indigenous Elders stewards of the land of
0:49Palestine so if you would like to close your eyes and
0:54[Applause] feel the healing energy
1:00of our mother earth feel all the ancestors who have come before
1:08us who have stood in their heart connection their
1:15reciprocity with this land that nurtures
1:21us all our ancestors and our indigenous Elders stand with us today
1:31we are here we call upon all healthcare workers and all people of the
1:37world to honor the approximately
1:43900 Palestinian healthcare workers who have been murdered in this
1:51genocide the 179 or more who are currently being
1:57held imprisoned and
2:03tortured we connect to the healing energy of this
2:09land we send our prayers to our colleagues to the people
2:15of Palestine to people all over the world who are being harmed by systems of Supremacy and
2:27violence I’m going to be Qui it and I want you to join in a moment of healing
2:35prayer whatever that means to you we speak from our hearts we see from
2:43our hearts we speak the truth about healing and Justice feel your
2:49connection to your purpose and to what the land and the people are calling us all living beings
2:56are calling us to do on behalf of all
3:02life we’ll stand in silence for a moment thank you all so much for coming today
3:07it’s an enormous privilege to be here with you we wanted to affirm the values that have brought us together this is a
3:13space that will not tolerate any forms of hate speech and youall are welcome to even come in a bit more if you
3:19prefer in our gathering to speak up about the genocide in Palestine we cannot forget about the ongoing
3:25genocides in Sudan in Tigra in the DRC genocides of the past and those ongoing
3:31in the present these are not aberration but features of the same system that
3:37represses us now we stand for the liberation of all oppressed peoples and recognize our duty as Healthcare
3:43professionals to speak out for the health of all and for those interested in learning more we’re passing out our QR code with a petition and support of
3:51our beloved faculty member Mr n Carano today we’re joined by various others who will share updates on
3:57Palestine and stories about ucsf’s repression of our advocacy we will reaffirm our
4:02commitment to help for all but to start we’d like to honor and memorialize our lost healthcare workers in Palestine and
4:09our detained our unlawfully detained healthcare workers in Palestine and we’re going to soon be reading out names
4:16of those who have been unlawfully detained or lost doctors nurses and
4:21dentists in Palestine Dr Muhammad Muhammad Abu Salia Dr AK Hussein Dr AK
4:32Dr Dr Muhammad
4:38drf Dr mahm Dr Muhammad J ja Al
4:44AB Dr Ahmed abua Dr Mustafa Judah Dr Faruk Ash Dr
4:51Muhammad aadat Dr s Muhammad Abdul fat Abu drad Ahmed Muhammad Al DC Dr Ham
5:01Muhammad ibraim dud dran Dr
5:08alal Dr W fum Dr Ahmed El Dr KH hamuda
5:16Dr Ahmed
5:23Mina Dr Adnan Al Dr Muhammad Alan Dr
5:29khed Dr Ali Dr khid Al Dr Muhammad khid
5:37Al Dr s ABD Mar Dr Sam Abu Dr haar alra
5:46Dr Jamal aad Dr Naf Alim Dr basam mikdad
5:52dram Ahmed Dr Ahmed Musa dran Abu zri Dr
5:58nahed Abu Dr Ahmed
6:04abdd Al Dr Dr Al Dr Al Dr mm AB
6:18Dr Dr Hamza Abu Dr Ahmed Al Dr Adan Abu
6:26Dr mahm abdad Dr Sal Dr
6:34Musta Dr Dr khed Abdul Abdullah dras Ahmed Al
6:44Dr mad mad ala Dr Mo Raj M Dr Basim
6:50Ramadan alri Dr kand RI Muhammad fishko
6:56Dr niad mid Dr y Musta s Al mus Dr Oni
7:02mahm Rah Jana Dr Muhammad gim Dr Jihad Ali Dr Ahmed Al Dr Wasim mahani at this
7:12point in the list of those unlawfully detained were not even halfway through but for anyone who would like to offer
7:18the rose in Vigil and in morning to the bear you’re welcome to and to give a
7:24silent prayer as we finish some more of the names drar FY
7:30Dr mus Dr an KH Dr KH Abdul
7:37Kim Dr mm Al shami dram Hass Abu Dr Sam
7:44alul Dr suan Abu Sal Abu Mustafa Dr
7:50Mahmud alhak Dr Ahmed Abu saah Dr Omar Muhammed
7:57is dram kab Dr Dr
8:05an we’re 77 names of over 200 that
8:10health workers watch Palestine has documented as being unlawfully detained in Gaza doing their jobs protecting the
8:19health of their Community much like we do today we have a line of speakers today and we’re going to start by
8:24updating on the situation in Palestine by the Palestinian youth movement a representative
8:30and um furthermore I’d like to just say to everyone again we have media present today for those who are camera shy
8:36please participate in whichever way you feel is best for you so our next speaker I’d like to invite you up hi everyone my
8:42name is s I use she her pronouns I am a Hematology Oncology clinical pharmacist
8:48here at UCSF and I speak to you today as a Palestinian who was really excited to
8:54come to UCSF for my residency training years ago and I got hired on and I now stand before for you years later really
9:00ashamed and embarrassed to be working here to be working at a place that not
9:06only not only doesn’t speak up against the genocide and speak for the healthcare workers that are
9:12being that are going through a lot in Palestine but also for their own employees and own workers here who are
9:21experiencing lots of things I don’t really want to go into but I was tasked
9:26today with grounding us all in the commitment of our people to lifel land and Liberation just as our people
9:33continue to stay committed so must we here in diaspora and all around the world we know that this October is going
9:40to mark one year of genocide and in the span of one year the Gazza Health Ministry has released the names of over
9:4740,000 Martyrs with updated projections estimating over
9:52189,000 Martyrs I don’t think I need to spew facts I think we’ve gotten to a point
9:58where you can’t really deny the genocide and we know that at this point
10:03in time with the funding and the backing of the United States Israel has taken the most extreme of measures revealing
10:10to the world the extent that it’s willing to go to Project its colonial state and it’s clearly in an existential
10:17crisis Israel is an absolute absolutely in a crisis and so from Gazza to Janine
10:22to the Bay Area and Beyond we as Palestinians and people of conscience have a role to play in our struggle
10:30um I think people always want to say there’s two sides you know to what’s happening Etc but really the two sides
10:37are either that you’re on the side of genocide or that you’re on the side of ending genocide there’s no Nuance
10:43there’s no neutrality there’s no additional context needed there’s only complicity in genocide and ending
10:48genocide and this is clear and as healthc Care Professionals we want to make sure that we that we are clear
10:54about that demand and about that distinction I also want to say that when we learn
11:01and study the history and when we look at atrocities of the past we always wonder how are things allowed to go on
11:07for so long and we are in one of those moments right now we have a moral obligation as healthc Care Professionals
11:13as healthcare workers to speak up because it’s a moral duty to demand a complete Sease fire and an end to the
11:19genocide in Gaza we will not wait around for this genocide to end we must honor our
11:25Martyrs and fight like hell for the living we must continue to fight until es fire Liberation and return um that’s
11:33all really I want to say I organize with the Palestinian youth movement I’ve been an organizer for 10 years I’ve been in
11:38the Bay Area for almost four years and if you aren’t already plugged in to students for justice in Palestine at
11:44UCSF for any other organization or group of people that are doing good work now is the time thank
11:55you thank you thank you so much and before we move into our next very important speaker I wanted to mention
12:01some words especially for those who are new into our community my name again is camel AA I’m a third-year medical
12:07student here and for the last 11 months courageous healthcare workers at UCSF have advocated for the health justice of
12:14Palestinians who are facing an ongoing genocide many of us were drawn to this University because of its image as a
12:21social justice Bastion it was our hope that UCSF would engage in the ongoing
12:26genocide in a principled manner much like they did with their Myriad Medical Aid drives and public outreaches of
12:32support for the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 I’d like to share with you how the
12:37UCSF Administration has responded us to thus far we began with letters hundreds of
12:43students and faculty detailing our responsibility to speak against the systematic destruction of Healthcare in
12:49Palestine UCSF Administration began with ignoring us hundreds and hundreds of us
12:55mobilized in peaceful demonstrations asking UCSF to respond to the genocide in line with the World Health
13:01Organization which called for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of a corridor for humanitarian aid for 10 or 11 months at
13:08this point UCSF Administration began to discredit our work as abhorent and shocking and refused to honor our
13:15principles medical residents spoke of the moral imperative to call for a ceasefire in Gazza gaining widespread
13:21support on social media UCSF responded with a cease and desist
13:26letter and the list of repression we face in our advocacy for human rights is long at UCSF reflecting a pattern of
13:33violating our constitutional rights to free speech at a public University staff have been told to remove solidarity
13:40symbols or else face disciplinary action faculty with decades long history and help Justice have been barred from
13:46mentioning Gaza in their talks or giving lectures altogether students have existed in
13:51every day in an environment of fear knowing our administrators are crafting policies to limit and punish our freedom
13:57of expression on campus and now Miss Denise carmano our brilliant and beloved
14:02care advocacy director for nearly 10 years has been fired because of her commitment to antioppressive
14:10work thank you all so much hello hello I’m speaking to you from the sidewalk
14:15because I’m prohibited from stepping on UCSF property my name is Denise Gano I
14:21use sheha pronouns and I was your care appetite so um The CARE program serves
14:28people experienced sexual assault interpersonal violence discrimination
14:33harassment and it came about as a direct result of student protest and student
14:39activism so I came to this campus to establish that program because the
14:44students demanded it so I know who I worked for I know who I was accountable to the students UCSF is a public
14:52institution and you’ve heard me say this before it’s your school no one has more
14:58right to this space than than you do there are however people who think that they can co-opt this institution with
15:04their money and their power and UCSF isn’t unique in this Dei
15:10being co-opted and weaponized across the country as um white
15:17people want to silence the voices of people of color my entire 30-year career has been
15:24about preventing and addressing violence part of my job at UC St was violence
15:30prevention education and you know that the way that we prevent violence is to
15:35address and dismantle those systems of Oppression racism sexism transphobia
15:43homophobia ableism colonialism so recently I spoke out in
15:49support of my black and brown colleagues as they spoke out against gen the
15:55genocide of black brown people and UCSF TI to silence me they told me to be
16:01quiet I continue to support my colleagues and so now I’m being fired and
16:10um but but do you know who’s fired the most here at this institution like disproportionately by a landslide I’ll
16:17give you a hint it’s not white people black people are fired here disproportionately and all of these
16:24systems are connected so we have to be connected woo
16:30so I’m sad to lose my job supporting survivors but I have no regrets as a
16:36mother and as an advocate I had to follow my conscience even when it’s a scary thing to do we have to do what’s
16:43right and I had to try to model the Integrity that I’ve tried to instill in my children so we have to stand up for
16:50each other even when it’s hard and scary we have to be United in our struggles against these systems of Supremacy
16:57there’s no other way to achieve Justice and there will never be peace without
17:03Justice yes we’re healers we’re healthcare
17:09workers we’re future healthcare workers we’re academics of such we have an ethical
17:16responsibility to call out genocide genocide is the most extreme form of
17:21racism we cannot be silent what greater healthc care crisis
17:27have we witnessed In Our Lifetime than the systematic dismantling of the healthare system in
17:34Palestine and we can fight this fight right here right now on this aloney land
17:39we can use our voices our experience our academic expertise in our platforms I
17:45want to give a special thanks to the Jewish allies I’m so grateful for you I know this is a very hostile environment
17:52for you all and I thank you for your commitment and your
17:57courage since you CSF decided to fire me I’ve been hearing from people all over
18:02the world and what they tell me is that we are on the right side of history when
18:08has a nationwide student movement ever been wrong I stand with yall I stand with the students you make me hopeful
18:15for our future thank you for being here free
18:22Palestine thank you [Applause]
18:30there are flowers being distributed so you can offer a silent prayer to the Bear in memory of our healthcare worker
18:36colleagues who have been killed or unlawfully detained in Palestine for taking care of the health of their
18:42people at this point I’d like to move on to our next speaker someone who knows Denise personally um to see if they are
18:48here in attendance at the moment perfect and you are more than welcome to come thank you so much for
18:54joining us [Applause]
19:00everyone uh my name is Norman Archer and uh I’m a recent graduate of UCSF school of medicine and I’m currently a family
19:07medicine physician resident at San Francisco General Hospital um when I was a medical student here I was part of the
19:13Care ambassador program um for those of you who don’t know it’s a program um and
19:19student Le initiative meant to bridge the Care office with students and give them resources um and it was through
19:26being a care Ambassador that I got to know Denise um I’ve learned so much from Denise she’s taught me about
19:32trauma-informed communication bystander intervention um and how to support and
19:37Empower survivors of interpersonal violence I know Denise to have a keen sense of justice that reflects her
19:44Decades of working with the communities that she wants to serve um she’s been consistently dedicated to the students
19:51here on this campus and she’s a fierce Ally to marginalized communities of all different kinds of identities she’s one
19:58of the most kind and thoughtful people that we have had at our University and this university has really benefited
20:03from her expertise in violence prevention I want to call out how her
20:09wrongful and punitive determination actually leaves students without a
20:14supportive and knowledgeable and confidential trusted resource to go to we are now without one of the most
20:21qualified people to help students on this campus and I think that it sends a
20:26message to students on this campus that it’s not a safe space to speak up against violence it’s not a safe space
20:32to speak up against Health disparities and it’s not a safe space to speak up against
20:37genocide advocacy should be uplifted on this campus not
20:42punished Denise must be restored to her position and Palestine must be free
20:47thank you so much and thank you Denise what is the state of our University if we as healthare workers cannot speak out
20:54against genocide how far will this repression go if we don’t speak up in the this moment I’d like to invite our
21:00next speaker Dan a medical student with jvp thank you thanks
21:06everyone so my name is Daniel use he and they pronoun and I’m a medical student
21:11representing the Jewish voice for peace at [Applause]
21:18UCSF as others here I have felt overwhelmed by Israel’s violence against Palestinians in the past 11 months and
21:26the and over the past 76 years this violence is a deep wound to our
21:32Collective moral conscience I’m here as a proud Jewish person to remind all of
21:38us that criticizing Israel and its attempts to eliminate and expel the Palestinian
21:44people is not
21:50anti-semitic Jews like myself who are horrified by the oppression occurring in
21:55Gaza represent a significant portion of the Jewish community at UCSF in the Bay
22:01Area and in the world that’s right I’d also like to talk about the concept of
22:06Jewish safety many Israelis and other people who align with Zionism claim that
22:13advocating for the liberation of Palestinians somehow diminishes the safety of the Jewish
22:19people I believe that we as Jews do not need to build walls and oppress others
22:24to be safe [Applause]
22:29I look around to our beautiful Community here diverse and full of love all around
22:36us our safety is through solidarity across ethnic and religious
22:42lines look at the beautiful space we’ve been able to build just right
22:48here I’d also like to talk about how like many of my Jewish
22:53colleagues I have family who survived the Holocaust we grew up with the adage
22:58never again for the survivors of genocide never again must mean never again for
23:06anyone I feel sickened that members of my community of my Jewish Community are perpetrating this
23:13violence Israel has killed well over 40,000 people in guaza since October 7th
23:18and 900 of those healthcare workers and the lsit recently estimated that the total death to will rise to
23:25186,000 by the time the dust settles these are unfathomable numbers and we
23:31must say the words that UCSF leadership refuses to this is
23:38genocide and finally our University leadership has used intimidation and
23:43retaliation to try to silence us they have made defamatory and false comments
23:49about the director of our Care Program Denise Denise advocates for all students
23:55staff and faculty harmed by sexual harassment violence and oppression
24:01including some of my best friends who have survived rape I’m sharing the story with their permission multiple students have had on
24:09have currently ongoing legal cases who were receiving help from Denise who served as the only sexual assault
24:15advocate for all 35,000 UCSF Affiliates the school did not notify any
24:21of Denise’s clients that she was fired and students were grateful that fjp for
24:27the fjp press release because that is how many of my peers found out that she was
24:33fired Denise upholds the belief that oppression of any one group facilitates oppression of any of other marginalized
24:40peoples her integrity and courage are an inspiration to us
24:46all regardless of how UCSF tries to silence us our strength is in our Collective
24:52voice together we are united for this in the struggle for a free Palestine right now thank you all thank you
24:58[Applause] thank you so
25:04much for those who may have just joined us a couple uh housekeeping things anyone who would like to offer a silent
25:11prayer I’m moving some flowers here you’re welcome to take one and I’ll invite you in and you can always deposit
25:16the flower at the bear after your prayer for the healthcare workers of Gazza who have been unlawfully detained and killed
25:23in their efforts to take care of their Community some more housekeeping things we have QR codes there’s two purposes of
25:29them if you scan them you can sign up for students and Justice in Palestine at UCSF the Jewish voice for peace at UCSF
25:36or the faculty and staff for justice in Palestine at UCSF we’ve also attached an action Network petition in defense of
25:43Denise and her unjust termination I’d like to invite our next speaker Rachel Letterman a civil rights attorney to say
25:49some words thank you hi I’m Rachel Letterman I’m a senior
25:57counsel with the Center for protest law and litigation Denise carmano is
26:04being Denise carmano is being fired for speaking out against a repressive social
26:10media attack on health Justice Advocate UCSF professor of Medicine Dr Ruba Maria
26:17on January 25th I sent UCSF a public records request seeking Communications
26:23about a retaliatory post that it shared across multiple UC F platforms related
26:30to Dr Maria’s advocacy against the genocide in Palestine state senator
26:36Scott weiner then characterized Dr Maria’s speech as
26:41anti-semitic and UCSF echoed J this accusation of that her um
26:50statements were baseless and quote unquote anti-semitic the canary mission was
26:56tagged and Dr Maria was do boed and framed as a racist it turns out that
27:01ucsf’s largest donor is the Diller Foundation which supports the canary
27:07Mission and whose for-profit real estate company the Prometheus group supports
27:13Senator weiner so we’re seeking documents to
27:19understand this relationship between these forces and the university in repressing Dr Maria a known advocate for
27:26health Justice although the University initially promised to produce records to
27:31me within 8 weeks months went by and no records were produced my follow-up
27:36emails were completely ignored so we had no choice but to go to court to enforce
27:41ucsf’s clear obligation to comply with the California public records Act and the California
27:47Constitution once the court forces UCSF to produce the records They may shed
27:53more light on its vandetta against Pro Palestine students faculty and staff
27:58advocacy for Palestine and against Zionism is a political ideology and is not
28:05anti-semitic we have the constitutional right to speak out against oppression
28:10and genocide despite uc’s systemwide efforts to stamp out our Movement we can
28:16stand up against them in the streets and in the [Applause]
28:23courts as a civil rights lawyer and as a Jew I’m proud to stand with all of you
28:29healthcare workers who oppose genocide and uphold the value of all people
28:34especially Palestinians thank you thank you so much
28:41for our next speaker Dr Rupa Maria who’s been defending Palestinian lives and defending all lives for the past decades
28:49long uh career in health Justice Rupa you’re welcome to come up thank you thank you everybody for being here um
28:58woo I just want to uh ground Myself by thanking the ancestors for being with us the ancestors of this land who know this
29:05repression the ancestors of my own that know this repression from
29:10Punjab the ancestors of so many of you I see here so many diasporic people are
29:15here because of this same repression it’s not that it ever ended
29:21or got better it just shifted focus and it will continue to do so until we end
29:26it and we can only end it collectively my name is Rupa Maria and I
29:34never even met Denise until I found out that she was being targeted cuz she
29:39stuck up for me Denise got fired for sticking up for me this is an example of
29:46white allyship this is an example of radical solidarity this is the example of what we need to take down a system
29:54that will repress Jewish people in Germany Palestinian people in their
29:59Homeland aloney people right here black and brown people here black people
30:06around the world this is a sickness this is a mind virus that must be addressed
30:13holistically and together Our obligation as healthcare workers is to speak out without fear and
30:21without favor when we see widescale oppression that threatens the health of our communities when we are vient or
30:29silenced in these circumstances people die
30:35needlessly when we saw our colleagues in kza systematically targeted with the destruction of an entire healthc care
30:41infrastructure with the explicit purpose of hening the Eraser of an entire people
30:46from their Homeland we were obligated to speak up and it has been in an an
30:52affront to our professionalism and to our duty to care to be subjected to
30:58racist repression and maligned as racist in the process I am grateful for the advocacy
31:06of my white sister Denise carmano who stood up for my right to express myself in my area of
31:12expertise which is social determinance of Health which is the health impacts of
31:19colonialism which is racism and public health that’s what I study that’s what I
31:26know that’s what I do and she was defamed and now fired as a
31:31consequence it is critical that we make the connections about how power harms us and to make the correct diagnosis so we
31:38can act to stop the harm because an injury to one of us is ultimately an
31:44injury to all of us we speak for Palestinians as we have spoken and will continue to speak up for all groups
31:51confronting oppression black and brown people encountering police violence indigenous people facing racist
31:57structures and policy here in their homelands poor people facing dehumanizing sweeps and criminalization
32:04Governor Nome throwing wheelchairs into the trash healthcare workers must feel
32:10free to speak whenever we see Violent oppression in our communities because
32:15this has long-standing and Rippling effects on Everybody’s Health when our
32:21speech is muzzled as it is here it prevents us from doing our duty to serve
32:26the public good and to uplift the health of all we will not be silent as this
32:33genocide rages in Palestine thank you I wanted to say despite their
32:39tactics of repression and intimidation like Rupa said we will not stay silent we draw from our oath in which new
32:45medical students at UCSF declare I will oppose policies in breach of Human Rights and will not participate in the
32:52msf we are calling on you to honor the oath that you’ve shattered and to our community who are here here today we
32:58thank you for joining us in this oath our next speaker is an academic researcher at UCSF who is also a member
33:04of PSL the party for socialism and Liberation and also UAW the the union
33:09for workers one of the unions for workers here at ucsm assalamu
33:15alaykum may peace be upon you and good afternoon my name is toss I’m an
33:21academic researcher at Mission Bay an aspiring healthcare worker a member of UAW 4811 and a voice for those who
33:29resist here at the UC on May 18th 2024 Chancellor Hood
33:36ordered the violent raid and dismantling of UCSF free Palestine encampment a
33:42nonviolent protest calling for divestment from the occupation and genocide of
33:48Palestinians this came after oppressive actions like militarizing our campus
33:53with armed officers confiscating student property and installing military grade
34:00surveillance equipment on campus following this the violent
34:05repression at UCLA UCI and UCSD as well 48,000 members across the state at UAW
34:154811 voted to go on strike the UC has a long history of
34:22brutalizing student protesters from the Vietnam War to anti- aarti and San uh
34:27South South Africa demonstrations and now again with the fight for Palestinian
34:32Liberation the UC boasts about their free speech movement yet today they
34:38Crush our voices when we raise them for Palestine sh
34:45sh ua48 111’s unfair Labor practice strike aimed to defend Pro Palestine
34:52free speech and workers rights to dignified expression so the UC sub erted
34:58California labor law twice and ultimately Court shopped for the most
35:03conservative judge in the state to suppress us their latest expressive
35:09activities policy which also prohibits masking on campus is just another tactic
35:16they’ve used every trick in the book intimidation surveillance repression and
35:22violence all because we demand they cut ties with genocide
35:28universities and graduate schools should be the place of free thought where students lead the charge for justice but
35:34how can we call this place a place of learning when students are beaten
35:40surveilled and silenced for standing against war crimes how can you see claim
35:46to care about communities when it invests in occupation and destruction
35:51abroad while here at home workers are fighting for health care jobs and
35:56housing our demand is simple reinvest in students patients workers and
36:02communities not occupation and genocide of the Palestinian people our strike has
36:08been paused Denise is being fired but our fight is far from Over the UC is
36:15terrified because we’ve exposed them for what they are complicit in in
36:21Injustice every one of us here must organize expand our movement and build our power we must throw ourselves into
36:28this work no matter how hard no matter what threats we face because we have the power to help see a free Palestine thank
36:36[Applause] you our closing speaker a medical student at UCSF who’s representing
36:42students in Justice for [Applause]
36:56Palestine as the death toll Rises on the ground the efforts of those carrying out
37:03this genocide Also Rises the efforts of those aiding and
37:09abetting this genocide Also Rises the efforts of those who stand by
37:16silently and who suppress the voices of courage and conscience Also
37:22Rises and so must we continue to rise this repression is not new here in the
37:30United States it is as old as the founding of this nation it has moved as different groups
37:37have been targeted and harmed and this repression has been intensifying in alarming
37:44ways but that is the nature of falsehood it is desperate in the face of
37:50Truth and like all falsehood it eventually crumbles in the face of our
37:56Collective Humanity our presence here is a testament to that
38:02fact and as we navigate all of these new barriers and policies aimed at shutting us down
38:09shutting down our voices of Truth we turn to each other for guidance and
38:15support we stand by our beloved colleague and comrade Denise Carano
38:20whose courage and conscience is an inspiration to us all who’s the first UC
38:26employee fired for speaking for the truth We Stand by all of our comrades
38:33taking the brunt of this Crackdown at all levels amidst all of this the Betrayal
38:41of the healthc Care oath the one that binds us together as students and trainees and clinicians the
38:48one that we took to initiate this journey is what Rings the
38:53loudest if we are waiting for the right moment to speak up
38:59that moment has been long overdue as stewards of health and
39:05healing amidst the intimidation we remain as clear sighted and committed as
39:10ever to our mission we must affirm the validity of Palestinian lives as we have
39:17for every marginalized and oppressed Community we must make absolutely clear
39:23our outrage at the targeted destruction of human life
39:28of Health infrastructure our healthc care colleagues the 179 detained and martyred
39:37healthcare workers in Gaza and so we continue to rise to the
39:42occasion our student organization has only been recognized
39:47officially for one month we have been organizing here since October and many
39:53others here before us the fact that we are still here is horrendous and
40:00beautiful the Coalition that has arisen in the face of death and
40:07destruction is beautiful to behold and to experience but the fact the fact that
40:14our Brethren still remain under the boot of genocide occupation and apartheid is
40:22horrendous you can make as many policies as you want you can deploy as many
40:27officers as you want you can tarnish our image but that does not diminish the validity of this cause or are united
40:35unrelenting Presence at this campus our message is as clear as the day we walked
40:41out 11 months ago we will not remain silent as our
40:48Brethren are extinguished in front of our eyes when others turn away we bear
40:54witness when others bury their names under the rug we honor their names and
41:00we lift their mention when others are silent we
41:05speak we will not allow the darkness of Oppression to enshroud the light of
41:11Truth health for all means health for all thank
41:18you we did get word that another Union here in addition to UAW 48111 upti has
41:24some great news to share with our community and I’d like to pass it on yes I’m a member of UPI members for
41:31Palestine um UPI represents 177,000 workers through UC uh OPI members for
41:37Palestine was born out of the necessity because in June 2021 um through the
41:44peace and social justice committee we passed a resolution through the executive board in solidarity with
41:50Palestine however uh after new leadership Came Upon This resolution was
41:57taken off of the website and since then there’s been a prioritization of bargaining and contract
42:04negotiations in spite of the genocide that’s going on there was a statement
42:10made regarding the genocide yes but this resolution was never placed back onto
42:15our website so upd members for Palestine has formed and we’re organizing a um a pal labor for
42:24Palestine event at our convention that we’re having up is having a convention
42:29in San Diego on September 28th and 29th and we’re organizing a labor for
42:35Palestine event meeting on the 27th Friday in San Diego at the peace resource center with the participation
42:42of UAW as well as other unions as well and I just would like to let people know
42:48that there has been a lot of internal struggle going on within our own unions within within many What’s called the
42:54union bureaucracy and in fact we’ve had to deal with the AFL cio’s cancellation
43:01of any kind of uh resolutions that we wanted to present to the labor Council
43:06um and just for your information you CSF thinks that it’s uh new policies of
43:12limited time and space and all that kind of stuff complies with any kind of First Amendment I wonder how many of us know
43:21that we didn’t follow any rules any of these pre-established rules when we when
43:26we fought for our first amendment rights in UC Berkeley in the 1960s women did not follow any rules
43:32when they won the right to vote in 1920s black people did not follow any
43:38rules when they when they fought against slavery so all these rules that UC see
43:43is trying to impose Upon Us of 10day ad advance notice and all that kind of I
43:49don’t want to use the bad word on this solemn day but it’s bold okay thank you very much
43:59thank you for your
