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- April 1, 1:30 pm: Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) will host a phonebanking session where they will work to create a phone bank of potential allies and Cambridge residents.
- April 21, 2 pm: Massive anti-Israel rally led by Boston SJP chapters, at Boston Commons.
Groups participating:
- Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee
- Harvard Law School Justice for Palestine
- Reclaim Harvard Law School
- Northeastern Students for Justice in Palestine
- Boston University Students for Justice in Palestine
- Palestine @ MIT
- The Center for Gender, Sexuality, and Activism
- Boston College Students for Justice in Palestine
- Palestinian Community in Boston
- The Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine
- United for Justice with Peace
- April 23, 4:30 pm: JVP and allies are organizing a pro-BDS rally 30 minutes before the city council meeting. The rally will be held outside of City Hall.
- April 23, 5:00 pm: The resolution will be presented at City Hall, 2nd Floor Sullivan Chamber, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 0213.
- Testimonies start at 5:30 pm.
- JVP is asking activists to show up and testify. Activists that can’t show up to the meeting may submit written testimonies.
- Individuals testifying do not need to be residents of the city of Cambridge.
- JVP and its allies, including the Democratic Socialists of America, are working together on testimonies for activists.
- JVP activists are in regular contact with city council members and are briefing them on opposition talking points to dispute claims that BDS is anti-Semitic.
- JVP Boston believes that Jewish communal organizations are meeting with city council members.
Testimony Strategy
JVP and its allies are creating testimonies on the following topics:
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- HP’s role in Palestine
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- HP’s role in ICE
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- HP’s role in incarcerations
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- What BDS is
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- What BDS is not
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- Why Cambridge
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- Why now
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- The legality of BDS
- Counterpoints to opposition talking points
The template below is being used and disseminated by JVP for structuring testimony to Cambridge City Council in support of HP Boycott:
Note: Testimony can be as short as 4-5 sentences or as long as 3 minutes spoken.
First, introduce yourself and say something like the following, in your own words:
“Mayor McGovern, and Vice Mayor Devereux, and members of the city council. Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts on this important matter. My name is x..\XX\’.X, and like [insert name of previous testifier in your category here], I’m speaking on behalf of [category/topic you will be focusing on in your testimony]. I am a Cambridge [resident I community member I other] and a member of [list appropriate group affiliations – do not mention OR or DSA, because mentioning them will alienate some councilors]. I want to urge the city council of Cambridge to vote yes on this resolution to end business ties with HP Enterprise and HP Incorporated until the companies stop supporting oppression and the violation of human and civil rights.”
Second, highlight one of the following reasons you feel Cambridge should boycott HPE and HP Inc., and explain why that reason for boycotting resonates with you personally [note it’s okay to reference more than one of following, but you should focus on one]:
“As someone who strongly supports Cambridge’s sanctuary city status, I believe Cambridge should honor that status by not contracting with HP Enterprises, given the role these companies have played in creating technology ICE uses to track, detain, and deport immigrants. Immigrants’ rights matters to me personally, because [explain why this reason for boycotting HP Inc. and HPE resonates with you personally].”
“I want to see Cambridge divest from HP Enterprise and HP Inc. until the companies stop supporting the Israeli government’s institutionalized violence against and oppression of Palestinians. Palestinian rights matters to me personally, because [explain why this reason for boycotting HP inc. and HPE resonates with you personaily].”
“Mass Incarceration, what many legal scholars including Michelle Alexander now refer to as The New Jim Crow, causes immense violence and oppression of working class communities of color. Racial justice and ending the violence that the expansion of the state and federal prison systems causes communities of color matters to me personally, because [explain why this reason for boycotting HP inc. and HPE resonates with you personally]”
“The city of Cambridge has a long history of leadership on human and civil rights: from declaring itself a sanctuary for immigrants in 1985, to cutting business ties with Polaroid and other companies complicit in apartheid South Africa in the 1970s and 80s, to hanging a banner reading “Black Lives Matter” over the entrance of Cambridge city hall in 2017. Bringing the city’s investment and contractual practices in line with these established human rights values matters to me personally because [explain why this reason for boycotting HP Inc. and HPE resonates with you personally]”
Lastly, conclude with something like the following, again in your own words:
“Cambridge has a moral obligation to contract only with companies engaging in business practices which align with the city’s ethical standards. Accordingly, I urge members of the city council to vote yes on this resolution to end contracts with HP Enterprise and HP Incorporated until these companies end all support for the oppression and human rights violations that I have mentioned. Thank you for your time.”