South Pasadena Tenants Union stands in full solidarity with Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace and all organizers calling for an end to the US supported genocide in Palestine. We condemn the use of police to brutalize our students and disrupt their dissent. SPTU was founded in protest and believes that the fundamental human right to organize and express our criticism of the government is critical to maintaining our democracy and must be protected. There is no excuse for any use of force against students righteously calling for an end to the crimes against humanity being committed by the Israeli government in Palestine.
As parents and educators who work hard to give our children the education provided by the excellent school system in South Pasadena and who hope to send our students to the very same institutions where students are making their historic mark on the world, we are inexpressibly proud of the courageous student activists who express the moral clarity that so many adults in our country sadly lack. This in fact, is the whole point of our education system: to grow young people who are critical, informed, ethical, and passionately engaged in the moral decisions of our times. From civil rights, to the Vietnam War, to divestment from apartheid South Africa, our student protestors have lead the way for us. The decisions by administrators to send in police to enact horrible violence against them for daring to stand up for what is right has always been wrong.
From the beginning, the Zionist occupation of Palestine has relied on land theft and forced evictions. These same tactics are used by landlords against tenants and have been used recently by American universities to punish protestors. As renters we stand steadfastly opposed to the displacement of families whether it be in South Pasadena, Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Tigray or American university campuses. We call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine, full right to return for all Palestinians, and an end to US support politically and financially of the Zionist occupation of Palestine.
We continue to work for a world where every person has access to safe and affordable housing.
South Pasadena Tenants Union