Hunter
11/03/23
Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart is calling on the University of Iowa Democrats leadership to resign after they posted a letter earlier this week supporting Palestine in the Israel-Hamas war.
The U of I statement reads, in part: “We shamelessly and fully support Palestine. We recognize that every person has the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, just as the United States has long said they stand for. The ongoing violence against millions of innocent people is egregious and the perpetuation of it by the United States of America and other western states is even more so….We will protest, advocate and fight for the human rights of all, for the human rights of Palestine.”
The line in the statement that caused the most controversy is “May every Palestinian live long and free, from the river to the sea,” known to be associated with both genocide and Palestinian solidarity.
The Daily Iowan reports that according to the Guardian, the phrase is interpreted by people who are pro-Israel as calling for the genocide of Israelis, but people who are pro-Palestine say it is instead referring to a state in which Palestinians can be free.
The letter prompted Hart to condemn the statement and call for the student officers who signed it to resign.
In turn, the Iowa State University Democrats issued their own statement, disaffiliating themselves with the Iowa Democratic Party. Their unsigned statement said in part, “Our decision to part ways with the IDP is driven by several factors, one of which is the way the IDP has treated the University of Iowa Democrats. We believe in the importance of unity and solidarity among college Democratic clubs across the state, and recent events involving UI Democrats have deeply troubled us.”
The U of I Democrats officers who signed the letter have told the DI they have no intention of resigning, although after listening to feedback, they have removed the statement in its entirety and apologized for any hurt or offense they caused to the Jewish community. Matthew Charles, UI Democrats treasurer, told the Des Moines Register he’s now unsure whether he’ll resign, but says he feels bullied by the state party.