Scientists for Palestine stands in solidarity with our black colleagues, in the US and around the world, in the struggle against the plague of systemic racism. We feel a particular resonance, as the similarities between the struggle faced by African-Americans and Palestinians are staggering. Palestinian scientists know all too well what it is like to have fundamental human rights stripped away from them. We join our colleagues in their commitment to ending the violent effects of systemic racism, wherever they take place.

As Dr. King said: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”. We hope that soon the scientific and academic world will stand up united to end systematic racism against our black colleagues, against Palestinians, and against racism in all of its forms. Until then we will be steadfast in our active solidarity with our black colleagues. That is why we endorse the strike on Wednesday June 10th. To show our active support, we call on our Palestinian colleagues to submit a short video to express their solidarity with as well as joining the strike on June 10th!

Guidelines on how to make the video:

  1. Please submit the video no later than Tuesday June 9th at 10 a.m. Palestine time to give us enough post-production time.
  2. The video should be no longer than 30 seconds, all submissions which exceeds this limit will not be considered.
  3. The video can be shot with professional cameras (preferred) or cell-phones, so long as the final product is of good enough quality.
  4. Please shoot the video horizontally so that post-production will be easier.
  5. Please start the video by introducing yourself mentioning your full name, your affiliation and your research field.
  6. Please end your video with the sentence “I believe that Black Lives Matter”.
  7. During the video, it would be appreciated if you could hold a sign with some of the hashtags created for the event, like #ShutDownSTEM, #ShutDownAcademia or other which can be found at: https://www.shutdownstem.com/.
  8. We would appreciate it if the video contained a sentence or two explaining the special empathy felt by us as Palestinians. (e.g. As a Palestinian Scientists I know too well what systematic racism is like).
  9. Please clearly state that you will be striking on June 10th (e.g. … that is why I am striking in solidarity with my black colleagues on June 10th).

Guidelines on how to submit the video:

Please upload your video via https://wetransfer.com/ and fill out the “email to” box with Scientists for Palestine email (admin@scientists4palestine.com).

For more info on what you can do: https://www.shutdownstem.com/