Category Archives: SFSC

SFSC Letter: to Hassan Diab r.e. Canadian government’s ruthless reaction to dissent

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC Letter: to Hassan Diab r.e. Canadian government’s ruthless reaction to dissent

M. DIAB Hassan
416299 Z D3
Maison d’arret des hommes
7, avenue des peupliers
91705 FLEURY-MEROGIS
France

Dear Hassan,

I am writing on behalf of the Seriously Free Speech Committee (SFSC) to express our solidarity with you in the totally unjust situation in which you find yourself.

The SFSC was formed seven years ago to defend three people faced with a civil lawsuit for producing a parody of the Vancouver Sun’s (Vancouver’s dominant newspaper) one-sided reporting of the Israel-Palestine situation. We have since continued defending organizations and individuals who have been attacked for their support for Palestine or criticism of the Israeli occupation.

Your case, despite the substantial evidence of your innocence, exhibits the profound viciousness of the Stephen Harper Conservative government towards anyone not uncritically supporting the State of Israel. The flawed evidence that was used to justify your extradition is hardly conceivable in a fair justice system. Legal experts, handwriting experts and even the judge question the evidentiary flaws exhibited in the handwriting analysis. The unfair trials under France’s anti-terrorism law, the prejudice of the French legal system against Palestinian supporters and the weakness of extradition laws in Canada have resulted in your extradition. Unfortunately your extreme situation reflects the Canadian government’s ruthless reaction to dissent. Continue reading →

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SFSC Letter: Free Rasmea Odeh – she has been denied her rights long enough

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC Letter: Free Rasmea Odeh – she has been denied her rights long enough

Honorable Judge Gershwin Drain
Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse
Detroit, MI 48226 USA

Dear Judge Drain

We are writing on behalf of the Seriously Free Speech Committee (SFSC) to express our concern regarding the situation of Rasmea Odeh. As a committee of individuals concerned with issues regarding Free Speech we feel that the roots of Ms. Odeh’s situation lie in precisely her inability to speak freely.

Our understanding of her situation is that she was tortured by Israeli security forces into making a false confession many years ago. This led to her serving many years in prison. Everything else that puts her in the situation she is in today flows from that basic denial of free speech years ago.
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SFSC Article: Professor Steven Salaita’s fight against censorship comes to Vancouver

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC Article: Professor Steven Salaita’s fight against censorship comes to Vancouver

By Sheila Delany, SFSC Member, The Georgia Straight

Ever had the rug jerked out from under you? Had your life forced into a sudden 180 degree turn? Steven Salaita has. The young professor, author or editor of six books and numerous articles on indigenous peoples, colonialism, and Arabic culture, was a well-liked tenured teacher at Virginia Tech University. Over a year ago, in autumn 2013, he accepted another tenured position in American Indian studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He and his wife quit their jobs in Virginia, sold their house, moved north with their child, and Salaita began preparing classes.

Then in August, three weeks before classes were to start, came the surprise. Pro-Israel students and wealthy donors to the University of Illinois, some of them prominent Zionists, had monitored Salaita’s personal Twitter account, on which he had registered angry comments during Israel’s brutal attack on Gaza. Doubtless they also knew that he had been active in the BDS—boycott, divest, sanction—movement to pressure Israel into ending its occupation of Palestine, and particularly the academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions. They may have known that his parents are Jordanian and Palestinian.

Accusing Salaita of anti-Semitism and incivility, some donors contacted the chancellor of the university and threatened to withdraw funding if the hiring went through. It had, of course, been approved by the department and relevant administrators, and contractually agreed, but now the chancellor, Phyllis Wise, was motivated to interfere. She refused to send the hiring package on to the last step in the process, the normally pro-forma approval of the board of governors or board of trustees. In other words, the job offer was canceled, nullified, withdrawn, rescinded, revoked. This has been variously referred to in news articles as “de-hiring”, “un-hiring”, “reversal”, et cetera. Continue reading →

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SFSC Event: First Peoples, Palestine, and the Crushing of Free Speech

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC Event: First Peoples, Palestine, and the Crushing of Free Speech

New! Watch video of Stephen Salaita’s talk at SFU on Jan 12

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SFSC Letter: Kinder Morgan’s lawsuit another outrageous SLAPP suit filed to silence opposition and intimidate protesters

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC Letter: Kinder Morgan’s lawsuit another outrageous SLAPP suit filed to silence opposition and intimidate protesters

The Seriously Free Speech Committee opposes Kinder Morgan’s SLAPP suit against Burnaby Residents Opposing Pipeline Expansion and four protesters and joins with more than 65 community, environmental and labour groups and thousands of citizens condemning this outrageous attack against citizens’ rights of free speech and protest, including civil disobedience.

The Seriously Free Speech Committee was originally formed to fight this type of legal bullying when CanWest, former owners of The Vancouver Sun, filed a SLAPP suit in 2007 in an attempt to punish those who published a satirical critique of The Sun’s pro-Zionist coverage of the Middle East. Though Canwest went bankrupt and dropped the suit, we’ve continued to advocate for the need to pass anti-SLAPP legislation to stop corporate giants from misusing and abusing the legal system. Continue reading →

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SFSC Letter: Reverse firing of Prof. Steven Salaita

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC Letter: Reverse firing of Prof. Steven Salaita

To: Dr. Phyllis Wise, Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

I write concerning your university’s firing of Prof. Steven Salaita in blatant violation of academic freedom and appeal to you to promptly re-instate his appointment, an act that would go a long way toward reassuring your university and scholars around the world that you value free speech and you mean to encourage the open discussion of political issues, no matter how contentious. Continue reading →

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SFSC Letter: Reinstate Dr. Steven Salaita

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC Letter: Reinstate Dr. Steven Salaita

Dr. Phyllis Wise, Chancellor, University of Illinois

I am writing to you to request that you reverse the transparently political decision to dismiss Dr. Steven Salaita. I believe that on this occasion you have received misleading advice from one of your most senior colleagues, Professor Cary Nelson, who has been very active in this matter–but who in my opinion has behaved in a wholly improper manner. Continue reading →

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PAC: Let Gaza Live

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on PAC: Let Gaza Live

On August 7, 2014, the Palestine Awareness Coalition published a full-page ad in the Georgia Straight in response to the Israeli assault on Gaza, calling to “Let Gaza Live.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO SUPPORT GAZA?

1. Contact your MP to demand an end to the siege of Gaza: Find your MP using your postal code!

2. Attend or organize demonstrations. These demonstrations are coming up in Vancouver, Friday August 8 and Saturday August 9. Please join in!

3. Boycott Israeli Goods. Some products you should boycott include SodaStream, Keter Plastics, Hewlett-Packard electronics, Sabra hummus, and Ahava cosmetics. Learn more about the global boycott.

4, Donate to medical aid. Two excellent organizations providing support are the Middle East Children’s Alliance and the UN Relief Works Association (UNRWA).

5. Donate locally to help pay for ads like these: by cheque or transfer to Vancity #656967, Branch 4, or online: https://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s32200

6. Spread the word and raise awareness about Palestine! Share this page on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

The Palestine Awareness Coalition is comprised of a number of Vancouver-area organizations, including SFSC, collectively working to raise awareness.

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SFSC Letter – re Palestinian Artist Rehab Nazzal’s exhibit in Ottawa’s City Hall

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC Letter – re Palestinian Artist Rehab Nazzal’s exhibit in Ottawa’s City Hall

I am writing on behalf of the Seriously Free Speech Committee based in Vancouver, BC. Seriously Free Speech was founded six years ago. We are, as our web site says- (www.serioulsyfreespeech.ca) “committed to free expression of views on Israel/Palestine. Members are concerned about growing intimidation, censorship and legal threats against individuals and organizations who criticize Israel’s actions.” In that context you won’t be surprised to know that we have followed the situation of the art of Rehab Nazzal at the Karsh-Masson Art Gallery in Ottawa’s City Hall.
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SFSC – Letter to SF State re Academic Delegation to Palestine

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC – Letter to SF State re Academic Delegation to Palestine

To: Leslie Wong, President San Francisco State University

Timothy White, Chancellor California State University
Larry Mandel, CSU Vice Chancellor and Chief Audit Officer
Carrie Hemphill Reith, CSU Resource Attorney for Conflict of Interest & Governance

May 31, 2014

Dear President Wong,

Our organization, The Seriously Free Speech Committee is committed to defending free expression of views on Palestine and Israel. Because our members are concerned about the growing intimidation, censorship and legal threats against individuals and organizations for criticizing Israel’s occupation and racist policies, we are writing to express our concern with the inflammatory statements in a March letter to you from the AMCHA Initiative and widely circulated by their network.
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