The Working Committee of Graduates for Palestine (WCGP) is an autonomous group of graduate students and workers organizing for the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) Movement at the University of Oregon. We fight for a free Palestine!
Our Mission Statement:
We are dedicated to advancing the cause of Palestinian liberation at the University of Oregon. We understand the Palestinian struggle to be one that is primarily against settler colonialism, apartheid, and imperialism – all of which are constitutive of the Zionist project of Israel. As people situated in the United States, we recognize that our government and corporations are deeply involved in supporting Israel’s continued occupation of Palestine, with the U.S. Department of State alone giving the Zionist regime over $3 billion annually – the vast majority of which goes toward funding the Israeli military. As academic workers, we also recognize that our positionality entails specific forms of solidarity that mostly pertain to decoupling U.S. higher education from the Zionist project.
Our Committee’s Two Major Goals:
To make the University of Oregon a BDS campus. That we divest from all companies that are complicit in reproducing the Israeli occupation, with an emphasis on weapons manufacturers (e.g., Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney [formerly known as Raytheon]).
To create an infrastructure for Palestinian liberation and adjacent struggles on campus, which includes promoting events, workshops, panels, and literature, etc. That we are involved in promoting political education that pertains to the Palestinian struggle and our connection(s) to it for both the campus community and Eugene-Springfield.
Our Six Demands for the University of Oregon:
We demand that UO implement a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) program on campus in accordance with the ASUO Resolution passed on May 23, 2018. This includes, but is not limited to, Sabra, Tribe, Hewlett Packard, Sodastream, Motorola, Caterpillar, G4s, Elbit Systems, and any other company that fits within BDS guidelines.
We demand that the UO establish a commission to this end, composed of faculty, students, classified staff, and administrators to oversee the incorporation of the proposed BDS program into campus governance.
We demand that the UO provide and promote formal protections for faculty, students, and staff when speaking, writing, or having views that express solidarity with Palestinians.
We demand education for our students that exposes the true nature of Israel’s occupation of Palestine, as well as its ideology that conflates Palestinian liberation and challenges to Zionism as antisemitic.
We demand that the UO cease all academic exchanges and other relationships with Israeli universities which includes, but is not limited to, Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, Ben-Gurion University, and Technion.
We demand the University divest from TIAA CREF and reinvest in other retirement plan options not tied financially to Israel.
Our Social Media Accounts:
Subscribe to our Substack to receive educational zines, action toolkits for the BDS Movement at UO, info about Palestine organizing on campus, and general pro-Palestine political education.
To learn about upcoming WCGP events and meetings, you can also check out our Instagram: gradsforpalestine.uo