This week forty cities across the world will hold events for the Fifth Annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). Started in Toronto in 2005, IAW is dedicated to supporting the call from over 170 civil society organizations in occupied Palestine for an international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against apartheid Israel. Apart from strengthening the BDS movement, a main goal of the week is to educate people and promote research about the structure and features of Israeli Apartheid as outlined by the statement made in July of 2005 from Palestine.
The purpose of the BDS movement is to exert pressure on the state of Israel to implement full equality for Arab-Israelis, to end the occupation and colonization of all Arab lands, a complete removal of the Wall, the full protection of Palestinian refugees and the guaranteed right of return to their homes and properties as stipulated within the UN resolution 194. IAW seeks to educate people in order to bring about critical discussions regarding the historical events that inform the current Palestinian situation.
Last year the formation of Peterborough Coalition for Palestinian Solidarity (PCPS) brought IAW to Trent University and the community of Peterborough. In the wake of President Patterson’s unilateral statement made during the summer of 2007 to condemn the decisions of a British academic union to boycott Israeli institutions, PCPS held educational forums, film showings and generally urged the community to do research and actively seek more knowledge regarding the state of Palestine.
This year PCPS has held similar events to bring about discussion, information and organization entailing the apartheid policies of Israel and the current forms of oppression in Palestine. A significant number of students, faculty and community members have attended panel discussions, teach-ins, demonstrations, as well as signed letters in support of BDS and a call to condemn the Israeli Defense Force for their assaults on Gaza and particularly the strategic bombing of the Islamic University.
During the two weeks preceding IAW, student organizations in solidarity with Palestine and CUPE Ontario found themselves under attack for their efforts in finding and gathering research, organizing BDS actions, the Right to Education campaigns and student promotions for upcoming events. Organizing education campaigns around Israeli Appartheid also ran into difficulty last fall at the University of Toronto when a conference planned by Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) was denied access to space two days before the conference was to begin.
Struggles against administrations and others have led to broader discussions regarding academic freedom and the role that the academic institution plays when considering organization and education campaigns discussing oppressive practices. Partnerships between university sectors have formed in response. This article outlines some of the key misconceptions of the movement against Israeli Apartheid and how university institutions have effected active participation and a right to unequivocal education and expression.
Students Rights to Education
Last week Carleton’s chapter of Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) placed 100 posters around campus for the purposes of promoting Israeli Apartheid Week. Within 24 hours the posters were removed at the request of Carleton’s Equity Services. The reasoning provided by Equity Services was that the posters “could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights code” and are “insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society.”
SAIA has stated that the image depicts a factual situation and that the poster clearly intends to invite people to events taking place during IAW. The students note the irony in the refusal of the President to condemn Israel’s assaults on Gaza yet prohibits promotional materials intending to inform and engage the student population.
On February 12, 2009 York’s chapter of SAIA released a public statement outlining the recent harassment organizers had experienced when promoting IAW. Harassment was said to have come from student organizations such as “Hasbara Fellowships” and “Hillel” that are affiliated with the “Jewish Defense League,” an aggressive pro-Israeli organization.
Students stated that the harassment caused them to move around on campus in groups to avoid being confronted by the organizations. Such instances include sexual and sexist remarks toward women members, racist remarks targeted at people of color, physical intimidation, orchestrating commotion, and the destruction of SAIA materials.
On February 24 at York, SAIA was fined and given the highest monetary penalty of $1000 and another $250 to the signatory of the organization for “sound amplification” of a rally staged in solidarity with students in Gaza on February 12. The university has violated its own procedures by not following the verification process outlined in the “Student Code of Conduct.”
Students have asserted that both security and administration has outright ignored the repression and hostilities targeted toward the students. This coincides with a report released in June 2008 by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) that stated that York administrators had been implicated in harassment and intimidation of Pro-Palestinian students.
Grassroots actions have historically had little assistance from university administrations, particularly within the most contentious situations. The BDS campaign and Right to Education have felt similar obstacles in their efforts. Yet since their conception five years ago, the movements have broken from the activist tradition of focusing on parliamentary lobbying and channeled different forms of civil society and been able to partner with allies such as organized labour unions.
Academic Labour Unions
On Sunday, February 22, 2009, CUPE-Ontario’s Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee (OUWCC) passed a resolution calling for education and research into the institutional links between Israeli and Canadian Universities that reinforce and perpetuate apartheid.
The resolution supports a decision made by CUPE-Ontario in May 2006 to pass Resolution 50. This resolution was passed almost unanimously at an annual provincial conference that sent 900 delegates from CUPE locals province wide.
After Resolution 50 passed, Sid Ryan, President of CUPE-Ontario stated that “amid resolutions on health care, pensions, social services, education and matters of social justice, CUPE-Ontario delegates attending our annual convention in Ottawa voted overwhelmingly to support a global campaign against Israel’s apartheid-like policies until that state recognizes ‘the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination’.”
An article written by Kole Kilibarda in the journal Upping the Anti stated that these actions led by CUPE-Ontario “inspired” and gave “direction by movement veterans who had experience in the campaigns to boycott apartheid South Africa in the 1980s.” Kilibarda, who is visiting Trent next week for a panel discussion, also claims that the resolution acts “as a stamp of legitimacy.”
Misconceptions of these resolutions have surfaced throughout the media and continue to be used as platforms by pro-Israel organizations, since Sid Ryan’s comments in January 2009. Ryan stated that the boycott supported by CUPE aimed to target Israeli academics from speaking on University campuses. Immediately Ryan retracted his statement to reiterate the position of CUPE, whose actual position aims to boycott ties between Canadian universities with Israeli universities, as well as open up lines of research into those ties currently being made and not target individual academics.
One panelist at the conference this past weekend stated the importance of Ryan’s comments in the context that it opened a broader discussion within the university and the general public about the difference between boycotting an individual as opposed to holding an institution and state apparatus responsible for apartheid policies. Emphasis has since been placed countless times that these resolutions are and always have been directed toward policies and ideologies as opposed to individuals.
CUPE-Ontario first began passing resolutions concerning the Middle East Conflict in 2002. CUPE National has also passed similar motions concerning the Middle East with their first resolution demanding that the “Israeli Government immediately withdraw from the occupied territories and abide by UN Resolution 242 and 338.” CUPE- Ontario has historically passed similar motions at conventions regarding the mistreatment of workers in countries such as apartheid South Africa, Iran, Colombia, Egypt, and Israel. When asked why a labor union supports such motions, CUPE member locals stated through a publication that they “strongly believe in the human rights of individuals and communities both in Canada and internationally.”
A second motion came forward last weekend at the conference to oppose the violation of free speech and various acts of repression from university administrations that are targeted at Palestine-solidarity organizations and student organizing throughout Ontario university campuses.
Role of the Institution
University institutions symbolize growth and development and it is widely understood that Israel’s attack on the university in Gaza was no mistake – apart from the science department, it included a women’s residence and students waiting at a bus stop.
Presumably, university administrations have been unsupportive in the calls from student organizations for discussion, research and actions to be taken in regards to supporting the rights of education within Palestine. Similarly, they have received little support and outright refusals to condone organizing efforts to bring about discussions and debate.
While academic labour unions have recently supported these actions and serve as a legitimating body for involved students, it is yet to be understood how those non-binding resolutions will be put into action. Yet there have been calls of accountability and active support from other influential members of the university that have been essential in maintaining open dialogue.
Faculty for Palestine
University faculties have often played a critical role in supporting BDS campaigns and student actions on campuses. A number of coordinated efforts this year by concerned professors and teachers have been mobilized as a response to the repression of activism on campus and the attacks on Gaza in December/January.
The Faculty for Palestine (F4P) is a system and group of faculty that began in the fall of 2008. Their members extend to 40 universities and 10 colleges across Canada. They mobilized themselves as a response to the actions and subsequent inactions that were being taken by university administrators to silence students and others in the community from taking a stance on Palestine.
The members believe and work toward free speech in Canadian universities regarding issues of Palestine and apartheid policies of Israel with emphasis on the “intellectual and educational implications of these conditions and practices.” F4P supports discussion and debate regarding general BDS movements as well as calls specifically for the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.
The most recent and ongoing action put forth by F4P includes an open letter gaining signatories from faculty who support the academic boycott of Israeli institutions and to condemn the actions of Canadian universities involved in suppressing the freedom of speech and assembly. 375 tenured, contract, retired and visiting faculty across Canada have currently signed this letter. The founding members of F4P have released publications and pamphlets condemning the actions taken by university administrators against efforts to organize Israeli Apartheid Week.
Immediately following the attacks on Gaza, 465 faculty members signed a letter organized by York faculty. The letter was sent to Prime Minister Harper demanding that Canada impose sanctions on Israel.
While faculty, particularly tenured faculty, maintain a more privileged place within the institution they are often targeted by administrations for their active expression on Palestine. Last May, the chair of the Political Science department at York, Professor David McNally, received a disciplinary letter from the Dean for speaking out at an “unauthorized student rally” that by no coincidence happened to be a pro-Palestine rally. The charges were dropped with the assistance of McNally’s union. McNally states that the situation could have come out differently had he not been in the position he was. The collective efforts of students, labor unions and faculty have consistently produced critical discussion and knowledge formation that has systemically been repressed within institutions that claim to promote academic freedom.
With these changes and developments throughout the past two months and beyond, many students have begun to ask themselves what role their institutions can play in issues embedded with so much history and contention. Institutions in which many students have engaged in larger questions of justice, gender, critical race theory and power structures. Research and critical thinking skills have been at the forefront of the academic learning process and allowed students to critique both civil society and government. They must be maintained.
Right to Education Campaign:
-“To document research and raise awareness of the issues facing Palestinian education under Israeli occupation.
-To build an international campaign in support of the rights and academic freedom of students, teachers and educational institutions.
-To provide legal representation for Birzeit University students and faculty arrested, detained or deported by the Israeli military authorities.
-To oppose illegal Israeli occupation and its attacks on Palestinian education and the right to education and unimpeded access for all Palestinians and their educational institutions.”
http://right2edu.birzeit.edu/
Resolution 50:
-“Develop an education campaign about the apartheid nature of the Israeli state and the political and economic support of Canada for these practices.
-Support the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully -complies with the precepts of international law including the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.
-Call on CUPE National to commit to research into Canadian involvement in the occupation and call on the CLC to join us in lobbying against the apartheid-like practices of the Israeli state and call for the immediate dismantling of the wall.”
OUWCC (Academic labor unions) Resolution:
-“Support the RIGHT TO EDUCATION campaign at Birzeit University to defend the right of Palestinian students to have access to education and educational institutions in the Palestinian territory, and seek to raise awareness about the issues facing Palestinian education, students and teachers under Israeli military occupation,
-Encourage members to hold public forums to discuss academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions, and
-Ask campus representatives to work with locals to investigate both research and investment links between Ontario Universities and the state of Israel’s military.”
Faculty for Palestine condemns:
-“Statements from 19 university presidents in the summer of 2007 to foreclose debate on the academic boycott of Israel, citing ‘academic freedom.’
-Efforts to ban the use of the term ‘Israeli Apartheid’ at McMaster University in February-March 2008, overturned only though a campaign of protest.
-Discipline against students involved in peaceful protests for Palestinian human rights at York University in March in 2008.
-Attempted discipline against a faculty member who addressed a rally against Israeli Apartheid at York University in 2008.
-A pattern of cancellation of room bookings for meetings concerning Palestinian rights at the University of Toronto [see last week’s Arthur] and York University in 2008.
-The use of security requirements and fees to cover security costs to impede campus meetings about Palestinian rights.”
http://www.caiaweb.org/faculty
Last Updated on Wednesday, 09 September 2009 10:46
