Earlier this week, Matt Kolbert, J Street U Vassar co-chair, and our treasurer, Ben Rothman, attended a meeting with the VSA finance committee. The committee was reviewing our application for funding to attend the HaaretzQ conference, a major conference in New York City next Sunday that seeks to address questions of peace and democracy in Israel and Palestine. Our understanding of the discussion that occurred at this meeting was that some members of finance committee raised the concern that the VSA, as an explicitly anti-racist organization should not fund our attendance of the conference. The logic of this concern was based on the belief that Zionism is an inherently racist ideology, and multiple speakers at the conference identify as Zionists, so supporting our attendance of this conference would be contradicting the VSA's anti-racist stance. Because of this concern, the committee decided they would table the application and allow the greater VSA to discuss and vote on it.
The concerns raised by the finance committee trouble us deeply for two reasons. First, because we disagree with the notion that this conference is contrary to the VSA's anti-racist values. Second, because our own anti-racist ideologies are the very reason we exist as an organization: to oppose the occupation of the West Bank and fight for a two-state solution. Attending this conference will enable us to advance those goals.
We will seek to convince the VSA to fund our application. The HaaretzQ conference is educational, and all Vassar students have the right to be informed about all sides of world issues. As J Street U, we intend to remain fully independent in our thinking, and hope that we will be able to bring back knowledge will help us in our effort to end the occupation of the West Bank and forge a two-state solution.
The executive board of J Street U Vassar will be attending the VSA meeting this Sunday, December 6th, at 8:15 PM in New England 105. If you would like to stand in solidarity with us, we encourage you to attend.
Sincerely,
The J Street U Vassar Executive Board
