Social Justice Bermuda Statement of Solidarity with the People of Palestine

Social Justice Bermuda (SJB) stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine. We must be clear in calling this situation what it is: this is not a conflict, this is not a war, this is a genocide. Social Justice Bermuda joins other global social justice movements and human rights groups calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow for humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. The atrocities committed by Hamas militants on Saturday, October 7th do not, in any way, justify atrocities in kind by the Israeli State against Palestinian civilians.

The conflict between Palestine and Israel occurs within the context of a brutal 56 year occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel, the implementation of an Apartheid regime in Israel towards Palestinians, and the provocations over the last 12 months of the most far-right Israeli Government of recent times, one that includes (as Cabinet Ministers) outright fascists who have advocated for genocide of the Palestinian people. This is not in any way to condone the actions of October 7th, only to provide context – the events did not happen in a vacuum. One does not have to condone them to understand how they occurred. The ongoing, brutal war crimes against the Palestinian civilians are not justified. 

SJB does not condone antisemitism but we are critical of the actions of Israel and Zionism, which are very different from Judaism itself. Likewise, it is important to note that not all Palestinians are Hamas or Islamic Jihad. We have strong concerns about the media sharing unverified and inflammatory stories (i.e., rape, beheadings). This strikes us as an attempt to inflame Islamophobic and anti-Arab prejudices so as to manufacture consent for war crimes against Palestinians.

Social Justice Bermuda also recognizes there is a direct line between the Israeli Apartheid regime and the ongoing police brutality epidemic in the USA, as noted by Amnesty International. 

Social Justice Bermuda recognizes that the illegal occupation of Palestine represents an unlawful use of force/aggression by Israel, the occupying power, and as such the people of Palestine have the continuous right to resist the occupation and to self-defense by any and all means. Additionally, SJB recognizes that the UN General Assembly in Resolution 2105 of 1965 requires all States to provide material and moral assistance to the national liberation movements in colonial territories. SJB further recognizes that UN General Assembly Resolution 2625 of 1970 recognises the right to resist against any foreign forcible actions that deprive people of their right to self-determination, inclusive of the Palestinian people. This right is further enshrined by the 1982 UN General Assembly Resolution 37/43, which affirms the legitimacy of the struggle for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation by all available means, including armed struggle against illegal occupation, inclusive of the Palestinian people. 

SJB also recognizes the importance of the Additional Protocol 1 of the 1977 Geneva Convention, in which Article 1(4) classifies conflicts in which peoples are fighting against alien occupation and racist regimes as armed conflicts. Individuals engaging in such fighting, if captured, should be afforded the status of prisoners of war, meaning their fighting is legitimate. 

SJB further notes that acts of collective punishment and targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure (including schools, hospitals, power plants, water treatment plants, apartment buildings, etc.) constitute war crimes.

SJB also notes that while the use of white phosphorus is legal in certain war situations, its use in densely populated areas with high risk of civilian endangerment, is prohibited and constitutes war crimes in the form of the use of chemical warfare against civilians. 

To this end, SJB calls for the following:

1. The immediate cessation of hostilities towards the people of Palestine. 

2. The immediate provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine.

3. The immediate end of the occupation, including the removal of illegal settlers throughout the West Bank, and the return of Shebaa Farms to Lebanon and the Golan Heights to Syria.

4. The prosecution of war crimes against the Israeli state and any state – including the USA and the UK – that has materially aided and abetted the occupation and war crimes against the Palestinian people. 

In addition, Social Justice Bermuda endorses the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law. To that end, SJB has identified the following companies that have a Bermuda-based presence that are complicit in the occupation, war crimes and maintenance of Apartheid in Palestine:

1. Google – Involved in a $1.2 billion deal ‘Project Nimbus’ to provide cloud services to the Israeli Defense Forces. https://theintercept.com/2022/07/24/google-israel-artificial-intelligence-project-nimbus/

2. Caterpillar (Bermuda) Ltd – Provision of specialized equipment used in the destruction of Palestinian homes, villages and farmland in the West Bank. https://www.amnestyusa.org/updates/caterpillar-incs-role-in-human-rights-violations-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territories/

3. AXA – Invests in Israeli banks which finance the theft of Palestinian land and natural resources.  https://bdsmovement.net/axa-divest 

4. Any other entity found to be complicit in the occupation or war crimes.

We call on the people of Bermuda to join us and stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine in their pursuit of self-determination and freedom from apartheid and human rights abuses. #FreePalestine #CeasefireNow

Download Statement as a PDF

Tuesday, November 2, 2022