IAW 2010 Winnipeg

Tory MLA Heather Stefanson introduced a motion on April 15th to have the Manitoba Legislature condemn the Israeli Apartheid Week. Obviously, those of us in the IAW Coordinating Committee oppose this assault on free speech and political organizing.

The Tories' motion, a link to the Hansard debate, an open letter in response by members of Faculty and our press release are below.

We have also included below the text of the motion passed by the University of Manitoba Students' Union in support of our right to free speech, as well as the press release we sent to the media this morning.

We can be reached at iaw.winnipeg@gmail.com.

In solidarity,
The Winnipeg IAW Coordinating Committee

***

The Tories' motion

WHEREAS Israeli Apartheid Week takes place annually on Manitoba university campuses; and
WHEREAS all students, staff and visitors to Manitoba campuses should feel safe; and
WHEREAS Israeli Apartheid Week may promote anti-Semitic opinions leading to the harassment and intimidation of Jewish students and staff; and
WHEREAS the use of the word "apartheid" is offensive to victims of apartheid in South Africa and ignores that Israel is a strong democracy that respects the rule of law where citizens of all backgrounds vote and serve in elected office; and
WHEREAS despite differences of opinion, public debate in Manitoba should be reasoned, informed and respectful of all Manitobans.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba urge the provincial government to denounce Israeli Apartheid Week as divisive, promoting intolerance and undermining a balanced debate of the Israeli-Palestinian question.

You can find the full debate in the Manitoba Legislature in Hansard at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/hansard/4th-39th/hansardpdf/29a.pdf. The discussion on IAW is on pages 809-820.

***

Our press release

Israeli Apartheid Week organizers saddened by debate in Manitoba Legislature
While organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week in Manitoba are temporarily relieved that the Manitoba Legislature did not pass Heather Stefanson’s anti-free speech motion to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week, there is still concern that this motion will return at a later date.
.
While Stefanson and Leader of the Opposition Hugh McFadyen spoke in favour of the motion, they claimed to support free speech in Manitoba. Sadly, their actions in the weeks prior to IAW contradict these claims. Stefanson has stated on her website that she wants to “eradicate” IAW, and McFadyen stood next to David Matas of B’Nai Brith as he called for IAW to be banned. “Despite their protestations to the contrary, this motion is clearly part of a campaign to prevent IAW from occurring in the future,” stated Brian Latour, spokesperson for the Winnipeg IAW Coordinating Committee.
.
Organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week were saddened by the tone of the debate. During the course of the debate, various MLAs made false accusations of anti-semitism, harassment, and intimidation, and MLA Ron Schuler even made the absurd and offensive on many levels comparison between IAW and its organizers and the Nazis through his references to Neville Chamberlain.
.
“The entire debate in the Manitoba legislature was a depressing display of ignorance and slander,” stated Latour. “It is a sad day in Manitoba when so many members of the legislature decide to single out a small group of dedicated people fighting against oppression with so many false accusations. Had any member of the legislature even bothered to contact IAW organizers or done the most basic of research, this harmful and pathetic display could have been averted.”
.
Israeli Apartheid Week is an anti-racist event designed to educate people about apartheid as a system of oppression which Palestinians face on a daily basis, and promote the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against the apartheid practices of the Israeli state which was initiated by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations and is now supported by hundreds of organizations around the world. Palestinians face many forms of racist discrimination on a daily basis in the Occupied Territories and Israel, including discrimination before the courts, restrictions on access to clean water, and a system of checkpoints, walls, and travel restrictions.
.
Last month’s Israeli Apartheid Week was the sixth one held since it was started at the University of Toronto in 2005. It was held in 60 cities in 2010, including Winnipeg for the first time. Events in Winnipeg discussed Israel as an apartheid state, as well as connections between gender discrimination and apartheid, Canadian apartheid and indigenous solidarity, and the freedom to speak and organize against apartheid on campus. The Winnipeg events were sponsored by ActLeft, the Canada-Palestine Support Network, and Independent Jewish Voices.
.
There were zero incidents of racism, threats or harassment during IAW at the University of Manitoba. The events put on during IAW not only upheld the University of Manitoba's Respectful Work and Learning Environment Policy and the Manitoba Human Rights Code, but were also opened with a statement opposing racism and other forms of discrimination. Minutes of the March 16th meeting of the University of Manitoba Board of Governors cited the University President stating that the IAW events had "proceeded as anticipated and were orderly" and that the University's position to not shut down IAW was the correct choice. Contrary to the fear-mongering by some individuals at the time, IAW turned out to be a positive discussion of the issues around Israeli Apartheid.

***

Open Letter in Support

MLA Heather Stefanson intends to introduce a private member’s resolution in the Manitoba
legislature to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week, which she has wrongly alleged is a racist
activity.
.
We the undersigned defend the right to freedom of speech about Palestine for all members of the
university community, including freedom to use the term “apartheid” to identify and debate
certain policies associated with the state of Israel as well as the freedom to support, facilitate and
participate freely in activities under the rubric of “Israeli Apartheid Week.”
.
David Camfield, Associate Professor, Labour Studies, University of Manitoba
Mark Golden, Professor, Classics, University of Winnipeg
Henry Heller, Professor, History, University of Manitoba
Peter Kulchyski, Professor, Native Studies, University of Manitoba
Jim Naylor, Associate Professor, History, Brandon University
Curtis Pankratz, Contract Faculty, Sociology, University of Winnipeg
Heidi Rimke, Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Winnipeg

To add your name to this letter, please contact iaw.winnipeg@gmail.com.

***
Motion from the Univeristy of Manitoba Students' Union

Defending Students' Free Speech
WHEREAS post-secondary institutions are often sites of important social struggle; and
WHEREAS an anti-racist event titled “Israeli Apartheid Week” (IAW) was recently held, opposing apartheid policies
in Israel/Palestine; and
WHEREAS the event was met with slander and condemnation by politicians and others in the local media; and
WHEREAS there were calls to ban the event supported by provincial Leader of the Opposition Hugh McFadyen as
well as provincial cabinet minister Christine Melnick; and
WHEREAS a motion has been passed in Ontario condemning IAW which may be the first step towards banning
IAW; and
WHEREAS Manitoba MLA Heather Stefanson has made clear her intent to bring in a similar motion in the Manitoba
legislature, and stated in a press release that IAW should be “eradicated”; and
WHEREAS it is not the role of the legislature to be condemning students for organizing against apartheid; and
WHEREAS a campaign was organized which continues to encourage the University of Manitoba administration to
ban IAW from occurring on campus; therefore,
.
BE IT RESOLVED THAT UMSU support the right of students to speak up against all systems of oppression,
including apartheid;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT UMSU oppose any attempt to infringe on students right to organize against
oppression, whether these attempts to infringe on students’ rights come from the state, University administrators, or other actors;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the UMSU Executive draft a letter to the leaders of the Manitoba political
parties and other Manitoba MLAs opposing any motion to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week.

***

Press Release from the IAW Coordinating Comittee in response to UMSU's vote of support

WINNIPEG – April 23, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UMSU Council passes motion supporting students rights to organize against Israeli Apartheid
.
In response to attacks on student free speech on Israeli Apartheid, including Manitoba Tory MLA Heather Stefanson’s motion to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week, the Council of the University of Manitoba Students Union voted near-unanimously on Thursday evening in support of a motion defending students' rights to organize against all forms of oppression, including apartheid. UMSU represents over 23,000 undergraduate students at the University of Manitoba.
.
“This motion is a victory for free speech at the University of Manitoba,” stated IAW spokesperson Brian Latour. “Defending students' right to organize against oppression, both locally and internally, is of the utmost importance for students' unions. There is an active campaign in Manitoba and across the country to silence any criticism of Israeli Apartheid. The University of Manitoba Students' Union did the right thing Thursday night by ignoring the lies and slander and defending students under attack by apparently pro-Apartheid politicians.”
.
In the weeks leading up to IAW, B’nai Brith organized a letter-writing campaign to the University of Manitoba demanding that the University ban IAW and therefore quash students' rights to free speech. David Matas, a representative of B’nai Brith, publicly called for IAW to be banned and was flanked at a press conference by Tory Leader of the Opposition Hugh McFadyen and NDP cabinet minister Christine Melnick. Tory MLA Heather Stefanson, in a press release announcing her motion condemning IAW, called for Manitoba MLAs to unite to “eradicate” IAW. Across Canada, there have been many attempts to silence criticism of Israeli Apartheid, including most recently a campaign to threaten the funding for Pride Toronto due to the attendance of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA).
.
“Clearly, students at the University of Manitoba have a better appreciation of free speech and the right to organize against racism and apartheid than certain members of the Manitoba Legislature,” stated Latour.
.
Israeli Apartheid Week is an anti-racist event designed to educate people about the apartheid system Palestinians face on a daily basis, and also to promote the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the apartheid practices of the Israeli state. The BDS campaign was initiated by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations and is now supported by hundreds of organizations around the world. Palestinians face many forms of racist discrimination on a daily basis in the Occupied Territories and within Israel, including discrimination before the courts, restrictions on access to clean water, and a system of checkpoints, walls, and travel restrictions.
.
Last month’s Israeli Apartheid Week was the sixth one held since it was started at the University of Toronto in 2005. It was held in 60 cities in 2010, including Winnipeg for the first time. Events in Winnipeg discussed Israel as an apartheid state, as well as connections between gender discrimination and apartheid, Canadian apartheid and indigenous solidarity, and the freedom to speak and organize against apartheid on campus. The Winnipeg events were sponsored by ActLeft, the Canada-Palestine Support Network, and Independent Jewish Voices.
.
There were zero incidents of racism, threats or harassment during IAW at the University of Manitoba. The events put on during IAW not only upheld the University of Manitoba's Respectful Work and Learning Environment Policy and the Manitoba Human Rights Code, but were also opened with a statement opposing racism and other forms of discrimination. Minutes of the March 16th meeting of the University of Manitoba Board of Governors cited the University President stating that the IAW events had "proceeded as anticipated and were orderly" and that the University's position to not shut down IAW was the correct choice.