Russell Tribunal on Palestine, New York Session – 8 Oct 2012
Angela Davis, Alice Walker et al: Israel’s Crimes Not Possible Without US Support
Pulitzer Prize-winner Alice Walker, civil rights icon Angela Davis and the rest of the jury of international figures of note for the Russell Tribunal on Palestine presented their findings today to a committee of the UN General Assembly, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
After two days of expert testimony by notables such as public intellectual Noam Chomsky and Israeli historian Ilan Pappé, heard before a packed crowd that included actors Harry Belafonte and Wallace Shawn at Cooper Union’s Great Hall, jurors concluded, “Israel’s ongoing colonial settlement expansion, its racial separatist policies, as well as its violent militarism would not be possible without the US’s economic, military, and diplomatic support.”
The jury’s initial draft of the Executive Summary of the Findings of the Fourth Session of the Russell Tribunal not only takes on US complicity with Israel’s human rights violations of the Palestinian people, but also finds the United Nations in violation of international law for its failure to take action against Israel’s “(war crimes, crimes against humanity, crime of Apartheid, genocide), and by not exhausting all peaceful means of pressure available to it.”
Juror Angela Davis stated at this morning’s press conference that “people are shocked to discover that conditions in Palestine not only replicate apartheid in South Africa, they are far worse” and urged civil society to take action in supporting and spreading the boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign against Israel.
The draft of the Executive Summary can be found here and high-resolution photos of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine can be found here.
For more information about the Russell Tribunal on Palestine-NYC or to arrange for an interview with one of our speakers or jurors, please call Sherry Wolf at or email