The university’s statement, released to the public on Friday, addressed the “serious and ongoing harms caused by [the groups’] statement,” which declares “solidarity with the Palestinian people” against “the settler-colonial apartheid state of so-called Israel.”
“Since 1948, Palestinian people have been systemically displaced from their land and homes as a result of state-sanctioned violence, siege, and genocide,” reads the Oct. 12 statement in part. “Our Unions remain unwavering in our support of the Palestinian people’s fight for self-determination and liberation.”
Furthermore, the student-funded groups lashed out at Israel for its air strikes on Gaza, saying they came in response to “Palestinian resistance.”
In its statement, York University said the unions must retract the statement, issue an apology, acknowledge the impact of the statement on campus, and remove all union executives by 5 p.m. on Oct. 25.
This isn’t the first time York has had issues with these groups either.
“Remove all union executives”? Jesus, the ban hammer getting dropped hard.
York on the wrong side of history here
You must not have read the statement
I just read it. I’ll paste it below. There’s nothing in there I disagree with.
Statement of Solidarity with Palestine
Content warning: The following statement has content on genocide and ongoing violence in Palestine.
We the undersigned Unions present at York University reaffirm our solidarity with the Palestinian people, within Palestine and the global diaspora, and their ongoing fight against settler-colonialism, apartheid, and genocide. We vehemently condemn all forms of colonial violence and support Indigenous sovereignty.
Recently, in a strong act of resistance, the Palestinian people tore down and crossed the illegitimate border fence erected by the settler-colonial apartheid state of so-called Israel. These resistance efforts are a direct response to the ongoing and violent occupation of Palestine. Since 1948, Palestinian people have been systemically displaced from their land and homes as a result of state-sanctioned violence, siege, and genocide.
In response to Palestinian resistance, so-called Israel has continued to escalate attacks on Gaza by bombing residential neighborhoods, deploying white phosphorus bombs and cutting off access to food, water, power and medical supplies. These tactics are not new. So-called Israel has continually restricted Palestinians movement to & from Gaza, creating an open-air prison and obstructing access to essential resources within the apartheid fence for decades. From Turtle Island to Palestine, and across all occupied lands, these events serve as a reminder that resistance against colonial violence is justified and necessary. This is “decolonization” and “land-back” actualized as we continue to see the Palestinian people stand firm in their resistance against their oppressors.
We are witnessing clearly how the mainstream media utilizes strategic rhetoric which erases the decades old violence Palestinians have faced and the intentional subversion of responsibility for these atrocities from so-called Israel. Using language like “conflict” and “war in the Middle East” further delegitimizes the Palestinian people’s struggle for self-determination against the apartheid state of Israel by deliberately hindering the ability to acknowledge the ongoing violence as a form of ethnic cleansing. Settler-colonial states like so-called Canada and their institutions continue to legitimize their existence and those of other settler-colonial states making them complicit in the ongoing genocide. York University is complicit as they continue to invest students’ money into weapons and arms manufacturers. We denounce the statements put forth and stances taken by the York University Administration as they use their platform to obfuscate the ongoing occupation of Palestine and absolve themselves from their role in the ongoing genocide.
Our Unions remain unwavering in our support of the Palestinian people’s fight for self-determination and liberation. We actively affirm that Palestinians are inherently entitled to the right to shape their political, economic, social, and cultural future. This struggle confronts the persistent oppression, displacement, and human rights abuses inflicted upon the Palestinian population. We stand firmly in solidarity with those resisting such oppression, actively contributing to the legitimate fight for justice against settler-colonial nations. We as students’ unions have a responsibility to spread awareness and support the liberation of Palestine and all struggles for Indigenous sovereignty.
For more information on the history of Palestine, visit: Decolonize Palestine: https://decolonizepalestine.com/
You should disagree with this part
these events serve as a reminder that resistance against colonial violence is justified and necessary.
That’s just basic self defense.
If any foreign power came in and tried to evict everyone in my neighbourhood so they could colonize it instead, I would fight back with whatever I had at my disposal. Are you saying you’d be okay with someone doing that to you?
Agreed.
A main focus of education is to teach critical thinking skills, not to force students to follow what the institution decides is “right”.
Yeah maybe the unions should be reminded of their duties too instead of spending time on issuing one-sided statements that are borderline cringe.
Wtf? Do they think there’s some romantic revolutionary energy they need to be spreading on a topic that consists of nothing but useless violence and suffering for so many civilians in the middle east?
Also who in the world do they think cares about embarrassing statements and lip service about solidarity from some freshman students from York? This really has nothing to with critical thinking skills. In fact it’s rather proof of the opposite of that concept.
Critical thinking involves seeing everything from multiple viewpoints, like viewing all the facets of a diamond.
How have you done that in your response?
Critical thinking would be to not take a side in this mess. The conflict is complicated and making such a statement just when a lot of Israelis died is insensitive and feel like they agree with the killing of innocent people. That’s the problem. Why say these statements now ? Why not 1, 2, 3 years ago ?
Imagine saying you agree with alquaida because they suffered from American shit right after 9/11. What is wrong with you ?
Why would “something is complicated” mean you can’t have a stance on it? By all means, you should be extra careful with complicated issues, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have an opinion or that there aren’t parts that are more clear cut.
Eg, your comment reads to me like you’re conflating Palestine (the largely unrecognized country) and Hamas (the terrorist group). Your Al Qaeda comment certainly reads that way. These groups and the vast majority of people support Palestine, not Hamas. So it’s like sympathizing with Iraq because they got invaded after 9/11.
And the why now is pretty obvious. Because big things are happening now. Yeah, this isn’t the first time Israel and Palestine have faced conflict, but it’s a big time and people are afraid that Israel is going to put a complete end to Palestine this time around. If you don’t speak up now, when will you?
