Student Body Endorses Statement of Solidarity with Palestine and Student Movements

By The Graduate Press Editorial Board

On May 17, 2024, the Graduate Institute Student Association (GISA) President Angello A. Leon Mejía announced a 24-hour flash vote for the GISA student body to endorse a solidarity statement with Palestine and student movements proposed by the Middle East and North Africa Initiative (MENA) and the Decolonial Action Network (DAN). Voting was open from May 17 at 5 PM to May 18 at 5 PM for current GISA members.

On May 19, the results were announced: 250 votes (89.6%) in favor of endorsing the statement, 25 votes (9%) against it, and 4 abstentions. With a 26.8% voter turnout, the statement received over 50% support.

Per GISA’s statutes, the statement was endorsed and signed as the “GISA Student Body” with the GISA logo affixed. The GISA Executive Committee affirmed its commitment to academic freedom, open dialogue, and condemning violence against civilians.

On May 21, the GISA President circulated the signed solidarity statement, thanking students for participating and reiterating GISA’s stance on diverse opinions and open discussion. He clarified GISA’s procedures for endorsing solidarity statements through the statutes and bylaws.

Following is the text of the now-passed solidarity statement:

“IHEID students stand in solidarity with Palestine and student movements
At a time when Palestinians mark the Nakba that started in 1948 and continues today with the genocide by Israel, our solidarity is crucial. In Gaza, wanton and devastating Israeli attacks have reduced every university to rubble, causing immense suffering for Palestinian students, educators, and staff. Lives have been lost, bodies maimed, homes destroyed, and careers shattered.
We, the students of the Geneva Graduate Institute (IHEID), stand against this scholasticide and denounce the repressive tactics used to silence student mobilisations at other academic institutions in Switzerland and worldwide. We condemn the deployment of police forces and the use of violence to
suppress the activities of solidarity with the Palestinian people at UNIGE, EPFL, ETH, HEAD, the University of Basel, and HEPIA. We support the demands of these student-led mobilisations for our educational institutions to: call for
a permanent ceasefire; condemn Israel’s relentless oppression of the Palestinian people; adopt a proactive policy of welcoming and supporting Palestinian students and researchers; and disclose and sever long standing ties with Israeli universities and any other links to the Israeli systems of apartheid
and colonialism.
We believe that police action, unjust and contrary to academic values, stifles critical discourse vital to educational missions and undermines the duty of institutions to safeguard their students. It sends a chilling message to students, faculty, and staff that calling for justice will be met with aggression and
repression rather than transparency, participation, and dialogue. We denounce the targeting of pro-Palestinian student advocacy under the guise of security concerns. Despite facing such repressive measures, students stand united in our transnational pursuit of solidarity, justice, and dignity for all.
Our support honours the resolute endorsement of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement made by the IHEID student body. We thus call on the leadership of Swiss academic institutions to restore conditions for genuine dialogue and to respect the legitimacy of students’ demands. Academic institutions must uphold their values by addressing student demands to stop all
engagements that normalise Israel’s systems of oppression towards Palestinians. We also urge university administrators, students, faculty, and community members to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, to boycott Israel, and to amplify Palestinian voices during this ongoing genocide.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting movements that seek justice for all oppressed peoples. No one is free until we are all free. No one is free until Palestine is free!

In unwavering solidarity,
The Students of the Geneva Graduate Institute.

The Editorial Board of The Graduate Press has also voted to endorse the aforementioned statement of solidarity. In a board of 10 members, 8 voted to endorse and 2 abstained.