York U protest and counter protest Feb 12

I've just received the following statement:

Quote:

Please Post Widely*
Public Statement on the Recent Surge of Anti-Palestine Activism at York University

12 February 2009

During the past two weeks, Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students at York (mainly members of Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA)) have experienced a wave of hostility, intimidation, bullying and racism, directed at them by members of the groups “Hasbara Fellowships” and “Hillel.” A number of the members of these groups are associated with the “Jewish Defense League”, a notoriously racist group which follows the teachings of the racist Rabbi Meir Kahane. These groups also expressed unequivocal support for the Israeli massacres of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza during the recent last onslaught in December-January 2009.

This wave affects SAIA’s regular activities and affects SAIA members on campus, even when they are not engaged in political activities. This toxic and unsafe environment adversely impacts SAIA members and their supporters so much so that many of them try to move around campus in groups, lest the pro-Israel groups attack them if they are seen on campus alone. The methods of intimidation used against SAIA members take different forms. Examples of the bullying tactics include:

1. Sexual and sexist remarks targeted at women members. Women members of SAIA are frequently harassed, especially when they are alone or in small groups. They are subject to various sexist social practices, including the use of intentionally demeaning sexist expressions like “babe” and “baby.”
2. Racist remarks targeted at people of color. For example, one member of Hasbara approached a woman member of SAIA who was wearing a kuffieyeh (Palestinian scarf), and told her that he “knew a guy that wore it before but then he blew himself up”. This association of Palestinians with bombs and explosives is an expression of racism, and an intentional act of intimidation.
3. Physical intimidation. The members of the pro-Israel groups get very close to SAIA members, and interfere with their personal space. They shove cameras and recording devices in the faces of SAIA members in an intimidating manner.
4. Orchestrating commotion. Recently, a pro-Israel student falsely alleged that a SAIA member had assaulted her. The police were called and the allegation was dropped.
5. Destruction of SAIA materials.

As part of this surge in the anti-Palestine activism, pro-Israel groups organized a counter demonstration to a demonstration called for by SAIA. The main aim of the demonstration was to protest York University’s refusal to condemn the Israeli attacks on Palestinian academic institutions in the latest military campaign against the people of Gaza – attacks that were condemned by several universities worldwide, but not by any Canadian university.

This counter demonstration was led by a number of agitators belonging to extreme right-wing Zionist organizations. Those agitators are not members of the York community, and they come to York campus for the sole purpose of creating provocations and a toxic atmosphere for the Palestine activists.  Palestinian and pro-Palestine students at York have been subject to intimidation and harassment for many years.

Historically, as elaborated in the report from the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) from June 2008, administrators at York have been implicated in harassment and intimidation of pro-Palestine students. In addition to the high-profile cases described in the CAUT report, there have been many episodes of on-campus incidents that York administrators and security personnel have outright ignored. Even in instances of direct physical violence against women, York’s security apparatus has failed to respond to official, and multiple, complaints.  In view of the recent developments, SAIA demands that York University provide adequate protection to its students and uphold safety on campus.

It is the University’s obligation to secure a safe environment for all students to express their legitimate opinions. Failure to provide this protection violates the very essence of the university, its raison d’etre. Further, SAIA will hold the University responsible for any attacks on SAIA members because of the failure to provide adequate protection.

 

johnpauljones wrote:

I could have sworn that over the last year or so I have heard the same from the Jewish Organizations about the other side

Isn't the JDL active at York as well as Betar? Don't both these groups have historical terrorist links (Betar having spawned Lehi and Irgun)? But no, I can't imagine how fascist groups organizing at York University could possibly lead to the intimidation of Palestinian students - just as extremists wearing IDF and "Israel police" t-shirts could not possibly be the least bit intimidating. 

Such bullshit.  That same "news" organization claimed that Judy and the other 7 women who occupied the Israeli Consulate in Toronto were chanting "racist" and "anti-semitic" slurs. 

Michelle wrote:

Such bullshit.  That same "news" organization claimed that Judy and the other 7 women who occupied the Israeli Consulate in Toronto were chanting "racist" and "anti-semitic" slurs. 

 Yeah, there is a [url=http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/02/12/... post [/url] up at the National Post witten by one of the Zionist students slanted exactly the same way, not surprisingly:

Quote:

Just as Toronto Police were arriving on campus, one pro-Palestinian student stood at the glass door of the Hillel, visible to the students in the Hillel, with his Kaffeiyah scarf pulled all the way up to his eyes. This is a tactic used by terrorist organizations such as Hamas and al-Qaeda to intimidate others, and quite frankly I was completely taken off-guard by the sight of this student and at that point fear began to trickle into me as well. This is something that goes beyond free speech and being anti-Israel and is tantamount to racism and discrimination. As the police arrived they stated that in a situation like this there is nothing they can do as they did not feel that there was an actual threat of violence, however, it was their belief that the possibility remained. They then told us that because they could not stand watch at the door all night, that it was highly recommended that we vacate the lounge immediately and they would assist us with safe passage through the crowd so as to prevent anything from occurring. And as 20 Jewish student walked single file through this unruly mob, they were pointing, laughing and chanting that we were "Racists on Campus!"

I'm curious...are there any "progressive" or even moderate Zionist groups at York? 

johnpauljones wrote:

I don't think that the JDL or Betar are at York. i thought that Hillel was the Jewish Group at York.

 

Orna Hollander is based at York University, isn't she? She's the former leader of Betar Canada and now heads the Canadian Centre for Israel Activism and is active in organizing on campus, particularly at York.

Hasbara has co-sponsored events at York with Betar so I don't see how you can say Betar isn't active on campus. 

Here's an article by Hollander about activity at York campus.

A small fringe group? Hollander is head of the main pro-Israel inter-campus coordinating organization and works closely with Hasbara Fellowships (through which the Israeli foreign ministry is pouring money onto North American campuses as part of its propaganda efforts).

Star Spangled Canadian wrote:

I thought Hasbara Fellowships was a branch of Aish Hatorah....

"Based in New York, it was started in 2001 by Aish HaTorah in conjunction with the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs"

I believe Hillel works with these groups and their supporters are members of Hillel. I'm afraid that Hillel has moved away from being a non-partisan cultural group to being a highly political and very right wing one.