[van-announce] Palestinian support, free speech and student activism - Fri 11th UBC and Sat 12th SFU-HC

[Alissa W]

Upcoming Events in Vancouver BC: Friday 11th and Saturday 12th
Speakers on attacks on free speech and academic freedom in context of Palestinian and peace support work and the recent controversy over UBC student groups donating to the Canadian Boat to Gaza.
 
PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!
 
--- Friday 11th event at UBC
 
WHEN STUDENTS SPEAK UP FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS
Understanding recent attempts to silence criticism of Israel on Campus
- Threats to academic freedom and student activism nationwide -


* Friday, February 11th, 5:30-8 PM *
UBC Student Union Building, Room 207/209 (2nd floor)


Free Forum  -  Pizza provided  -  PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!!
 
Featured Speakers:
Jenny Peto    - Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto)
Omar Chaaban    - Solidarity with Palestinian Human Rights – UBC
Brian Campbell    - Seriously Free Speech Committee

Over the past months, two student organizations at UBC have come under attack for their efforts to oppose Israel’s illegal siege of the Gaza Strip.

The situation at UBC began when the Social Justice Centre approved a donation for the Canadian Boat to Gaza at the request of Solidarity with Palestinian Human Rights – UBC (SPHR). The project is part of an international effort to break the illegal siege on Gaza and expose the Canadian government's unjustified support for Israel.  Despite the participation of not-for-profit and charitable organizations in the project (monitored by the Canadian government), students were accused of anti-Semitism and supporting terrorism.  Pro-Israel groups on campus have engaged in a vicious campaign to block this donation and to undermine the work, financing and reputations of the student groups.

This campaign is part of a wider strategy by pro-Israel groups in Canada to undermine free speech and solidarity work for Palestine, especially on university and college campuses. Attacks on Palestinian-solidarity organizations and individual activists are escalating in Canada, including: defunding of the Canadian Arab Federation and KAIROS, banning of British MP George Galloway from entering Canada to speak to peace groups, condemnations and bannings of Israeli Apartheid Week on campuses, the attempts to ban Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from the Toronto Pride Parade, and many more.

This repression is happening as international opposition is growing to the ongoing human rights violations and war crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. It is also a time of increased repression within the state of Israel, where efforts by both Palestinian citizens of Israel and Israeli human rights organizations to challenge Israel's apartheid policies are increasingly criminalized.

Join us for a free student forum to discuss these attacks on free speech, academic freedom and student activism in the context of Palestine and peace support work in Canada, and what our community can do to stop them.

About Jenny Peto:  A member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid in Toronto, Jenny has a Master's degree in Sociology and Equity Studies from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Her Master's thesis, entitled ‘The Victimhood of the Powerful: White Jews, Zionism and the Racism of Hegemonic Holocaust Education,’ has been at the centre of a recent firestorm generated by pro-Israel groups in Canada. Jenny has faced personal attacks in the media and her work was condemned by three members of the Ontario legislature. These attacks have been met with a powerful response from hundreds of outraged individuals and from a wide range of organizations including Faculty for Palestine, PACBI, IJV, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA).

For more background information please check out the following links:
http://www.socialjusticecentre.org/
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/faultlines/2010/12/2010121125638329942.html
http://pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1429&key=peto
http://www.caiaweb.org/committees/faculty-for-palestine/

Facebook event info - http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=180895788614935
 
Sponsored by the UBC Social Justice Center – www.socialjusticecentre.org
For more information - socialjusticecentre.ubc at gmail.com
 
Thanks to:  Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign Vancouver, Canada Palestine Association, Canada Palestine Support Network (CanPalNet), Canadian Boat to Gaza, Independent Jewish Voices BC, Seriously Free Speech Vancouver, SFU Teaching Support Staff Union - Social Justice Committee, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – UBC, Stopwar.ca, Voice of Palestine
 
--- Saturday 12th event at SFU-downtown
 
* Please Distribute Widely * Sorry for any cross-postings *

SPEAKING UP FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS:
Understanding recent attempts to silence criticism of Israel in Canada

Free Public Forum:  Saturday February 12, 6:30 pm
SFU Harbour Centre, 515 W. Hastings St.

Featured Speakers:
Jenny Peto  - Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto)
Omar Chaaban  - Solidarity with Palestinian Human Rights – UBC
Brian Campbell  - Seriously Free Speech Committee

(NOTE: Childcare will be available on site. Please call 604-779-7430 in advance if you need childcare.)

Over the past few months, two student organizations at UBC have come under attack for their efforts to oppose Israel’s illegal siege of the Gaza Strip.
 
The situation at UBC began when the Social Justice Centre approved a donation for the Canadian Boat to Gaza at the request of the UBC chapter of Solidarity with Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR). The Canadian Boat is part of an international effort to break the illegal siege on Gaza and expose the Canadian government's unjustified support for Israel. Since then, Zionist groups on campus have engaged in a vicious campaign to both block this donation from being granted and to undermine the work of these student groups.

This campaign is part of a wider strategy by pro-Israel groups in Canada to undermine solidarity work for Palestine. As recently documented by Al Jazeera, attacks on Palestinian-solidarity organizations and individual activists are escalating in Canada, from the defunding of the Canadian Arab Federation and KAIROS to the banning of British MP George Galloway from entering Canada, the condemnation of Israeli Apartheid Week, and the attempts to ban Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from the Toronto Pride Parade.

This repression is happening at a time when, around the world, opposition is growing to the ongoing human rights violations and war crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. It is also happening at a time of increased repression within the state of Israel itself, where efforts by both Palestinian citizens of Israel and Israeli human rights organizations to challenge Israel's apartheid policies are increasingly criminalized.

Join us for a free public forum to discuss why these attacks on free speech are happening in the context of Palestine support work in Canada, and what we can do to stop them.

About Jenny Peto:  A member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid in Toronto, Jenny has a Master's degree in Sociology and Equity Studies from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Her Master's thesis, entitled  ‘The Victimhood of the Powerful: White Jews, Zionism and the Racism of Hegemonic Holocaust Education,’ has been at the centre of a recent firestorm generated by pro-Israel groups in Canada. Jenny has faced personal attacks in the media and her work was condemned by three members of the Ontario legislature. These attacks have been met with a powerful response from hundreds of outraged individuals and from a wide range of organizations including Faculty for Palestine, PACBI, IJV, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA).

For more background information please check out the following links:
http://www.socialjusticecentre.org/
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/faultlines/2010/12/2010121125638329942.html
http://pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1429&key=peto
http://www.caiaweb.org/committees/faculty-for-palestine/

Facebook event info - http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=130024523730186
 
Sponsored by: SFU Teaching Support Staff Union - Social Justice Committee
For more information:  organizer (at) tssu.ca

Endorsers (in alphabetical order): Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign Vancouver, Canada Palestine Association, Canada Palestine Support Network (CanPalNet), Canadian Boat to Gaza, Independent Jewish Voices BC, Seriously Free Speech Vancouver, Social Justice Centre – UBC, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – UBC, Stopwar.ca, Voice of Palestine