November revisionism

Tammy has sent me an article from the Manitoban dealing with the Israel-Palestine situation in a very revisionist way that completely negates the right of Israel to survive.

My favourite part:

The people of Palestine have been treated with cruelty and injustice for over 50 years. They were not given the opportunity to develop into an autonomous political state. From rule under the Ottoman Empire, they were driven into rule under British Mandatory Government, and from there into rule under a brutal and draconian military occupation intent on their demise.

The author of course completely neglects to mention the Jordanian occupation.

Anyhow, read it for yourself, if you have the stomach to. Letters to the editor can be submitted here.

Writes Tammy from Winnipeg:

Please mention that non U of M students are free to submit responses and complaints. Consider the absolute unfairness of publishing an article of this length and type without inviting members of the community supporting Israel to reply IN THE SAME ISSUE to the accusations against Israel. The opportunity to reply in the same issue is essential for balance and fairness and represents good journalistic standards.

This week

Exams are coming and we're all busy - this is the roundup of the final issues of most papers for the semester. After this week, I will only be blogging stuff that is brought to my attention at aliza[at]cfjs.ca.

For anyone in New Brunswick, a link to an article about an activist student union who is campaigning for political debate on campus. (It's a PDF, scroll to the bottom of Page 1.)

At Concordia - awesome article in the Link:

Why do Jews seem to be the most vocal advocates of free speech for everyone on campus? It is because Jewish students are the only ones denied the right to express their position with all the academic means they desire. This is not because we are violent, but because our opponents are violent. Why are we penalized because our ideological opponents are violent? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Elmasry is mentioned in a free speech article from the Eyeopener at Ryerson.

At York, the Noble issue blew up into a free speech rally, with press releases being exchanged and editorials being written.

As for the document, the simple truth is that David Noble has no logical evidence whatsoever to support any of his claims. If you want to claim that there is corporate influence at the foundation or Board, do so, and you would probably be right. However, this asinine document is nothing more than trash, and any time you feel like debating that, look me up. I would be more than happy to educate you.

Western has "Palestine Day"

Nutty events at Western: These photos were passed on to me by people at the IAC at Western about Monday, which was "Palestine Day" there:

We wanted to be sure that all students who wish to respond and show their discomfort about this harassing display had the proper channels available to them to voice their fears and concerns. Attached to this e-mail is a picture of the display taken late Sunday night after it was erected. If you find this display harassing we strongly encourage you to respond. This e-mail also includes the contact information for University President Dr. Paul Davenport, Equity Service at the university and USC President Nick Staubitz and VP Campus Issues Eric Johanssen. We are also including a sample letter that you might consider before sending your concerns to these parties. Please BCC or forward your letters to us so that we can have a record.

Please also consider discussing this with your parents and suggesting that they contact the university administration regarding their concerns. This is a situation where it is worthwhile to get them involved and have the university understand the gravity of our concerns.

NOTE: VP Campus Issues Eric Johanssen and the USC have shown the utmost of support and concern for students who might be harassed by the display. Eric was reached late Sunday night and was most helpful in helping us to understand how to move this process along. There is no reason to believe that university administration, with whom we have fantastic relations, will show any less concern once contacted.

 

Here is the information for the Western issue: Send emails to
Contact info

Eric Johanssen
Vice President Campus Issues
University Students' Council
E-mail: usc.campus.issues@uwo.ca

Nick Staubitz
President
University Students' Council
E-mail: usc.president@uwo.ca

Equity Services
Homepage:
E-mail: equity@uwo.ca

Dr. Paul Davenport
President & Vice-Chancellor
University of Western Ontario
E-mail: pdavenpo@uwo.ca
and copy your letters to info[at]iacwestern.ca.