In 1988, Carleton University divested from apartheid. Sadly, in 2011, Carleton University is fundraising for apartheid. According to the Jewish National Fund of Canada (JNFC), Carleton President Roseann Runte will be an "honorary co-chair" of their annual Negev Gala. Further, Carleton is listed as a "proud supporter" of the evening. When SAIA-Carleton learned of this, we were quite surprised. Considering we have spent the past two years highlighting our institution's complicity in the Israeli occupation -- through our divestment campaign -- we never thought our president would brazenly associate herself with an organization like the JNFC.

When I learned from the Ottawa Citizen that Carleton is a "proud supporter" of the Jewish National Fund's (JNF) annual Negev Dinner, and that president Roseann Runte is an honorary co-chair, I was incredibly disappointed.

Although it would appear that Runte is attending a benign religious fundraiser, Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) believes the JNF is one of the principal organizations responsible for the continued dispossession of the Palestinian people. Unfortunately for our community, Carleton administration is demonstrating an awful record of failing to acknowledge or respect Palestinian human rights.

On March 29, 2011 students, faculty, staff, alumni and community allies made a significant stride toward divestment at Carleton University in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) first launched our campus-based pension fund divestment campaign in January 2010. The student-led campaign was motivated by the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society "to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel [. . . ] until it fully complies with the precepts of international law."