Columbia students protesting Israel’s butchery of Palestinians vs antisemitism lies by The New York Times. Who knew The Times is a Zionist rag serving freedom of expression hating, kid-killing terrorist Bibi Netanyahu? Who knew Toronto Public Library are racist genocide enablers too, bending over for lying racist “human rights” Zionists, B’nai Brith (in essence, Bibi’s Stasi in Canada).

Posted on April 20, 2024 by Jessica Ernst

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

Zionism must be criminalized for the terrorism that it is.

Long live those risking everything – notably the students and professors – protesting Israel’s genocide and crimes against Palestinians.

Long live the courageous students.

Long live Refaat Alareer and his beautiful life-loving poem, “If I Must Die.”

Noor Javed@njaved:

Poems: outrage. Words: outrage. Keffiyeh: outrage. Babies and children being bombed to death: silence.

Nora Loreto@NoLore:

B’nai Brith sucks so much.

Kjell Anderson@Kjell_Anderson:

Why is the @torontolibrary on board with anti-Palestinian racism? Incredibly damaging for an institution that is supposedly dedicated to learning and dialogue.

Marshall Steinbaum @Econ_Marshall:

“We’re mad that the poet we assassinated wrote a poem predicting we would do that and calling for others to carry on the struggle after we did that, which they did.”

Dr Ruth Marshall is Kicking Against the Pricks@wtfis2bdone:

Groups like B’nai Brith, CIJA and FSWC are spreading vile anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia. They are agents of division and hatred and NO public organizations should be cowed by their lies and bullying.

Ronny Ron @Ronnysmobile:

Here is what you do about it… make 100s of photocopies of the poem. Get some paste and paste the poems on every lamp post in the area and city.

Ussama Makdisi@UssamaMakdisi:

For those studying history, the current Western attitude of indifference, if not actual contempt, for Palestinian life and society illustrates for us precisely how millions of native, Black American, Algerian, Namibian and other victims were once slaughtered around the world while Western liberals pontificated about white, Western, or European, or American, British, French or Anglo-Saxon “civilization” and “values.”

Never Again For Anyone@DanFmTo:

Once again a Zionist group claims the right to define what Palestinians’ words mean.

I wrote a polite email to the TPL people. Alareer’s poem glorifies peace and love, not martyrdom. What a cynical and disingenuous interpretation by B’nai Brith.

Kristiana Bruneau@GumptionAndCo:

And centralize themselves and paint themselves as victims in other peoples stories/suffering.

@GingerMEdwin:

@torontolibrary Censorship is not okay and very unlike the Toronto Library system.

Poetry: music of the soul.

~ Book banners are fascists. Please don’t cave to them.

Ms Doe@pgoodfellow:

TPL caving in to the demands constitute Palestinian erasure.
Censoring Refaat Alareer is offensive.

B’nai Brith doesn’t have the right to define what the rest of us are allowed to see and read; we must put a stop to this.

Nellie@Nellie00000843:

@torontolibrary How disgustingly offensive to remove Refaat’s poem & change the display. Refaat was deliberately targeted & murdered by the rogue state. You should be standing with humanity instead of participating in the eradication of Gazan literature/culture. Shame on you!

Dr. Sara Stratton@JustWatershed:

People should also contact the City Librarian, Vickery Bowles: email hidden; JavaScript is required

Block Cheddar|#StandWithUkraine|#FREEPALESTINE @BlockOfCheese19:

This is sickeningly evil.

MUST WATCH 1:38 Min interview with also brilliant scholar, gentle kind Edward Said, Palestinian who taught at Columbia:

sarah hagi@KindaHagi:

palestinian solidarity at campuses is beautiful and it is making me sick seeing people talk about it like it’s a “culture war” issue and not a direct response to young people witnessing a genocide.

An arrested Columbia U student:

“We have 3 demands: transparency, divestment, amnesty. That’s it.”

Mr. Fish: “Who invited that lousy anti-Semite?”

Sarah Florini@SarahFlorini:

I want to know where all this concern about antisemitism on campus has been for the last decade? Where was it when antisemitic speakers and propaganda were being brought to campuses and students protesting were chastised for wanting to suppress free speech?

nick@unionnick:

Barnard College has now suspended and evicted over 1% of its total student body for nonviolent protest. These institutions are eating themselves alive, destroying their own legitimacy by targeting their best and brightest. Shame on you @preslrosenbury
.

Dr. Thrasher@thrasherxy:

I am tired of the NYT and university admins trying to stoke animus. Students of all faiths (& of no religious faith) are majoring in genocide studies, learning together to take on the American empire, & demanding that “never again” means never again for ANYONE. Frame accordingly!

Solidarity Ask From UAW 2710- Against the Repression of Protest Copied April 20, 2024. Excellent ask.

On April 18th, Minouche Shafik, the President of Columbia, violated university procedures and authorized the NYPD to arrest dozens of Columbia students, including members of Student Workers of Columbia— SWC-UAW 2710. The protesting students and student workers had bravely held the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on the lawn in the center of campus for two days, joined by hundreds of student and SWC picketers protecting their encampment, and a mass mobilization of other labor organizers and the community on the streets outside the campus. The encampment’s demands included that Columbia, their school and employer, divest its financial holdings from weapons manufacturers, tech companies, and any other entities that materially benefit from the Israeli occupation and genocide of Palestinians, that Columbia make its investments transparent, and that Columbia reinstate all students facing academic discipline for pro-Palestine protest over the past few months, including five students who were suspended and evicted from their Columbia-owned housing two weeks ago.

As workers, we stand in solidarity with our union siblings in SWC-UAW 2710 who were arrested and face suspension. We call for their and their classmates’ immediate reinstatement and for Columbia to drop all charges against them, both legal and academic.

We deplore President Shafik’s actions and call for Columbia to immediately end the repression of protest.

Disgusting cowardice caving to murderous racist Zionism. Who knew university presidents joined the Zionistiche Gestapo like so many past and present Canadian judges have?

We the undersigned believe the repression and criminalization of activists, students, professors, and academic workers across the country are violations of our elementary rights to free speech and protest. If left unchecked, these attacks on academic freedom and protest against genocide will pave the way for further measures that constrain civil liberties, not only for those in universities, but for civil society at large.

The right to protest is necessary for every struggle, and the direct attack on this right is an attack on labor as well. An injury to one is an injury to all- if the Columbia students can be repressed for protesting, Columbia workers and all workers could be too. Workers stand in full solidarity with this student movement. 

Solidarity forever!

Signed,

SWC-UAW 2710

UAW Region 9A

GSOC-UAW 2110

Graduate Employees’ Organization – University of Michigan – GEO 3550 AFL-CIO

Downstate NY Starbucks Workers United

Sinai Student Workers (SSW-UAW)

UAW 4811 Santa Cruz

She Wolf Workers Union- RWDSU

SENS UAW (Academic Student Workers at The New School)

HGSU-UAW 5118

UNC Workers Union – UE150

GEO-Graduate Employees’ Organization at UIUC

UC Divest Coalition UCSC

HGSU-BDS Caucus of Rank and File Members

CUPE 3903 Palestine Solidarity Working Group 

…and 200+ individual union members

Español:

El 18 de abril, Minouche Shafik, la presidenta de Columbia, violó los procedimientos universitarios y autorizó al NYPD a arrestar a docenas de estudiantes de Columbia, incluidos miembros del Sindicato de Trabajadores Estudiantiles de Columbia – SWC-UAW 2710. Los estudiantes manifestantes y trabajadores estudiantiles han sostenido valientemente el Campamento de Solidaridad con Gaza en el césped en el centro del campus durante dos días, acompañados por cientos de estudiantes y piqueteros de SWC que protegían su campamento, y una movilización masiva de otros organizadores laborales y la comunidad en las calles fuera del campus. Las demandas del campamento incluyen que Columbia, su escuela y empleador, desinvierta sus activos financieros de fabricantes de armas, empresas tecnológicas y cualquier otra entidad que se beneficie materialmente de la ocupación israelí y el genocidio de los palestinos, que Columbia haga transparentes sus inversiones, y que Columbia reintegre a todos los estudiantes enfrentando procesos disciplinares por protestas pro-Palestina en los últimos meses, incluidos cinco estudiantes que fueron suspendidos y desalojados de sus viviendas -propiedad de Columbia- hace dos semanas.

 Como trabajadores, nos solidarizamos con nuestrxs hermanxs de sindicato en SWC-UAW 2710 que fueron arrestadxs y enfrentan suspensión. Exigimos su reinstalación inmediata y la de sus compañeros de clase, y que Columbia retire todos los cargos en su contra, tanto legales como académicos. Deploramos las acciones de la presidenta Shafik y exigimos que Columbia ponga fin inmediato a la represión de la protesta.

Nosotrxs, lxs firmantes, creemos que la represión y criminalización de activistas, estudiantes, profesores y trabajadores académicos en todo el país son violaciones de nuestros derechos elementales a la libertad de expresión y protesta. Si no se controlan, estos ataques a la libertad académica y la protesta contra el genocidio allanarán el camino para medidas adicionales que limiten las libertades civiles, no solo para quienes están en las universidades, sino para la sociedad civil en general.

El derecho a protestar es necesario para toda lucha, y el ataque directo a este derecho es también un ataque al trabajo. Una herida a uno es una herida para todos: si los estudiantes de Columbia pueden ser reprimidos por protestar, los trabajadores de Columbia y todos los trabajadores también podrían serlo. Los trabajadores nos solidarizamos plenamente con este movimiento estudiantil.

¡En solidaridad siempre!

Firmado por,

SWC-UAW 2710

UAW Region 9A

GSOC-UAW 2110

Graduate Employees’ Organization – University of Michigan – GEO 3550 AFL-CIO

Downstate NY Starbucks Workers United

Sinai Student Workers (SSW-UAW)

UAW 4811 Santa Cruz

She Wolf Workers Union- RWDSU

SENS UAW (Academic Student Workers at The New School)

HGSU-UAW 5118

UNC Workers Union – UE150

GEO-Graduate Employees’ Organization at UIUC

UC Divest Coalition UCSC

HGSU-BDS Caucus of Rank and File Members

CUPE 3903 Palestine Solidarity Working Group 

https://twitter.com/MiddIeSeaHist/status/1781476802164044046

alexispauline@alexispauline:

When you punish students for their love & compassion you teach them how powerful compassion truly is. You admit to them that you govern on a premise that cannot withstand love. Love prevails. We’re witnessing the soul growth of a generation. They deserve our care & respect.

Marie@MarieOnEarth:

This is how pressure is applied to make change. Massive respect to you and all who signed.

Daniel Denvir@DanielDenvir:

The entire “antisemitism on campus” discourse is absolute libel against these wonderful young people committed to Palestinian liberation.

Dyor@Powerfulmindx:

Our beloved Dr Norman Finkelstein @normfinkelstein at #ColumbiaUniversity shared his beliefs that the protesters should more carefully select their words.
Watch to the end to see how students responded.
Dr Norman Finkelstein and the students are our stars.

FreePalestine and #PermanentCeaseFire

InvokeArticle6Genocideconvention

EndTheGenocide

EndTheOccupationNow

Nikhil Pal Singh@nikhil_palsingh:

I’ve heard:

“The Columbia AAUP held an emergency meeting today, called on the university to drop charges and reinstate the students.

They are organizing to move classes off campus Monday, boycotting graduation, and moving to vote no confidence in the president.”

Good.

***

MEANWHILE IN RACIST COLONIZING GENOCIDAL CANADA:

What’s fucking disturbing is Israel’s mass murder and war crimes against Palestinians in their homes, playgrounds, schools, universities, olive groves, news rooms and hospitals and more, and its genocide enablers including B’nai Brith Canada spying like the Stasi on public libraries and censoring poetry. Heil BB (B’nai Brith)!

The Israel lobby and genocide-enabling Zionists like B’nai Brith hold a lot of terrorizing power over Canadian academia and libraries, with donors, legislatures, agencies, police, politicians and judges working hard helping Bibi get his demands to criminalize freedom of expression – including AER when it was EUB violating my charter rights because I dared submit evidence of crimes by Encana/Ovintiv and asked the regulator to regulate).

This takes Zionism’s Evil Cake, Refaat Alareer was a gentle brilliant Palestinian poet and professor. B’nai Brith are too inhumane and crass to even name him as the poet of the beautiful heartbreaking poem they condemn, Zionistiche Stasi is what they are:

Davide Mastracci @DavideMastracci:

B’nai Brith Canada is claiming they got the Toronto Public Library to remove Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer’s poem “If I Must Die” from a display at one of their branches because it supposedly “glorifies martyrdom.”

Absolutely shameful.

sarijes91@sarijesup91:

The manager Jennifer Sloane apparently made the decision.

Here is her info: email hidden; JavaScript is required, 416-393-7649

@RemembersAlways:

Shocking! Her vm is full!

@bnaibrithcanada April 19, 20214:

B’nai Brith Canada was recently made aware of a display at Toronto’s Main Street Library titled “Israel-Palestine Conflict,” which presented a biased and unbalanced anti-Israel perspective. The display also inappropriately included a poem titled “If I Must Die,” which glorifies martyrdom.Such disrespectful crude lying bullshit. When I first read the poem when Refaat Alareer was still alive (I checked his tweets daily because his words were filed with Palestinian humanity and astounding caring nurturing and beauty, and because I do not like or understand most poetry while Refaat’s is lovable and easy to understand), I read loud and clear that he loves life, and was grieving the upcoming loss of his life he knew was inevitable (it’s a clear cut genocide by Israel, after all). The poem “If I must die” grieves loss of life to Zionism’s brutal slaughter of the people of Palestine (that gave Jews a home after WW2). B’nai Brith, lies again, in no way does the poem glorify martydom. I listened to an online chat with Refaat – bombs falling loudly around him – just before he was killed, he was crying and afraid and courageous enough to say so. Israel brutally intentionally killed Refaat in Zionism’s Scholasticide. Crime. B’nai Brith claims to be Canada’s oldest “human rights” organization, “Committed to combating racism and antisemitism and defending human rights.” I’ve been watching B’nai Brith’s cruel anti Palestinian racism for decades. They are too hate-filled, racist and ignorant to understand a Palestinian Poet’s grief and desire for peace and love for all. Shame on the cowards at the Toronto Library bending over for Israel’s Stasi in Canada.

Upon discovering this, we immediately reached out to the Toronto Public Library (TPL) to express our concerns about the lack of balance and the inappropriate content within the display, requesting that it be amended.

We are pleased to report that the TPL has taken prompt action in response to our concerns. The TPL have committed to adjusting the display to ensure it contains an accurate representation of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Additionally, the poem “If I Must Die” will be removed from the display.

The TPL has also assured us that they will continue to ensure accuracy in their materials and displays moving forward. This is a positive step towards ensuring that all community members feel represented and respected.While tens of thousands of Palestinians are murdered and intentionally starved, tortured by Israel and hate-overflowing land-stealing Zionism.

We will keep a close eye on the situation and continue to update our community on any further developments.

@torontolibrary #israel #israelhamaswar #toronto #torontopubliclibrary

jennifer evans@nejsnave April 24, 2024:

This is an evil characterization.

He was a poet. This poem talks about the inevitability of death for people in Gaza.

It is a poem written about being attacked.

He then died. From being bombed.

I really question how you can function by supporting the perpetuation of so much evil and taking no responsibility for it at all.

Cheryl Benson@cherylbenson:

It’s not a conflict it’s genocide

El Jones@ElJonesPoet:

What changed I wonder?

‘I’m not going to reconsider’: Toronto’s top librarian refuses to bar speaker critical of transgender rights, Vickery Bowles says letting Meghan Murphy speak is a matter of ‘standing up for free speech’

@cbcasithappens perhaps you should have Vickery Bowles back and ask her why free speech doesn’t apply when it’s Palestinian poets and where we can find the policy change for the library that makes this censorship okay.

The Rotting Corpse of Henry Kissinger@RottingHenry:

Refaat was a gentle scholar, teacher and poet who was loved by his students and who was intentionally assassinated by the @IDF in Gaza with members of his family. @bariweiss had a hand in instigating this barbaric attack. He is just one of many intellectuals who have been targeted in Gaza.

This poem is about hope and justice living beyond a genocide.

I don’t care what anyone’s ideology or religion is when it comes to a poem like this, but if you cannot see the humanity in it, then I feel sad for you and the hardness in your heart.

MJ@Mtbmj:

Sent email too.

email hidden; JavaScript is required

If I must die

by Refaat Alareer (1979 – 2023)

If I must die,

you must live

to tell my story

to sell my things

to buy a piece of cloth

and some strings,

(make it white with a long tail)

so that a child, somewhere in Gaza

while looking heaven in the eye

awaiting his dad who left in a blaze–

and bid no one farewell

not even to his flesh

not even to himself–

sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above

and thinks for a moment an angel is there

bringing back love

If I must die

let it bring hope

let it be a tale

Dr. Refaat Alareer was a Palestinian writer, poet, translator, university professor and activist from the occupied Gaza Strip. On December 6, 2023, he was murdered by an Israeli airstrike along with his brother, sister and their children in Israel’s ongoing genocidal siege of Gaza of 2023.

Just five weeks prior to his killing, he shared his poem titled “If I must die”, and pinned it to his Twitter profile. Amidst the outpouring of grief, as news of his death spread online, many people from around the world paid tribute to Refaat by offering their own translations of his prophetic poem in to their local languages.

This website is a collection of some of these dozens of heartfelt translations in memory and honor of Refaat Alareer, @itranslate123, and in support of the the Palestinian struggle for liberation.

let it be a tale.

@fatimasal82:

This is @itranslate123:’s immortal poem.

They killed him. But they’ll never kill his legacy. Indeed it is a tale.

@roxanaparsa:

profs out here getting away with calling their students terrorist jihadists, schools bringing in the cops, legislatures banning keffiyehs..not sure how much more blatant racism from the halls of power can get

sarah hagi@KindaHagi:

is everyone aware b’nai brith made the PUBLIC LIBRARY change an “israel palestine” palestine display bc they weren’t happy with it and also had them REMOVE refaats If I Die poem??? are you kidding me???

an extremist organization made the library remove a world famous poem from a display…the same library that has hosted bigots in the name of protecting free speech

@CaiStark:

The demand is outrageous, the capitulation is cowardly.

It’s also utterly detached from reality. Refaat’s poem “glorifies martyrdom” about as much as a poem of resistance from the Warsaw Ghetto would.

And to do this to a poem whose author was murdered in a genocide?! No words.

I will absolutely be contacting the branch and the TPL head office.

@Joyhenderson78:

Ab-so-lute-ly fucking not.

Zionists do not get to run rampage and decide who gets silenced from public spaces funded by public money.

@torontolibrary

Britt Caron@briketysplit:

Beaches-East York: be sure to contact the branch manager, Jennifer Sloane at 416-393-7649 or email hidden; JavaScript is required to convey your disappointment that she caved this absurd demand. Refaat Alareer’s poem should not be censored by our library. Let her know!

Lara Friedman@LaraFriedmanDC:

Israelis view applying US law to them as a sanction because they’ve been conditioned to believe (a) there’s an Israel exception to all laws, & (b) seeking to hold Israel to the SAME STANDARD (laws) as other countries can ONLY be motivated by rank antisemitism & anti-Israel animus

Corollary: Israelis have been trained to view unconditional US support — $$, weapons/ammo, total defense at & from the UN/ICC/ICJ — as ENTITLEMENTS, any threats to which Israelis view as illegitimate sanctions motivated by antisemitism & rank anti-Israel animus.

Sarah Kendzior@sarahkendzior:

It is wild that the student protesters are being portrayed as radical for being against…the genocide and torture of children.

To oppose genocide and child torture was previously not a controversial stance. It is the default mode of being human. That innate moral instinct is now seen as dangerous, because Israel mass-murders Palestinian children with US govt support and vicious impunity.

alana lentin @alanalentin:

Shabbat shalom motherfucker!!!

Amanda Gelender@agelender:

Columbia’s miscalculation is the same as Israel’s miscalculation — that brute force can stamp out a liberation movement Violent repression does not beat freedom-seekers into submission, it only further exposes the fascism of the institution, waking more people up to the cause

Calla@CallaWalsh:

Columbia is not simply an academic institution, it is the largest private landowner in New York City and manages 18 BILLION dollars of capital. And its very legitimacy is crumbling before the world’s eyes. All power to the student movement!

Andrew J Douglas@ajd_theory:

I was scheduled to give a talk at Columbia week after next. Just withdrew.

Academics everywhere need to stand in solidarity with these courageous and principled students. Shame on Columbia. Shame on Shafik. Shame on all who remain silent.

maryam@bluepashminas:

Columbia administration is issuing new waves of suspensions to anyone that attempts to pick up their confiscated belongings. Many students including myself have laptops, medication, devices, and much more among these belongings.

This is getting cartoonishly evil.

Luis.Documents@mfsgottenshook;

The guards trying to figure out what to do is killing me.me too! clever students

Ruchi Angrish (She/Her/Hers)@RuchiAngrish:

Omg they are literally marching with tents and cops have no idea how to seize these tents. Power to you all students

pjkool@pjkool:

College kids creatively standing up to white nationalists.

hey shit-ass, wear a fucking mask!@DEC0L0NIZE:

this is what solidarity looks like! love to see the resistance for palestine coupled with protecting the community from viruses & state sanctioned surveillance! & i’m gonna keep on saying this too, you can resist genocide globally & eugenics in the covid era locally! #MasksOn

@TameeOliveFern:

Western media don’t talk about this:

Israel has kidnapped over 8,000 Palestinians from occupied West Bank only since Oct last year, including hundreds of children. No one knows anything about them, no calls no visits no trials nothing. In addition to the ~5,000 taken before Oct.

Rana Abdelhamid @RanaForNY:

If you’re wondering why the crackdown on Columbia University students is so vicious it’s because we all know the incredible power of student movements. Students have brought the most forceful and well endowed tyrants and systems to their knees. They are so scared of you.

Refer also to:

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt@FranceskAlbs April 20, 2024:

Increasing stigmatisation & prohibition of traditional symbols of Palestinian identity — flag, traditional chants, the #kuffiyeh (black/white pattern cloth used by Palestinian farmers & increasingly associated with the Palestinians’ struggle for freedom) — is a blow to their right of self-determination: the right to exist AS A PEOPLE, culturally and politically.

At a time when violence against the Palestinians under Israeli occupation is intensifying, displaying emblems of Palestinian identity is both an act of solidarity with the oppressed & a firm stance in defence of freedom of expression.

The legitimate quest for one’s rights should never be misconstrued as an act of violence against another.

***

Sana Saeed@SanaSaeed April 19, 2024:

As many academics/depts are coming out in support of Columbia students, they also need to explicitly state what it is that these students are being persecuted for.

This repression is only happening because they stand for Palestinian liberation & against the US-Israeli genocide.

***

Joshua Sealy-Harrington@JoshuaSealy [Law prof in Canada] Oct 27, 2023:

Remember this genocide.

Remember what individuals, organizations & governments prioritized. Remember how they misrepresented the past & present. Remember the chasm between their beliefs & actions. Remember who they vilified. Remember their cowardice.

Remember their complicity.

Joshua Sealy-Harrington@JoshuaSealy April 19, 2024:

As a @ColumbiaLaw alum and J.S.D. student, and as a @LincAlexLawTMU professor, I am appalled by the #AntiPalestinianRacism enacted by both administrations.

I stand in unequivocal solidarity with the betrayed students organizing on both campuses, just as I stand with Palestine.

The parallels at both institutions are undeniable.

TMU’s threat of expulsion (https://ricochet.media/arts-culture/media/how-anti-palestinian-racism-led-to-a-crisis-at-tmu-law-school/) & Columbia’s arrests (https://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2024/04/18/is-columbia-in-crisis/) rely on “crisis” to justify disproportionality, when the source of that crisis is administrative reprisal, not student activism.

Just imagine if @LincAlexLawTMU or @Columbia had met with students to discuss their critique of the administration, instead of defaming them as antisemitic and threatening them with expulsion and/or arrest.

That is, just imagine them acting as universities, not as corporations.

***

Who Supports BDS in Canada? (as of April 19, 2024) by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

  • Below is a list of Canadian organizations that have endorsed the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement (BDS), which originated in 2005 as a call from Palestinian civil society. Organizations to endorse BDS include labour unions, political parties, student organizations, faculty associations, churches, social movements, NGOs, and more. Also mentioned are organizations who have not endorsed BDS per se, but nonetheless support imposing economic pressure on Israel in response to human rights violations. If we have missed a BDS vote, please send the relevant information to email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Last updated: April 19, 2024

Labour Unions

Ontario branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE-ON) (May 2006), 240,000 members

  • Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ-CSN) / Quebec Teachers Union (June 2007), 34,000 members
  • Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) / Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses des Postes (STTP) (April 2008), 51,000 members

  • Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) / Quebec House of Labour (June 2009), 200,000 members, including:
    • Fédération des professionnelles et professionnels de l’éducation du Québec (CSQ)
    • Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE)
    • Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (CSQ)
    • Fédération du personnel de l’enseignement privé (CSQ)
    • Fédération des enseignantes et enseignants de cégep (FEC-CSQ)
    • Fédération du personnel professionnel des collèges (CSQ)
    • Fédération du personnel de soutien de l’enseignement supérieur (FPSES)
    • Fédération des syndicats de la santé et des services sociaux (CSQ)
    • Fédération de la santé du Québec (FSQ)
    • Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance du Québec (FIPEQ)
    • Association des retraitées et retraités de l’éducation et des autres services publics du Québec (CSQ)

  • College and University Workers United (CUWU) (2009)

  • Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain de la confédération des syndicats nationaux (CCMM-CSN) (May 2010)

  • Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) (2012), 215,000+ members
  • Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) / Confederation of National Trade Unions (April 2015), 325,000 members, including:
    • CSN-Construction
    • Fédération du commerce (FC)
    • Fédération des employées et employés de services publics (FEESP)
    • Fédération de l’industrie manufacturière (FIM)
    • Fédération nationale des communications (FNC)
    • Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ)
    • Fédération des professionèles (FP)
    • Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS)
    • Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canada (UCCO–SACC–CSN)

  • UNIFOR (August 2017), 350,000 members

  • Centre International De Solidarité Ouvrière (CISO) (October 2021), coalition of more than 60 Québec trade unions and civil society organizations, including:
    • Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ)
    • Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)
    • Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ)
    • Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ)
    • Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique du secteur public de la santé et des services (APTS)
       
  • Manitoba branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE Manitoba) (May 2023), 37,000 members

(Partial or unofficial support for BDS: Canadian Labour Congress, Ontario Federation of Labour, CUPE National. See below).

Student Unions & Associations

  • Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (ASSÉ) / Association for Student Union Solidarity (October 2007), 80,000 members

  • Ontario branch of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS-O) (August 2014), 300,000+ students

  • Canadian Federation of Students / Fédération canadienne des étudiantes et étudiants (CFS-CFEE) (November 2018), 500,000+ students
  • Individual Student Unions [Note: Some votes listed below may amount to full BDS motions, while others are more targeted divestment / boycott policies]:
    • University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU) (February 2012), 14,000 students
    • Carleton University Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) (March 2012), 3,600+ graduate students
    • York University Graduate Students’ Association (YUGSA) (November 2012), 6,000+ graduate students
    • University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) (December 2012), 15,000+ graduate students
    • Concordia University Graduate Students Association (GSA) (January 2013), 7,000+ graduate students
    • University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) (February 2013), 12,500+ undergraduate students
    • Trent University Central Students Association (TCSA) (February 2013), 6,000 undergraduate and consecutive education students
    • York Federation of Students (YFS) (March 2013), 53,000+ undergraduate students
    • University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) (April 2013), 11,000 undergraduate students
    • University of Windsor Students’ Alliance’s (UWSA) (February 2014), 14,000 undergraduate students
    • Ryerson University Students’ Union (RSU) (April 2014), 28,000+ undergraduate and graduate students
    • Concordia University Student Union (CSU) (December 2014), 35,000+ undergraduate students
    • McMaster University Students Union (MSU) (March 2015), 20,000 undergraduate students
    • York University Faculty of Environmental Studies academic boycott (November 2017), 53,000+ students
    • King’s University College University of Western (March 2017), 3,500+ full time and part time students
    • University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Durham College (March 2016)
    • Dalhousie Student Union (April 2016), 18,500+ students
    • Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) (June 2021), 25,000+ undergraduate students
      • SFSS council unanimously passes motion in support of Palestine, including a pledge “to initiate, support, and amplify campaigns in solidarity with Palestinian calls to join the BDS movement against Israeli apartheid.”
    • University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) (February 2022), 38,000+ students
      • UTSU passes motion at special general meeting to “wholly divest funds & further on forbid investment to firms complicit in the occupation of Palestinian Territory.”
    • Concordia Student Union (CSU) (March 2022), 35,000+ undergraduate students
      • Referendum passes (86%) to “adopt a position against the practice of apartheid … and to divest from any investments and withdraw any financial or vocal support from states or businesses that are involved in apartheid”
    • Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)* (March 2022), 24,000+ undergraduate students
      • Referendum passes (71.1%) to adopt a “Palestine Solidarity Policy,” which among other measures, would commit the SSMU to “boycott corporations and institutions complicit in settler-colonial apartheid against Palestinians.” However, following threats by McGill to terminate its agreement with the SSMU, the student union declined to ratify and adopt the policy. 
    • Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia Vancouver (AMS) (March 2022), 58,000+ students
      • AMS passed a motion to to push UBC to divest from businesses complicit in illegal Israeli settlements and other violations of Palestinian human rights.
    • Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) (April 2022), 25,000+ undergraduate students
      • SFSS council unanimously adopts a Palestinian liberation policy, which commits the union to supporting boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israel, among other actions, in support of the liberation and self-determination of the Palestinian people. 
    • Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) (April 2024), 25,000+ undergraduate students
      • CUSA council overwhelmingly voted to adopt a divestment policy, urging the university to refrain from investing in companies that are complicit in Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory.

Faculty & Academic Associations

  • Syndicat général des professeures et professeurs de l’Université de Montréal (March 2024), 1,400 faculty
    • SGPPUM, the Faculty Association at the University of Montreal, voted in support of “a boycott of Israeli universities complicit in Israeli war crimes, until Israel complies with all its obligations under international law.”
       
  • Windsor University Faculty Association (April 2024)
    • WUFA voted at their Annual General Meeting to divest “from any companies and investments complicit in Israeli war crimes or illegal occupation,” to work towards ending the university’s “cooperation with Israeli academic and cultural institutions,” and to build ties with Palestinian universities. 
       
  • Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (April 2024)
    • WLUFA voted for a “complete university divestment and boycott of all institutions and corporations complicit in Israeli war crimes […],” and to support Palestinian academics at risk. 

Political Parties

(Partial or unofficial support for BDS: Green Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party. See below).

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Churches and Religious Organizations

  • Mennonite Church of Canada (July 2016)
  • United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine/Israel (June 2021)

(Partial or unofficial support for BDS: United Church of Canada and the Canadian Friends Service Committee [Quakers]. See below).

Social movements, NGOs, and Charitable Organizations

  • Idle No More (2021)
  • Black Lives Matter 
  • Ligue des Droits et Libertés / Quebec Civil Liberties Union (2010)
  • Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ) / Quebec Federation of Women (May 2010)
  • Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
  • Canadian Friends of Sabeel
  • Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) / Voix juives indépendantes (VJI) Canada
  • International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Canada
  • Artistes pour la Paix (APLP) / Artists for Peace
  • Alternatives (Canada) / Alternatives International
  • Health Workers Alliance for Palestine (HAP)
     
  • Faculty for Palestine (F4P)
  • Tadamon!
  • Centre justice et foi / Revue Relations
  • Just Peace Advocates
  • Public Interest Research Group (PIRGs)
    • Alberta Public Interest Research Group
    • Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group
    • OPIRG – Carleton
    • OPIRG – Guelph
    • OPIRG – Peterborough
    • OPIRG – Toronto
    • OPIRG – Ottawa
    • OPIRG – Waterloo
    • OPIRG – Windsor
    • Groupe de recherche d’intérêt public de l’UQAM (GRIP UQAM)
    • Quebec Public Interest Research Group at Concordia (QPIRG Concordia)
    • Quebec Public Interest Research Group at McGill (QPIRG McGill)
  • Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR)
    • Concordia University
    • McGill University
    • University of Ottawa
    • University of Western Ontario
    • Queen’s University
    • McMaster University
    • University of British Columbia
    • University of Calgary
  • Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Ryerson University
  • Students for Palestinian Rights (SFPR), Waterloo University
  • Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA)
    • Carleton University
    • University of Toronto
    • University of Toronto at Mississauga
    • York University
  • Palestinian Solidarity Group (PSG), University of Windsor
  • General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS), OttawaUniversity
  • Coalition pour la Justice en Palestine-UQAM
  • Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign (BIAC) – Vancouver
  • Winnipeg Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (WCAIA)
  • Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) – Toronto
  • Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) – Victoria
  • Victoria Friends of Cuba (VFoC)
  • Justice for Palestinians – Calgary
  • Coalition BDS – Québec
  • Canada-Palestine Support Network (CanPalNet)
  • Palestinian and Jewish Unity / Palestiniens et Juifs Unis (PAJU)
  • Canada Palestine Association
  • Canadians, Arabs and Jews for a Just Peace (CAJJP)
  • CODEPINK
  • Canada-Palestine Support Network (CanPalNet)
  • Winnipeg Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (WCAIA)
  • Global Compliance Research Project (GCRP)
  • Nelson End the Occupation Now (NEON)
  • National Campus and Community Radio Association of Canada (NCRA)
  • Mid-Islanders for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (MIJPME)
  • Socialist Action / Ligue pour l’Action Socialiste (SA/LAS)
  • Youth for Socialist Action / Jeunesse pour l’Action Socialiste (YSA/JAS)
  • Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA)
  • Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT)
  • AQOCI (Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale)
  • Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU)
  • Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU)
  • Entraide missionnaire
  • Comité de solidarité Trois-Rivières
  • Réseau uni pour la justice et la paix en Palestine et en Israël
  • Forum musulman canadien
  • Présence musulmane
  • Perspectives palestiniennes
  • Regroupement des Algériens et Algériennes du Québec
  • Barnard-Boecker Centre Foundation (BCFF)
  • Greater Toronto for BDS

Partial or Unofficial BDS Support

The following organizations have not endorsed the precise terms of BDS per se, but nonetheless advocate some form of economic action to pressure Israel to respect international law and the human rights of Palestinians.

  • United Church of Canada, 2012, 2015

In August 2012, the United Church adopted a policy at its 41st General Council urging the boycott of goods produced in Israeli settlements. In 2015, a policy was adopted by the 42nd General Council in support of divestment from companies that are involved in the Israeli occupation.

  • Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers), 2014

In 2014, the CFSC added an addendum to their 2009 policy on Israel and Palestine which: 1) encouraged the promotion of BDS among members, 2) asked the Federal government to properly label products from the “settlements,” and 3) encouraged members, individually and corporately, to boycott products from Israel’s “settlements.”

  • Green Party of Canada, 2016

In August 2016, the membership of the Green Party overwhelmingly adopted a resolution which endorsed BDS. However, the party leadership sought to overturn this decision and distance themselves from BDS. A few months later, the party repealed the earlier resolution and replaced it with a ‘compromise’ policy which, nonetheless, effectively endorsed the goals and tactics of the BDS movement; for example, the motion endorsed economic measures including boycotts and divestment, and called for a ban on settlement goods, among other measures.

  • New Democratic Party, 2021, 2024

In April 2021, the NDP adopted a policy in support of ending trade with illegal Israeli settlements and imposing an arms embargo on Israel. In March 2024, the NDP brought to Parliament an Opposition Day Motion calling to “suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel,” “ban extremist settlers from Canada,” and “impose sanctions on Israeli officials who incite genocide,” among other measures. 

  • Canadian Labour Congress, 2021

In June 2021 the Canadian Labour Congress, representing more than 3 million workers in Canada, adopted a policy in support of a ban on settlement goods, promoting divestment from Israeli military and security companies, and calling on Canada to halt arms sales to Israel, among other measures.

  • Ontario Federation of Labour, 2022

In June 2022 the Ontario Federation of Labour published a statement on international solidarity, which notes that it passed resolutions in support of a ban on settlement goods, divestment from Israeli military companies, and calling on Canada to halt arms sales to Israel, among other measures.

  • Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE National), 2024

In January 2024 the Canadian Union of Public Employees published a statement calling on Canada to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions)

“Essential” gut-ripping read by Canadian law prof Joshua Sealy-Harrington. TMU’s Lincoln Alexander School of Law abusing and punishing students for courageously publicly voicing opposition to Israel’s genocide is pathetic and shameful. Academia, courts, lawyers, media (Toronto Star, National Post etc.) helping Bibi Netanyahu destroy our right to freedom of expression globally must be called out and stopped.

Another BDS Victory! Wilfrid Laurier U Faculty Association calls for permanent ceasefire, complete divestment & boycott of institutions, corporations complicit in Israeli war crimes, breaches of international law, human rights violations, etc., condemns scholasticide in Gaza, West Bank & East Jerusalem. Motion passes with huge majority. Which Zionistiche Gestapo judge will kill justice to kill it?

BDS Victory! Canada’s first Faculty Association votes to divest “from any companies and investments complicit in Israeli war crimes or illegal occupation.” What ever will the Zionistiche Gestapo and B’nai Brith do?

1,122 Indigenous persons/groups globally sign in solidarity with Palestine: “Stop the Genocide. End the Siege. End the Occupation. Dismantle Apartheid. Decolonize Palestine.”

Zionistiche Gestapo ‘n B’nai Brith bribing bigot cons MPP Ted Arnott and Doug Ford? Discrimination and racism on steroids: Speaker Arnott pisses on Canada’s charter, bans Palestinian Keffiyehs from Ontario legislature. Yarmulke allowed? “Heaven forbid someone make a political statement in a …. legislature”

The Economist: “Israel has lost the battle for global public opinion.” The Court of Public Opinion is the most powerful court in the world, it sees Zionism’s genocide, terrorism and killing Freedom of Expression everywhere (trying to hide it).

Bribed to enable Genocide. The world needs to criminalize Zionism (and frac’ing) and boycott Israel & USA (& Germany & UK & Canada …)

Evil is as Evil does. Steve Harper’s investment firm Awz Ventures controls, finances Israeli spy tech Corsight AI – facial recognition used by IDF to kill Palestinians. No wonder I hate AI and despise Harper and his white supremacist gang.

Must Listen: “Anatomy of a Genocide” by Manu Pineda and Francesca Albanesse at the EU & “How an Israeli war criminal turned Gaza into ‘the biggest refugee camp in the world’” by Ilan Pappé

Israel: Licence to Kill ‘n Drill ‘n Destroy. Dareen Abughaida: “Now we know they can get away with everything. If you can starve children to death, then, natural gas is way behind that. ….the Palestinians are still waiting – in poverty – watching as their gas concessions are bought and sold while the world watches them being killed, while the world watches Gaza being destroyed.”

Meet “Lavender” and “Gospel” – Israel’s cold killing machines and another reason why I hate AI: Murderous thieving rich use AI to get richer, more murderous, more thieving. Prof Attaran: “Kill-happy, genocidal Israelis used an AI to decide who to target.” Still think humanity isn’t too evil and stupid to contain AI?

About fucking time, after letting the slaughter of kids, women, journalists, doctors, nurses, aid workers, first responders, professors, deans, dancers, artists, musicians, poets, sports pros and more innocents go on and on (watched by the world), UN Security Council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza (but only until April 9). USA, Israel’s genocide financier, abstains. Hey racist Zionists (that includes you Rosalie Abella): Palestinians are not insects, they are not dogs, they are human and have rights to their own homes, lands, olive groves and farms, water, oil and gas; they deserve and need *permanent* peace.

Morgan Bassichis, Jewish Voice for Peace: ‘Not in Our Name: On Jews Rejecting Zionism.’ A common enemy: white supremacy and empire. “Everyone deserves the chance to be a kid and everyone deserves the chance to grow old. And for that reason…we reject Zionism. … Because it has been used as the premise for over 75 years of Palestinian dispossession, exile and death. Because it tries desperately to conflate Judaism with Zionism. When Judaism is our thousands-year-old rich tradition and Israel is a 75 year old settler colonial apartheid state. … Because none of us are free until all of us are free. From every river to every sea.”

Israel Lobby Paying Biden handsomely to help Bibi kill kids in his racist genocide of Palestinians. “Bombing for peace is like …”

Law prof Amir Attaran: “When a church that rapes children has the moral clarity to call out Israel’s terrorism, what excuse does Joe Biden have?”

Romantic Zionism: Daniella Weiss, Zionist settler movement head, admits Gaza must be erased, all Palestinians removed, to improve the view.

Palestinians in agony, not asking for pain relief, asking for water. Racist world govt’s shrug (there’s Palestinian gas to steal and frac, after all; it’s worth bombing a million children for they silently say)

Israel’s far right gov’t: “Hamas is an asset”

Bibi Netanyahu’s Gov’t: “Hamas is an asset,” used to con the world into accepting Israel wiping out Palestinians, even babies, stealing Gaza and West Bank lands, and Palestine’s natural gas. Brought to you by $Billions & Bombs from USA, Canada, UK, et. al.

No wonder the rich west, including USA, Canada, etc., finances (and has for decades) Netanyahu’s genocide of Palestinians and donates bombs – 160,000 Americans live on stolen lands/homes, leading the rise of “settler terrorism” via Biden’s glaring loophole.

Slaughterhouse Zionism: 75 years of bloodshed and feeding hate. Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, Neturei Karta spokesman, talks to TRT World about Israel’s decades of sins and attacks on Palestine: “Zionism is the problem. … It was the Muslim countries that gave us a home.” UN Resolution 3379 (1975): “Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.”

Free Palestine. BC’s Jenny Kwan: “Canada must end arms sales to Israel and condemn settler attacks in the West Bank.” Benjamin Netanyahu is proving himself worse than Hamas and must step down. Stop using our tax dollars to obliterate Palestinians.

***

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

Zionists don’t even want the word “Palestine” uttered or written.

Canada must remove B’nai Brith’s non profit status; naming it a terrorist organization needs consideration too.

“B’nai B’rith International is a 501 nonprofit Jewish service organization and was formerly a German Jewish cultural association”

“B’nai Brith of Canada Foundation. As an independent charitable organization, B’nai Brith Canada relies on the generosity of donors to realize our goals and support our many programs.”

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

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