As members of the Students for Justice in Palestine, we write to express our deep concern about John Carroll’s Boler College of Business’ proposed study group to Israel. While we understand the intention may be to provide a unique educational experience for students;, we believe it is important to consider the ethical and political implications of such a trip.

The Palestinian people are currently living under an illegal military occupation, siege, blockade and apartheid. They have been asking for an academic boycott of Israel as a means of protesting against the ongoing violation of their human rights and freedoms. We believe that participation in any study abroad program to Israel would mean ignoring the situation faced by Palestinians and being complicit with the illegal and immoral occupation, colonization and apartheid that Israel has imposed on them.

Israel’s technology sector is not separate from its political and military actions. In fact, many of the technological advancements made in Israel are used to maintain the illegal occupation, ongoing oppression, and apartheid in Palestine. By going on a trip to explore Israel’s technology, one runs the risk of being complicit in these actions.

This trip is also one that can be very easily considered “political.” Although we have little information about where the students will be going, we have been made aware that the tour may be visiting Google, a company that has been doing business with apartheid, and whose technology has been used by the Israeli government and military to make the apartheid regime more efficient, violent and deadly for Palestinians. Google’s cloud services may also be used to enable Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements, thereby supporting discriminatory policies that expand segregated Jewish settlements while limiting the growth of Palestinian communities.

Furthermore, Palestinians are subjected to multiple layers of surveillance, both by Israeli authorities and by social media companies who collect user data for profit. They are particularly vulnerable to such corporate meddling into their lives in the absence of legislation protecting their right to privacy.

Additionally, we must recognize the ongoing violations of human rights and international law that occur every day by the Israeli government to the Palestinian people. Palestinians are denied basic freedoms such as freedom of movement, access to water and electricity, the right to own land, right to return, right to self determination and human dignity. Israel’s technological advancements are used to reinforce these oppressive measures.

The trip to Israel is also political in terms of who is allowed into the country and who is discriminated against at the border. U.S. citizens of Arab or Muslim heritage, including Palestinian-Americans, have experienced significant difficulties and unequal treatment at Israel’s borders and checkpoints, and many African- American travelers have reported discriminatory treatment on entry into Israel. This program will discriminate based on ethnic and religious backgrounds, where whole sectors of the student body cannot participate freely as Israel denies entry to travelers of Palestinian and Arab origin.

We urge John Carroll’s Boler College of Business to reconsider this study group to Israel, and to recognize that typical travel and tourism, business trip and study abroad programs can contribute to ongoing colonization, gentrification, appropriation of native culture, and the violation of international law. Resisting racism means listening to the voices of those impacted by these systems of harm rather than normalizing and contributing to those systems through tourism or study abroad programs.

We implore you to educate yourself on the illegal occupation, ongoing oppression, and apartheid in Palestine. We recommend reading the UN’s report on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as reports from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Additionally, we suggest reading the BDS National Committee’s call to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel until it complies with international law.

As members of a community dedicated to justice and equity, we must recognize the role we play in perpetuating oppression. We ask that you reconsider this trip and instead seek out ways to support Palestinian rights and promote justice for all people.

Thank you for giving your attention to this important matter.