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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Please sign this open letter here.
On Oct. 10, 2012, President Runte released the Report (with appendices) of Carleton’s Commission on Inter-Cultural, Inter-Religious and Inter-Racial Relations on Campus.
The Report rightly acknowledges Aboriginal peoples’ marginalization on campus, but it ignores the problems other racialized groups face, and focuses primarily on a small fraction of Jewish students and employees. This selectivity of focus and response suggests that the Report is not the neutral, inclusive document it purports to be. Closer examination of the Report and how it was produced confirm the opposite: that it is a partisan intervention. Continue reading
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Tagged campus, CPCCA, EUMC Working Definition
Sarah Boesveld, Nov 15, 2012, National Post
Queen’s University is facing a backlash from Jewish alumni over its decision to award former U.S. president Jimmy Carter — a strong critic of Israel — an honourary degree next week.
Shimon Fogel, chief executive of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said his organization has received about 50 “angry and frustrated inquiries” over the past month from graduates of the respected Canadian university, worried their school will be tarnished by Mr. Carter’s view of Israel as an apartheid state and his controversial relationships in the Arab world. Continue reading
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Electronic Intifada, Nov 3, 2012 by Abraham Greenhouse
While the ongoing debate over efforts to silence or stigmatize criticism of Israeli policies on University of California campuses has received a great deal of outside attention, a similar confrontation has been unfolding, somewhat more quietly, at Ottawa’s Carleton University.
On 10 October 2012, Carleton’s President, Roseann Runte, released a report by the University’s Commission on Inter-Cultural, Inter-Religious and Inter-Racial Relations on Campus. The Commission, launched in 2010, has the mandate to “to examine the status quo and to provide positive recommendations to contribute to a better context for dialogue and understanding on the Carleton campus and in the surrounding community.” Continue reading
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Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada – 22 October 2012
A sustained battle by the Israeli right to stifle academic freedom at the country’s universities is close to claiming its first major scalp.
In an unprecedented move last month, officials from Israel’s Council for Higher Education (CHE) — a government-appointed body overseeing universities and colleges — recommended the effective closure of the politics department of Ben Gurion University, based in the Negev/Naqab city of Beersheva. Continue reading
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Tagged BGUN, campus, Israel, printonline
As countless students around the world took the SAT a week ago, Palestinians from the West Bank could not join their ranks. The October SAT exam was cancelled for students in the West Bank: The Israeli authorities held the exams sent by the College Board for weeks, not releasing the tests to AMIDEAST’s office in Ramallah. Continue reading
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By Helena Flusfeder, University World News Global Edition, Issue 242, 07 October 2012
“I thought academic freedom in Israel was very certain,” said Professor Rivka Carmi, president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and chair of the Committee of University Heads. But Israel is treading a fine line on academic freedom following a controversial move by the Council for Higher Education to close the university’s politics and government department.
The council recently recommended that the department of politics and government at Ben-Gurion should not be allowed to register students for the 2013-14 academic year, a move that would virtually close the department, some of whose faculty have been accused of being left-wing.
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Ms. Angelica Saleceda, President, 2012-2013, University of California Student Association
Dear Ms. Saleceda
On behalf of the Seriously Free Speech Committee (SFSC) – Vancouver, Canada, we congratulate you and your fellow Board members on the resolution passed on Sept. 15, 2012 opposing the California Assembly Bill HR 35.
Attempts to conflate criticism of Israel and/or solidarity with Palestinian human rights with antisemitism, and therefore hate speech, is a tactic used by Israel supporters for the last forty years. The last five years have seen the usefulness of this tactic diminished as many courageous individuals and organizations have fought back against such claims. HR 35 demonstrates that attempts to use the false charge of antisemitism to smear and frighten Israel´s critics is still an ongoing strategy. Your resolution, and the unanimity of the UCSA Board, is an important step in opposing these attempts and diminishing their credibility. Continue reading
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Ben White, The Electronic Intifada. 28 September 2012Top administrators at the University of California are considering what action to take against speech and activities alleged to be anti-Semitic. As part of their discussions, the university may endorse a seven-year-old document, which — despite not having an official status — is often called the European Union’s“working definition” of anti-Semitism.
Although the administrators have indicated that their motive is to protect Jewish students, a careful examination of the definition indicates that the real agenda may be to stifle Palestine solidarity activism and criticism of Israel in the classroom. Continue reading
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To California Assemblymembers Linda Halderman, Bonnie Lowenthal, and 66 Co-authors of California House Resolution 35:
Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Beall, Block, Blumenfield, Butler, Cook, Fong, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hagman, Mansoor, Miller, Monning, Portantino, and Williams, Alejo, Allen, Atkins, Bill Berryhill, Bonilla, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Lara, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Morrell, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, and Wagner
Dear California Assembly Representatives;
California Scholars for Academic Freedom** opposes in the strongest possible terms House Resolution 35, a resolution which lists each of you as introducers or co-authors, and which was approved, with no debate, by the California State Assembly on August 28, 2012 [1]. The resolution poses a clear threat to academic freedom in the University of California and the California State University systems. Continue reading
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