On Nov. 14 at 1 p.m., the University of Maine’s Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) chapter rallied on the steps of Fogler Library in 35 degree weather to once again demonstrate discontent and anger over UMaine’s Board of Trustees (BoT) lack of action when it comes to divesting from companies complicit in war crimes committed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Third-year student and President of UMaine JVP, Talia Cullum, began the rally with a speech.
“We have a tide behind us. We need to harness that power, bring it to our administration, and show them that we won’t stop,” she stated. “If they are going to continue to ignore the will of their student body, we need to bring the fight to them.”
Cullum discussed how she and other members of JVP would be taking the roughly hour-long drive from the UMaine campus in Orono to Farmington, Maine, where the Nov. UMaine BoT meeting will be taking place on Monday, Nov. 17, at 8 a.m. in the Olsen Student Center.
At the meeting, Cullum and several others plan to speak directly to the board, urging them to divest in companies that have ties with Israel, specifically Caterpillar Inc., a company that produces bulldozers used in the flattening of buildings on the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
President of the Maine Chapter of Veterans for Peace, Adam Toothaker, delivered an opening remark regarding what this movement is truly about.
“This movement is about saying no to genocide, apartheid, and cruelty and saying yes to humanity and justice.” Following his speech, the crowd erupted in agreement.
Toothaker brought attention to the fact that many states, including Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania, require you to state that you are not boycotting Israel to receive government contracts. Maine, however, retains the right to boycott and divest from Israeli companies with no legal pushback.
Toothaker compared the current conflict with South Africa’s apartheid state in the ‘80s and how calling for a boycott of South African goods and companies had also faced heavy backlash, referring to it as “Economic Terrorism and collective punishment.”
At approximately 1:30 p.m., the group had started its march, led by Cullum, around the University Mall, during which a student from Hart Hall shouted for the group to “shut up.” Later in an interview, Cullum shared her thoughts on the comment. “It’s like twice a year. I feel like you can get over it,” said Cullum.
While marching around the University Mall, the group chanted phrases such as “Divest Now,” “Free, free, free Palestine,” and “UMS must divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.”
The group returned to their original meeting place at the steps of Fogler Library, entering the library from its north entrance and silently marched to its exit on its east facing doors, which opened to the Memorial Union.
They marched from Fogler Library into the Memorial Union using the entrance into the Bear’s Den Cafe and exited through the second floor’s northern doors.
Entering the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, the group gathered for final remarks. Cullum reflected on what was to come in the following days, once again discussing her trip to Farmington to talk directly with the UMaine BoT regarding their lack of divestment from Israeli companies complicit in the furthering of international war crimes.
