Tag Archives: Israeli Apartheid Week

Electronic Intifada: Paris university pulls plug on “Israeli apartheid” talk

Electronic Intifada, Feb 17, 2012, David Cronin

A Paris university has withdrawn permission for a Palestine solidarity conference at the behest of the Zionist lobby.

In a statement issued today, the authorities at the University of Paris 8 said that the title of the conference – “Israel: an apartheid state?” – was “of a strongly polemical character.” Because there had been strong reactions to its theme, the university predicted there could be a “serious risk posed to public order” if the event scheduled for 27 and 28 February went ahead.

The complaint against the conference was made by the representative council for Jewish organizations in France, or CRIF as it’s better known. It had objected to the participation of Omar Barghouti, coordinator of the Palestinian campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Continue reading

MESA: Definition of antisemitism threatens free speech

August 18, 2011
I write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our grave concern with aspects of the report released on July 7, 2011, by the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA). We believe that the report’s loose and overly broad definition of antisemitism may threaten freedom of speech and violate the principles of academic freedom by defining criticism of Israeli policies, of Zionism or of Israel as a self-defined Jewish state as inherently antisemitic.

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CKUT: Canadian Parliamentary Report on Antisemitism Sparks Criticism

CKUT’s Off the Hour: Radio Interview with Scott Weinstein, Independent Jewish Voices and Sam Bick, Israeli Apartheid Week organizer
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National Post: Report on anti-Semitism seeks only to protect Israel

This month, a serious attack was made against free speech in Canada. A pseudo-parliamentary committee calling itself the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA) issued a report calling on the federal government to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism that would criminalize criticism of the state of Israel. The report claims to support free speech and open debate around the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but its recommendations aim to silence pro-Palestinian voices, especially on campuses. The CPCCA’s biased processes and dubious conclusions contradict its own argument for balanced debate, and make a mockery of the notion of disinterested parliamentary inquiry. Continue reading

SFSC: CPCCA Releases Report more than one year late

The Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA) released its final report yesterday, more than a year after it was first promised to appear. For the last two years, the Seriously Free Speech Committee has been involved in national campaign to expose the CPCCA and its agenda to demonise and silence critics of the state of Israel. Continue reading