Category Archives: Other Campaigns

National Post: In transit ads, anything goes after top court ruled bus riders must ‘put up with controversy’

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on National Post: In transit ads, anything goes after top court ruled bus riders must ‘put up with controversy’

Brian Hutchinson, National Post Full Comment, August 29, 2013

Public transit advertisements depicting an expanding Israeli territory are causing a fuss in Metro Vancouver, with some Jewish groups demanding the removal of posters from 15 city buses and a train station, and with pro-Palestinian organizations vowing to expand their “settlement and occupation” awareness campaign across Canada.

“We think it’s particularly important that people in Vancouver and other Canadian cities learn about what’s happening in Palestine now and what’s happened historically,” a spokeswoman for the Palestinian Awareness Coalition, the group responsible for the ad campaign, told the Canadian Press this week. Continue reading →

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CTV: Pro-Palestine bus ads spark debate in Vancouver

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on CTV: Pro-Palestine bus ads spark debate in Vancouver

ctv Watch CTV News Video from Aug 28, 2013

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Vancouver Sun: Vancouver’s controversial pro-Palestine ads planned for other Canadian cities

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| 1 Comment

VANCOUVER SUN Aug. 28, 2013 — A controversial ad campaign on Vancouver’s transit system showing the territory of Palestine shrinking into the state of Israel will run in other Canadian cities this fall, says the coalition behind the images.

“We do know that in other Canadian cities, for example in Toronto and in Calgary, there will be ads” running sometime this fall sponsored by advocates in those cities, said Charlotte Kates, a spokeswoman for seven Vancouver-based groups calling themselves the Palestine Awareness Coalition. Continue reading →

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Globe and Mail: Pro-Palestine transit ads will not be removed, TransLink says

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on Globe and Mail: Pro-Palestine transit ads will not be removed, TransLink says

The Globe and Mail: August 28, 2013

TransLink says a series of ads that depict the territory of Palestine shrinking into the state of Israel will not be pulled from a transit station or buses in the Vancouver area. Continue reading →

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Translink: Advertising on Transit System

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on Translink: Advertising on Transit System

Translink Media Release: August 27, 2013

Recently, TransLink received comments regarding an advertisement currently running within the transit system.

TransLink does not endorse nor advocate any position put forward by outside advertisers. In addition, as a public agency, TransLink’s advertising policy cannot violate freedom of expression under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Freedom of expression is a protected right under the Charter.

TransLink does not have the legal authority to deny ads as long as the ads comply with the Code of Canadian Advertising Standards, other laws such as the Human Rights Act and TransLink’s Advertising Policy. This is in accordance with a 2009 Supreme Court of Canada decision that struck down the portion of TransLink’s Advertising Policy that prohibited advocacy ads. Continue reading →

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center Condemns Ads Slated for TransLink, Vancouver

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center Condemns Ads Slated for TransLink, Vancouver

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal: 26 Aug 2013 TORONTO, ONTARIO

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center is deeply disturbed to learn about TransLink’s agreement to run historically distorted anti-Israel advertisements on its buses and SkyTrain stations. Continue reading →

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CSCP: SFSC shares grave concern about UMSU’s decision to ban SAIA

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on CSCP: SFSC shares grave concern about UMSU’s decision to ban SAIA

Canadian Students’ Coalition for Palestine

SFSC has signed on to the following statement. Other organizations are invited to sign on to this statement. To sign on, email canadianSCP@gmail.com or use the online form.

April 14, 2013
To: The University of Manitoba Students’ Union Council
Local 103 of the Canadian Federation of Students, 101 University Centre, Winnipeg, MB

We are writing to express our grave concern about the UMSU’s decision to revoke the student club status of the University of Manitoba’s branch of Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA), and further to ban SAIA from operating in “UMSU spaces.” By denying students at UManitoba the right to initiate and operate SAIA, you are denying them the right to engage in criticism of the State of Israel, and this decision is a flagrant violation of students’ Fundamental Freedoms of Expression and of Association as enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms under sections 2(b) and 2(d). Continue reading →

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UMSU: Resolution banning Students Against Israeli Apartheid

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on UMSU: Resolution banning Students Against Israeli Apartheid

IAW Council Motion (March 2013)

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WCAIA: Coalition will fight ban of Students Against Israeli Apartheid

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on WCAIA: Coalition will fight ban of Students Against Israeli Apartheid

NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release, Saturday, April 13, 2013

U of M Students’ Union urged to support human rights and freedom of speech

WINNIPEG—The Winnipeg Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (WCAIA) is appalled by the University of Manitoba Students’ Union’s April 11 decision to end Students Against Israeli Apartheid’s student group status and ban it from operating in students’ union space.

The motion passed by UMSU Council equates criticism of the Israeli government to discrimination and harassment, and takes extraordinary measures against a student group, although it appears no evidence was presented to substantiate the accusations.

“We are shocked that UMSU would ban Students Against Israeli Apartheid without any evidence or basis for the accusations brought forward in the motion,” said Liz Carlyle, spokesperson for the Winnipeg Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. “It is clear that the architects of the motion aimed to silence opposition to the Israeli government’s Apartheid policies.”
Continue reading →

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SFSC Letter: Academic freedom at Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC Letter: Academic freedom at Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Gideon Sa’ar, Minister of Education, Government of Israel,
PO Box 292, Jerusalem, Israel 91911

To the Minister of Education:

The Seriously Free Speech Committee (Vancouver) is mandated to defend free speech in connection with the Israel-Palestine conflict, both on and off the university campus. We join many thousands of teachers, students and others internationally who have demanded respect for academic freedom at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.  Continue reading →

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