Critical Filipinx Studies Scholars & Allies Stand in Solidarity with Palestinian People and Commit to Palestinian Liberation
This statement is a response to the urgent and desperate calls from the Palestinian people to end the catastrophic violence against them. We join millions in the global community who have demonstrated and protested, calling for a ceasefire and aid to those most impacted by this genocide.
As Filipinx scholars, educators, and organizers and our allies, we unequivocally condemn the Israeli state’s siege of Palestine and the ongoing U.S. support for its settler occupation of Palestine. The Philippines and Israel can be considered client states of the United States. Since at least the 1960s, U.S. leaders have cast the Philippines and Israel as stable anchors for regional military dominance and “counter-insurgent” security. The 21st century global “War on Terror,” fueled by settler colonial and Islamophobic logics, has only intensified U.S. military and economic support for authoritarian governments and quotidian human rights abuses in places like the Philippines and Palestine. Incalculable ecological and material devastation, alongside countless loss of life and social relations, have resulted from this U.S. investment in regional permanent war.
U.S. corporations that manufacture weapons and intelligence technologies, for instance, Elbit Systems or ELTA Systems, have greatly profited from this “aid” against “terrorism” in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Israel is currently the largest recipient of U.S. military aid. Since its founding, Israel has received over USD 150 billion and has recently demanded USD 10 billion for its continued assault on Gaza. But this military aid is also rerouted into investing in researching and developing security and defense technologies for places like the Philippines. As a former U.S. colony, the “independent” Philippines has been one of the leading recipients of U.S. military aid and loans. Over the last decade, it has been the largest recipient in the Indo-Pacific region, receiving USD 1.14 billion since 2015. This money is used to purchase U.S. military technology and vehicles and, through a decades-long bilateral agreement, Israeli-made cyber security systems alongside other kinds of military planes and boats. The Armed Forces of the Philippines currently works with Israeli defense contractors to integrate Israeli military technology into its military modernization program.
In sum, Philippine “counter-terrorism” is deeply entangled with and contributes to both the U.S. global military-industrial complex and the Israel settler colonial military-industrial complex. Not only does this profoundly affect movements for self-determination in the archipelago, for example, indigenous movements or Muslim communities, but also peasants, workers, students, and land and water protectors who have been “red-tagged.” Indeed, the kinds of “counter-terrorism” tactics deployed to violently suppress, surveil, detain, and arrest any resistance to or critique of Philippine government leaders are enabled through U.S.-Israel defense and security technologies.
At the same time, the long struggle for Philippine liberation has deep ties to the Palestinian struggle. These solidarities trace back to martial law under Ferdinand Marcos when diasporic Filipinos simultaneously demanded cuts to U.S. military aid to Marcos and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Within academia, CFSC was among the groups internal to the Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) to support the boycott of Israeli academic institutions in 2013 and condemn the violent evictions of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah and attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem in 2021. Recently in Cotabato City and Quezon City, thousands of Muslim Filipinos and allies rallied against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Conversely, Palestinians have reaffirmed Philippine movements for genuine sovereignty. Freedom fighter Leila Khaled supported Filipino protests against APEC and inaugurated the Philippine-Palestine Friendship Association in 2015. In 2021, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network denounced the Duterte regime's designation of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines as a “terrorist organization.” We continue this radical legacy of Filipino solidarity with Palestine.
CFSC follows the lead of Palestinian-led organizations in our calls to action:
1) Speak Up!
Resist Islamophobia and coordinated silencing of protests through accusations of anti-Semitism, racism, and deployment of exceptionalism. As evidenced by many Jewish allies to the Palestinian cause, Judaism is not synonymous with the Israeli government. Amplify Palestinian calls for self-determination and shared histories of imperial occupation.
2) Demand an Immediate Ceasefire
There are many ways to take action. Call and email Congress to stop funding war crimes and genocide and support resolutions that demand the Biden administration call for a ceasefire. Donate to organizations providing humanitarian aid in Gaza. Join rallies, protests, teach-ins, vigils, and other activities that show your support and ensure these demands cannot be ignored.
3) Protect One Another in this Process
Support each other as we build on collective power as we fight against intimidation tactics, censorship, and punishment against people who criticize Israeli state policies of occupation or support Palestinian rights. Be wary of disinformation and Western media bias that perpetuates the dehumanization of Palestinians and enables anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim violence. We must be vigilant and attentive to the many fronts of this war.
We call on our kababayan worldwide to decry this genocide. We have a responsibility to condemn the atrocities being committed on our Palestinian kapwa. Organize, mobilize and lend your voices and other resources to end the war machine. We must better understand how our experiences are intertwined with those of the Palestinian people. Our peoples’ freedom can only be realized in our collective fight against colonial occupation and US imperialism. Let us stand up, stand with, and shout out — freedom and liberation for Palestine. From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!
Action items:
Fundraiser for Gaza’s Children
Organizations to follow:
US Palestinian Community Network (National and Chicago Based)
Students for Justice in Palestine (national)
Teaching and Other Resources on Palestine (from the University of Illinois at Chicago Global Asian Studies)
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Signed in Solidarity,
The Critical Filipinx Studies Collective & Community Members:
Valerie Francisco-Menchavez, San Francisco State University
Robyn Rodriguez, Professor Emirita, Asian American Studies
Lucy Burns, Associate Professor, Asian American Studies
WEJ, Brokada Men’s Healing Circle
Josen Masangkay Diaz
Allan Lumba, Filipinx Freedom School
Tracy Buenavista, Professor, Asian American Studies, California State University, Northridge
Melissa-Ann Nievera-Lozano
Trisha Remetir, UC Riverside
Deborah Hernandez
Sarita See, Professor, University of California Riverside
Amanda Solomon Amorao, UC San Diego
Faith Kares, PhD
Camille Ungco, UW-Seattle, UP-Diliman
Dr. DJ Kuttin Kandi
Thea Quiray Tagle, PhD
Keith Camacho
Mark Sanchez
Tessa Winkelmann
Jacqueline Siapno, UC San Diego
Gary Devilles, Ateneo de Manila University
Susette Min, UCD
Jolie Chea, UCLA Asian American Studies
Jan Padios, Associate Professor of American Studies
Ray San Diego, Northwestern University
Nerissa S. Balce, SUNY Stony Brook
Deann Nardo
Christine Balance, Associate Professor, Cornell University
MJ CD
Erin Manalo-Pedro
Sherwin Mendoza, De Anza College
Gina Velasco, Associate Professor and Director, Program in Gender and Sexuality, Haverford College
T. Nguyen-vo, UCLA
gerardo colmenar, U.C. Santa Barbara
Marianne Métivier
Kimberly Alidio, Poet and Professor, Bard Prison Initiative
Neferti Tadiar, Barnard College
Patrick Peralta, University of Michigan
James Zarsadiaz
Jackelyn Mariano, CUNY Hunter College Asian American Studies Program
Alana Bock, UNM
Rolando B. Tolentino, University of the Philippines Film Institute
Melissa Ann Canlas
Bender, Joshua, PhD Student, UCSD Ethnic Studies
Dr. Stef Lira
Vanna Nauk
Theresa N. Kenney, McMaster University
Paul Michael L. Atienza, Cal Poly Humboldt
Michael Manalo-Pedro
alejandro t. acierto, Arizona State University
Bernard James Remollino, San Joaquin Delta College/Mahalaya Newspaper
Teresa Naval, UCSD
CaseyAnn Carbonell
Geraldine Jorge
Johansen Pico, UC Irvine
Elaika Janin Celemen, UCLA
Joi Barrios, UC Berkeley
Jude Paul Dizon, California State University, Stanislaus
John Tolentino, MSW, RSW, Counselling Private Practice
Marlo De Lara, PhD, University of Edinburgh
jaqs gallos aquines, cultural instigators
Claire Valderama-Wallace
LeRoid David
Karen Buenavista Hanna, Connecticut College
Francis Catedral, Fuller Seminary
Aisa Villarosa
Ilyan Ferrer, Carleton University
katrina quisumbing king, Northwestern University
Anna Storti, Duke University
Sophia Openshaw, student
Ligaya L. McGovern, Ph.D., Malaya USA, IPSHRS
Delia D. Aguilar
Aaron Gozum, PhD Student, UC San Diego
Kelly Callejo, Individual
Demiliza Saramosing, MA, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Cindy C. Sangalang, University of California, Los Angeles
Shannon Cristobal, University of Hawaii
Marjorie Antonio, University of Maryland
J.T. Miguel Acido
Elijah Punzal, PhD Student, Tufts University
Mark Villegas, Associate Professor of American Studies at Franklin & Marshall College
Jen Soriano, author and independent scholar
Cynthia Martínez, San Francisco State University
Jenifer Wofford, USF
Germaine Lindsay Juan, University of Minnesota American Studies
GCB, San Francisco State University
Jann Tracee C. Ko Din
Jackie Saporito
Dianne Que
Joy Sales, Malaya Movement USA
Rebecca L Starr, Educator
Kevin Nadal, City University of New York
Karlynne Ejercito, University of Southern California
Romulo Lindio
Angela Domingo, San Francisco State University
Lowell Iporac, AFSA
Ny Nourn - Co-Director of the Asian Prisoner Support Committee
Emlyn Medalla
Jesand Amodo, Music Artist & Educator
Veronica Salcedo, Georgia State University
Yumi Pak, Occidental College
Matthew, Villar Miranda
Carol Anne Almocera McChrystal, Independent Artist, Cultural Worker and Researcher
Krystle Canare, Tayo Trails
Armael Malinis
Rachelle Cruz, UC Riverside - Creative Writing
Lorenzo Perillo
Bernard Garcia