Letters criticizing Carleton for violation of right to free expression

As of 25 February 2009, SAIA Carleton has been copied on over 350 letters to Carleton University President Roseann Runte criticizing her administration's ban on the official 2009 Israeli Apartheid Week poster.

(Letters up to 19 February 2009 have been posted -- many more to be published -- hyperlinked name list coming)

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(Letters listed from most recent to oldest.)

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Linda McCabe <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 7:42 PM
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Dear President Runte

I have received an email outlining a serious allegation from SAIA, a student
lead organization at Carleton University towards yourself and the university
administration.  From the evidence presented, Carleton University has taken
a number of biased stands against the publication of events supporting
Palestinian rights including the banning of posters that advertise Israeli
Apartheid Week.  While I would have preferred a less militarist poster, the
poster does present the lived reality of many Palestinian children living
under Israeli occupation and especially since the war on Gaza.

Universities, as institutions of higher learning have and should have as
their highest principle the value of discourse about the various issues
facing us today.  In the interest of prompting peace in the world, taking a
stand to ban discussions on one subject and not on another could have the
opposite effect and cause further escalations of conflict.  I agree that all
people should be respected, but I fail to see how in this case, another
group is being disrespected or discriminated against when truth is depicted.
I can't imagine that the university  ever banned past posters depicting
South African apartheid.

What is at risk here is the university's reputation as a respected
participant in world political issues.  Please don't mimic our government's
position on the Middle East, which is one of unconditional support for
Israel as a country irrespective of massive violations of international law.
Please facilitate discourse among all students and the community which
furthers understanding and eventually resolutions to these types of
conflicts.  The world needs peace now more than ever and we have a moral
obligation to contribute to that.  One of those obligations is to provide
opportunities for disclosure of truth.

Both students and professors should be granted freedom of expression and
assembly while attending Carleton University.

Sincerely

Linda McCabe
Ottawa, ON

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Betsy Young <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 7:34 PM
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To President Roseanne Runte -
 
I appeal to you that you immediately restore the Charter rights of Carleton students. As a Christian who supported the boycott to end South African apartheid, I also support the Students Against Israeli Apartheid students of Carlton University in their demands regarding Israeli Apartheid Week. I call on you to:

1. Immediately lift the ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.
2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.
3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.
4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.
 
Your adminstration chose to ban these posters, but how could you not summon enough concern for human rights or the right to education to speak against the bombing of a Gazan university? Afterall, there are more and more Jewish people and others speaking out against the atrocities and occuption by Israel, such as the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (www.ijsn.net).
 
Thank you for your consideration.
 
Betsy Young
Philadelphia, PA

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M Z <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 1:59 PM
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Dr. Roseanne Runte,

President, Carleton University

It has come to my attention that your Administration is taking punitive measures against students who are peacefully organizing Israeli Apartheid Week on Campus.

As they exercise their basic right to free speech, you - as it is to your name and your legacy that this will be associated - are intimidating and threatening with expulsion these students.  And please: I would greatly appreciate you not respond with patronizing speak re the need to prevent hatred and intolerance, and about promoting human rights, civility, respect, & peace.  You may wish to instead spend your time reading the reports by Amnesty, Oxfam, the United Nations (& so many others) on this very real 'apartheid' system you so clearly wish to deny (unless, of course, you are of the belief that 'racism doesn't exist because we are all one race'...?)

I received my Master of Arts from Carleton and I am today a proud monthly donor to my Alma Mater; it saddens me greatly to receive such news, most especially when it is on the university campus that debated opinions and dissenting voices should be nurtured and encouraged rather than threatened and gagged.

I appeal to your sense of education and allowance for sharing of information and ideas; I am hopeful that you will reverse your earlier decision, release the posters and cease your threats against these students.  Otherwise, you may add my name to a growing list of donors who will sever their relationship with Carleton University and end their support and financial contribution for so long as you are in office.

The legacy you choose to tag on to 'Runte' remains at your own discretion and of your own making.

M Z

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Amelia Spedaliere <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 10:34 PM
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President Runte,
 
I am disgusted and outraged to hear of the recent banning of the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and the subsequent threat of expulsion directed towards members of Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) Carleton. This is a violation of the fundamental right to expression. These students have been working tirelessly to bring to the Carleton campus and community a dimension of world politics too often overshadowed, ignored, and silenced through repression. The banning of the poster and threat posed to the students demonstrates that you have already taken a biased political stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict on behalf of the university, and you are now violating free expression in order to prevent  alternative views. Furthermore, instead of attempting to engage in constructive dialogue, you have chosen to cooperate with those who conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism--an action that can only lead to further conflict and misunderstanding.

I urge you to lift the ban and publicly retract and apologise for this grave decision so as to re-instill in the students of Carleton University a sense of safety on their campus as well as set an example to other universities.
 
Sincerely,
 
Amelia Spedaliere

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Janet Desroches <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 6:46 AM
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Madame:

I am an alumunus of Carleton, having finished in the MSW program. In those days, I daily made my way to classes in tunnel dripping with very offensive graffiti, very offensive.

Now the University is pulling down and destroying posters advertising a legitimate student initiative, anti-apartheid week. I have seen the poster. It is not offensive, as it doesn't even depict the reality, which is hundreds of children who have been terribly wounded and killed in the recent massacre; as well as adults. Now, food and medicine as well as building supplies are being held up by Israel, in spite of these people's desperate need. Israel has even had the audacity to joke that it is putting Palestinians on a diet.

Madame, the fact that you have demanded the posters be pulled down and threatened the students with expulsion if they
go ahead with the planned activities, is appalling. It is censorship. It is against everything having to do with freedom of speech.

I would like to know, Madame, that your efforts have been directed to offensive graffiti, like in the tunnels instead of a very
responsible student initiative to address one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

Sincerely,

Janet (Giddings) Desroches

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Muhammad Ali Khalidi <>
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 1:50 PM
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Subject: Disappointment

Dear President Runte,

I am writing to express deep disappointment at the banning of a poster advertising a lecture condemning Israeli apartheid practices by the administration at Carelton University.  As a professor of Philosophy at York University in Toronto, I am dismayed by this attempt to curtail the

free speech of students at a Canadian university.  I  can also assure you that such attempts to silence students at your university will not advance a constructive dialogue on the situation in the Middle East.
Within the past two months, the Israeli government made the decision to kill over 1,000 innocent civilians, more than 400 of them minors, for the simple reason that they are Palestinian.  Any attempt to hide or obscure this fact does not serve the cause of a just and lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Sincerely,

Muhammad Ali Khalidi
Associate Professor
Department of Philosophy
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON  M3J 1P3

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Raoul Helal Solon <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 8:34 PM
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Dear Mrs Runte,
 
I am writing to you to for the immediate lifting of the ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster for the sake of freedom of expression and to allow debates on campuses on some of the most important human rights questions of our times.
Thank you for your attention.
Raoul Solon

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Jim Scharien <>
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 7:53 PM
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Couldn't help but notice that you've put human rights, and the people of Gaza, secondary to your clearly bought-and-paid-for "beliefs."  It takes a lot of gall to reference the Charter of Rights as an excuse to ban freedom of speech.  It's obvious to anyone with a mind(which includes university students) that your position is not based on law, morality, or logic, so don't try to pretend that it is.

No child of mine will(or would want to) attend your joke of a school.

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Sandra Gathercole <s>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 2:13 AM
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Dear President Runte,
What on earth is going on at Carleton?
 
 I grew up in Ottawa and have many friends and family members who attended Carleton, although I went to Queen's. I have always considered Carleton to be above the kind of donor  dictated corruption infesting North American universities from de Pauw, to York, to McMaster which tried to ban Israeli apartheid posters a year ago.
 
Now it appears you are trying to do the same, and for the same nonsensical reasons which are evidently being dictated by a common source as the reasons cited are virtually identical.
 
I suggest to you that it is your clumsy attempts to block all criticism of the murderous Israeli regime that is "insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society." For shame! An apology and retraction for denying the fundamental democratic rights of your students is in order.
 
Sandra Gathercole

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Veronica Blackbourn <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 6:58 PM
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Dear President Runte,
 
As a researcher whose work focuses on South African history and literature, I was dismayed to hear of your decision to censor the Students Against Israeli Apartheid at Carleton University posters advertising events and talks for Israeli Apartheid Week. The parallels between current Israeli policies and the policies of South Africa continue to become clearer and more profound, and it is only right that universities provide fora in which to explore these and other issues of moral and political import. To silence discussion entirely is simply censorship, and in light of the recent bombings of Gaza in which students (indeed, schools and universities) and children accounted for a significant proportion of the death toll, SAIA's poster is not inflamatory, but only insists on realities which some would rather not face, or would prefer to explain away by assuming the inherent "guilt" of all Palestinians. The wholesale dismissal, based on ethnicity, of an entire segment of a population is racist. Israel's policies, which accord rights of citizenship to some and deny it to others based on ethnicity, are racist policies. To disallow any protest--or indeed mere discussion--of these realities, far from upholding the Ontario Human Rights code, contravenes it at its deepest level. If you honestly wish to uphold human rights, unban the poster and attend the discussions.
 
Sincerely,
Veronica Blackbourn
PhD Candidate
Queen's University English

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Lee Donovan <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 6:40 PM
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Dear Roseanne,

You are embarrassing Carleton Alumni....

Disgusting, I wish I was still on campus so I could tell you in person.

 Lee  Donovan

The pursuit of truth can only begin once you start to question and analyze every belief that you ever held dear. If a certain belief passes the tests of evidence, deduction, and logic, it should be kept. If it doesn't, the belief should not only be discarded, but the thinker must also then question why he was led to believe the erroneous information in the first place.

 -Socrates

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Morna McBride <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 5:48 PM
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Dear President Runte,

I am deeply saddened by the administration's decision to censor the work of Students Against Israeli Apartheid.  Banning and confiscating the posters advertising Israeli Apartheid Week is an infringement on these students' rights to freedom of expression, and I hope you will lift this ban to encourage open and courteous debate.  As a student of Human Rights at Carleton, I believe that prohibiting hate speech and images that could incite hatred is very important, both on and off campus, to create an atmosphere that is welcoming to all.  Had SAIA’s posters exhibited any such hate speech, I would have fully endorsed the administration’s decision to ban them; however, I cannot find anything in these posters that could be seen to incite hatred, or anything that could be seen to “incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights code”, as Equity Services cited as a reason for banning the posters.  Furthermore, these posters are not, in my opinion, “insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society”.  What is insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society is the censorship of these posters, and the refusal of the administration to elaborate on their reasons for banning them.  Furthermore, I find it very sad that the administration has condemned cartoon depictions of children dying in Palestine, but refuses to condemn the direct killing of hundreds of children or the bombing of a university.

Banning and confiscating these posters was a violation of the right to freedom of expression in this group’s efforts to present alternative views on the Israel/Palestine conflict, and as these posters did not infringe the Ontario Human Rights code or the Carleton Human Rights code, I can see no reason why this ban should not be lifted immediately.  This threat to freedom of expression does not just affect Students Against Israeli Apartheid, but the entire Carleton community, and as such, I suggest that you lift the ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and cease the threats of expulsion issued by Carleton’s Provost, which I am sure have caused distress to those members of SAIA who this threat targeted.

The term “Israeli Apartheid” has been used by several notable academic, political and media figures, including Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu, who fought apartheid in South Africa.  There are also several Jewish groups in Canada, such as Independent Jewish Voices and Not In Our Name, who condemn the Israeli occupation of Palestine.  Clearly, this campaign is not based on racial or religious discrimination.  Moreover, Raja G. Khouri, a member of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, supports the apartheid analogy, so I believe that the use of this term does not contravene the rights enshrined in the Ontario Human Rights Code.

I am hopeful that the administration will take the steps necessary to rectify this violation of students’ rights, and I look forward to hearing more public debate on this issue at Carleton in the future.

Yours truly,

Morna McBride
Human Rights


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Leila Fawzi <>     
Sun, Feb 20, 2005 at 5:35 PM
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A Plea from a concerned citizen.
 
I am outraged and incredulous that such actions are being taken in Canada.  This is Canada not Zimbabwe - or is it????  I was under the impression that we lived in a democracy.  Where is the right of academic freedom?  Where should the rights of everybody - and I mean everybody - be more protected than on university campuses?
 
I fully support the immediate implementation of all the demands submitted by SAIA Carleton.  
 
I urge you to comply at the earliest!!!
 
Leila Fawzi
Ottawa, Ontario

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Rami Abu Hamdeh <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 9:36 PM
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Dear President Roseann Runte,

   I graduated from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and was the president of Debate Club at the university. Currently, I work in the information technology field in Ottawa, and write you today to express my deep concern over your decision to ban Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) posters at Carleton University.
 
   My understanding that you consider these posters insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society. This issue was a good opportunity to educate students about these norms, and why these posters are insensitive, by initiating a discussion and debate about it. Unfortunately, you decided to do the opposite and play the role of an administrative authority rather than an educational one. Your decision may cancel an event, but will not change ideas and attitudes. Only democratic discussion may do that.
 
   Hope you agree that the university in the 21st century has a universal educational, intellectual and moral role. This can be accomplished by encouraging debate and critical thinking. On the other hand, banning and silencing damage "civil discourse"!
 
   I strongly believe that you need to take an immediate action to lift  ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster, and organize a democratic debate among students.
 
Best regards,
Rami Abu-Hamdeh
GIS Consultant

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Hassen Zied <...>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 2:29 AM
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Mme Roseanne Runte, Présidente de l'Universitéde Calton.

Bonjour,

Ancien étudiant français à l'université d'ottawa, j'ai été admiratif devant l'ouverture d'esprit et la liberté qu'avaient les étudiants. Néanmoins, je suis choqué de voir que cette liberté semble interdite à certaine communautés qui sont déjà largement opprimés.
En effet, personne ne semble sourviller lorsque des caricatures antimusulmanes apparaissent, mais lorsqu'une caricature qui pourrait être une photo tellement elle représente un fait, vous vous permettez d'intervenir arbitrairement ?
Il me semblait que le pouvoir dans une démocratie avait pour raison d'être, veiller aux droits des minorités et non se plier à l'avis de certains sous prétexte que ça les montre sous un trait qui les désavantage.
Merci de restauré ce dénie de droit.

Cordialement

HASSEN Zied

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Sue Ferguson <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 4:11 PM
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Dear President Runte,

Shame on the Carleton adminstration for preventing open debate on an issue of such timely and grave import as the Israeli - Palestinian conflict. The idea that the SAIA Carleton poster is objectionable on equity grounds is nonsense. Where is the insult to Jews? I see only a depiction of an Israeli fighter jet and a child of indeterminate ethnicity (if clearly from Gaza).

To suggest, as the defence of your actions does, that the Israeli state denotes or represents Jews or Jewish culture, is tantamount to saying that no one can ever criticize the state of Israel without being guilty of being anti-Semitic. I presume you would not argue that Iran's government should be free from criticism as well? The Ayatollah is no more representative of Islam than the Israeli government is of Judaism. Moreover, your logic risks undermining the important and valid uses of equity as a defense.
Please reconsider your administration's actions, and reverse the ban and the thinly veiled threat of expulsion (in the Provost's letter) to Palestinian rights activists.

If urgent but difficult issues cannot be debated within the confines of a university, where then can they  be?

Respectfully,


Sue Ferguson
Assistant Professor, Journalism
Wilfrid Laurier University - Brantford

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Leslee Balsam <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 5:56 PM
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Dear Roseanne Runte:
 
I would like you to reconsider the events for the Students Against Israeli Apartheid Week to go on as planned.
 
It is extremely important to tell people of all ages about what is really going on in Israel.  As a Jewish person, I condemn how the Israeli government is performing ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip.
 
Cooperation, patience, and education are the necessary tools to change the lives of Israelis and Palestinians. They must find a way to live side by side and find peace in their lives.
 
It is important for dialogue to exist inside and outside of Israel and Palestine, so that this horrible situation in the Middle East can begin mending, one person at a time.
 
We need the uncensored facts to understand the actions of the Israeli government.
 
Leslee Balsam

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Rami Alhamad <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 5:27 PM
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Dear President,

I am shocked at Carleton's decision to limit the rights of SAIA, a registered club on your campus, based on such arbitrary measures. SAIA at Carleton is not crossing any unacceptable boundaries by hosting IAW (Israeli Apartheid Week), a world-renowned event that is held all across the world (including Guelph), and the University's decision to limit their freedom of expression only reflects badly on Carelton itself.

I sincerely hope the university reconsiders its decision and that it allows SAIA to carry on doing the work its members believe in.

Thank you,

--
Rami Alhamad
BASc in Mechatronics Engineering (University of Waterloo)
Candidate for MASc in ES&C Engineering (University of Guelph)

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Judy Rebick < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 2:13 PM
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Dear Madam President

I am writing to protest in the strongest possible terms the attempts to suppress freedom of speech at Carlton using equity arguments as an excuse.  As a feminist and a Jew I object to the misuse of accusations of anti-semitism or concerns about equity squashing a debate on one of the most important issues of our time.

Please reconsider the ban on the Israel Apartheid poster and rescind the threats that have been made against organizers.

Thanks for your prompt attention to this matter.

Judy Rebick
 
CAW Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy
Ryerson University
416 979-5000 x4858
www.ryerson.ca/socialjustice


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Ghadeer Salem <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 3:14 PM
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Hi there,
 
My name is Ghadeer Salem.

I strongly requesting, demanding that immediately you must restore the charter right of Carleton students.
 
What happened in Gaza was a crime by the Israel military. Absolutely nobody has the right to kill children, women, elderly and innocents people.
 
What Carleton student did is the least only.

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Jacob Dabit <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:45 PM
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Roseanne Runte:

Your actions concerning the recent removal of the Israeli Apartheid Week posters from your campus walls is ridiculous and seems to be in concert with other universities across the country.  As a proud Palestinian-Canadian, I would expect there not only to be an opportunity for discussion about the Israeli Apartheid, but the responsibility for this discussion.

I am demanding the ban on the Apartheid Poster be lifted IMMEDIATELY, and a public apology issued.

I am demanding an explanation on how this stifling of civil liberties has happened, and what precautions Carleton University is taking to make sure this will not happen again.

I am demanding that the President's Office of Carleton University sponsor a full public debate, ensuring generous access to the entire university community, on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

I am demanding that the President's Office of Carleton University appoint a university/community commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestinian Solidarity.


I await your response,
Jacob Dabit


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Abby Lippman <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:23 PM
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President Roseann Runte
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6

Dear President Runte:

I am a member of two groups (Independent Jewish Voices Montreal [IJVM]
and College and University Workers United [CUWU]) that have both given
their support to the Israeli Apartheid Week events to take place in
Montreal.  But it as an individual Jew that I'm writing now to let you
know how very distressed I was to read that you and the Provost banned
and confiscated Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) posters
announcing the week at Carleton University.

Many are uncomfortable applying the term apartheid to Israel, but their
discomfort cannot remove the evidence that this is the state of things
in that country, conditions documented by multiple independent
organizations.  Yet these are conditions that Israeli lobby groups
continue to deny and ignore. I consider that the student organizers of
these events (at Carleton, as at McGill) are most appropriately planning
the very kinds of academic discussions and debates that we, as
educators, should encourage to put what's happening onto the public
agenda, and I applaud their efforts.

As a Jew, I must emphasize how urgent it is that we all hear other than
the Israel lobby groups on matters of Israel/Palestine.  These groups
censor those who take a different position than theirs and, perhaps
worse, use propaganda and invective to discredit all critique.  It is
essential that you and others reject the presentation of Israeli
Apartheid Week as "anti-Semitic," a label that these lobby groups (e.g.,
B'nai Brith, the Council on Israeli and Jewish Advocacy, and the Canada
Israel Committee) try to attach to the events.

Criticizing Israeli policies is NOT anti-Semitic.  In fact, such
criticism derives from a long tradition among Jews of debate and
analysis.  However, the Israeli government continues to claim to speak
for all Jews, and characterizes any criticism of Israel as "the new
anti-Semitism" thereby repressing all democratic and respectful
discussions.   Canadian universities must recognize that no one group or
country speaks for  all Jews.  In fact, there are increasing numbers of
Jews throughout the world -- as well as in Israel -- who oppose
oppressive Israeli policies and condemn well-recognized Israeli
violations of human rights and international law.  Shouldn't our
universities be sites where critical concerns about the discriminatory,
illegal, and brutal policies of a country are raised and discussed?
Isn't this a critical aspect of education?

I have heard about the objections to the SAIA poster advertising Israeli
Apartheid Week.  However, while the imagery may trouble some, it does
accurately portray the experience of residents of Gaza (as well as many
other Palestinians) who are imprisoned behind walls and targeted by
Israeli war planes. Moreover, impartial organizations have documented
that a large proportion of the casualties during the Israeli assault on
Gaza in January were children like the one portrayed in the poster.

The poster neither demeans or attacks Jews; it does not promote hatred
of Jews, and it is certainly not anti-Semitic.  Rather, it appropriately
criticizes documented Israeli actions that have been strongly condemned
by the UN and almost all countries (sadly not including Canada).

I and many others, many of them Jews, endorse the Carleton Israeli
Apartheid Week program just as we do the one to occur in our own city,
Montreal, and on our own campus, McGill.   I urge you to give it your
support and to celebrate, rather than threaten and harass, the
hard-working, courageous students (several of them Jews) who have
organized the week.

 Sincerely,

Abby Lippman, PhD
Professor
Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health
McGill University
514-398-6266

cc.    Feridun Hamdullahpur, Provost

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Sheila Wilmot <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:14 PM
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Dear President Runte,

I have just read with dismay your administration's decision to ban a poster made for Israeli Apartheid Week. That Carleton is using human rights grounds to violate free expression on its campus is a double insult. Internationally, the movement against Israeli apartheid has been endorsed by hundreds of universities, unions, religious groups and social justice organizations. This campaign is proudly anti-racist, and founded on the principles of opposition to all forms of racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. It draws its inspiration from the global campaign to end South African apartheid and is led by many of the same individuals who were at the forefront of that earlier struggle. By contrast, the administration that banned the poster could not summon enough concern for human rights or the right to education to speak against the bombing of a Gazan university.

I support SAIA Carleton in their demands that the Carleton University administration:

1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.  
    
2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.
    
Sincerely,

Sheila Wilmot,
Doctoral Student,
OISE/U of T

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G Turner <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:52 AM
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Roseanne Runte                                 February 19, 2009
President

Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario

Dear Ms. Runte:

Re: Banning of Israeli Apartheid Week poster

It seems there is a severe double standard at Carleton and other Ontario universities.

Free expression of views which challenge the accepted standard doctrine are not permitted.

It’s indeed truly laughable that these posters were banned because they “could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights Code” and are “insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society.”

Eric Blair would be proud.

In fact the reason these posters are banned is that there exists a campaign to “re-brand” Israel’s brutal apartheid occupation and wars of aggression.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. president Carter have used the term apartheid to refer to the condition of Palestinians in the Israeli occupied territories.

Pressure is being applied on Ontario universities to prevent exposure of the discrimination experienced by Palestinians.

I recommend you read a book published in 1987 by a Jewish Israeli writer, Uri Davis, titled “Israel: an apartheid state.”

I support the following:

1. Immediately lift the ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.

2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.

Yours truly,

Israeli Apartheid Week

G Turner <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:52 AM
To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Roseanne Runte                                 February 19, 2009

President

Carleton University

Ottawa, Ontario

 

Dear Ms. Runte:

 

Re: Banning of Israeli Apartheid Week poster

 

It seems there is a severe double standard at Carleton and other Ontario universities.

Free expression of views which challenge the accepted standard doctrine are not permitted.

 

It’s indeed truly laughable that these posters were banned because they “could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights Code” and are “insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society.”

 

Eric Blair would be proud.

 

In fact the reason these posters are banned is that there exists a campaign to “re-brand” Israel’s brutal apartheid occupation and wars of aggression.

 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. president Carter have used the term apartheid to refer to the condition of Palestinians in the Israeli occupied territories.

 

Pressure is being applied on Ontario universities to prevent exposure of the discrimination experienced by Palestinians.

I recommend you read a book published in 1987 by a Jewish Israeli writer, Uri Davis, titled “Israel: an apartheid state.”

 

I support the following:

 

1. Immediately lift the ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.

 

2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

 

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

 

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.

 

Yours truly,

 

Mr. G. Turner


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Deema Dabis <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 1:30 PM
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Dear Dr. Roseann O’Reilly Runte,

Recent events at Carleton University have been casting an ominous shadow over so-called academic freedom that Universities strive to uphold. The banning of the Israeli Apartheid Week posters and the threatening email sent out to all students are two examples of these attacks on academic freedom, freedom of speech and assembly, and equity not only on Carleton campus, but on all Canadian campuses.

As with the struggle against South African apartheid, where the student movement played a huge part ending the Apartheid regime, the student movement and particularly Israeli Apartheid Week has been one of the driving forces in the struggle for justice and equity in Israel/Palestine. Universities, as places of higher learning, exchange ideas and debate, should be encouraging the activism that has grown on campuses all across the nation around the defense of human rights of Palestinian people the analysis of the root cause of the violations of such human rights, ie. colonization, occupation and apartheid. Consequentially, an important action that should be taken to rectify such violations is showing solidarity with the oppressed, ie. by boycotting Israeli Academic Institutions. This tactic was very effective in contributing to the ending of South African Apartheid and there is no reason why it should not be effective here. Israeli Apartheid Week is a great tool for popular education and creates spaces for debate while always upholding the ideals of anti-oppression as well as clearly stating that all forms of discrimination including racism, Anti-Semitism and Islamphobia are absolutely unacceptable within these spaces.

Carleton University’s refusal to engage in a public debate to defend its rejection of the boycott of Israeli institutions, banning of Israeli Apartheid Week posters, threatening emails to the student body and general failure to fully respond to appeals of these actions not only show the university’s obvious political position of complicity in Israeli Apartheid, but it’s clear repression of student’s freedom of speech, assembly and academic freedom.

I recognize the importance for these freedoms to exist in our society, especially within Universities. I am appalled at the message Carleton is sending, not only to the students involved in Students Against Israeli Apartheid, but to all of its students. As I see it, this threat on the freedom of expression of some students is a threat on freedom of speech and assembly for every student as well as every individual in this city, province and nation. If Carleton is to uphold its record of being a university that encourages academic freedom, as well as freedom of speech and assembly and not succumb to the pressures of groups that encourage political and academic repression on the basis of false pretenses, I feel the administration must succumb to the following demands.

I call on the University Administration to:

1) Unban the Israeli Apatheid Week poster and/or explain clearly and precisely the basis for this ban in ways that permit discussion and appeal.
2) Sponsor a full public debate in front of the university community on the appropriateness of the term “Israeli Apartheid”
3) Appoint a university/communit y commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine Solidarity.


Sincerely,

Deema Dabis
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Mike Ma <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 4:46 PM
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Dear President Runte,

Please restore the Canadian Charter rights of Carleton students immediately. I am shocked and dismayed that you would support the silencing of student's free speech.

Best Regards,
Dr. Michael C.K. Ma

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Jeff Welsh <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 11:27 AM
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Roseanne Runte
President

Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario

Dear President Runte,


Below is a copy of the e-mail I sent to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in regards to your university’s failure to act in an equitable manner on this issue, and particularly in regards to the heavy-handed silencing of students on your campus. We, the 4,200-member Society of Graduate and Professional Students at Queen’s University, would welcome any action on your part to deal with this situation in a more even-handed manner, and to encourage, rather than stifle, debate.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Jeff Welsh

President
Society of Graduate and Professional Students
Room 021, John Deutsch University Centre
Queen's University
Kingston, ON K7L 3N6
Phone (613) 533-2924
Fax (613) 533-6376
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.sgps.ca

From: Jeff Welsh
Sent: February 19, 2009 4:05 PM
To: 'Abby Deshman'
Subject: FW: Urgent: Letters of support for SAIA Carleton


To our colleagues at the CCLA,

 

We, the 4,200-member Society of Graduate and Professional Students at Queen’s University, are quite concerned about this silencing of public debate at a public university in our nation’s capital. We hope that you will do everything in your power to combat this kind of censorship.

Thank you for you attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Jeff Welsh

President
Society of Graduate and Professional Students
Room 021, John Deutsch University Centre
Queen's University
Kingston, ON K7L 3N6
Phone (613) 533-6000 ext. 75253
Fax (613) 533-6376
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.sgps.ca

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Kirie McMurchy <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 4:34 PM
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To: Carleton University President, Dr. Roseanne Runte

       I'm writing to you today as I am shocked and appalled that Carleton University, an institution of higher learning here in Canada, would have the posters for Israeli Apartheid Week taken down. The posters depict a situation that, according to the UN, occurred over 430 times during Israel's latest attack on Gaza and were put up to raise awareness and invite individuals to be part of a dialogue on the issue. It's especially horrifying when you, as the President of the university, refused the request by 56 professors to condemn the attacks against Gaza. I don't quite understand how the direct bombing of universities (like your own) and schools, along with the killing and wounding of thousands of civilians isn't worthy of condemnation, yet posters encouraging dialogue on the issue are. Israeli Apartheid Week is not anti-Semitic, nor is it anti-Israel. It doesn't target religion or ethnicity in any way, it is simply to raise awareness of the human rights violations being committed against the Palestinian people.

       It is key to remember that free expression, especially in a nation like Canada where individuals have been raised to believe it's their human right, cannot be repressed, especially not by an administrative ruling. Debating issues such as the Israel/Palestine conflict is vital in this day and age and has the ability to promote greater understanding and compassion. I strongly urge you to follow the demands that the Students Against Israeli Apartheid have laid out as follows.

1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and
publicly apologize for the banning.

2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning
the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from
occurring in future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the
entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed
institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record
of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity
around issues of Palestine solidarity.

       Just last year I was deciding between universities. At that time, Carleton was one of my top choices. I thought I was choosing between state-of-the-art universities, institutions of learning that would encourage their students to question and debate and learn from that, schools that consider human rights a top priority and would encourage their students to advocate for equality.

       I see now that Carleton doesn't fit into that category. I'm so thankful that, despite the generous scholarship offer, I chose to go elsewhere. You should be too. If I was a student at Carleton now, I would be doing a lot more regarding this breach of justice than simply sending you an email.

Sincerely,
Kirie McMurchy
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario

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Feras Hamad <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 10:58 AM
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Sir/Madam

Your refusal to insist on the protection and human rights of Palestinians is appalling. Furthermore, your repressive measures against those who work for the protection and human rights of all civilians, Palestinians and Israelis alike, is outrageous, both from a moral and Charter of Rights perspective. I have viewed the poster in question: it does not reflect any racial or religious intolerance; it depicts what actually occurred in Gaza between Dec. 27 and Jan 18. Of course, it is critical of Israel's actual actions. This is not anti-Semitic. This is being pro-human rights for all, no exceptions. Are you pro-human rights for all, no exceptions? Or anti-human rights for all, if you deem Palestinians as "unworthy" of human rights?

I would like to express my support for the call by the Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA Carleton) to:

   1. Immediately lift the ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.
   2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.
   3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.
   4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.

I will be closely monitoring how Carlton University proceeds on this matter. Depending on the outcome, I will decide whether to provide any financial support and whether to send my children to your university. Finally, if you continue to deny freedom of expression in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights, you can be sure that I will make every effort to ensure that my tax contributions do not support your institution.


P.S. Would you also ban a poster depicting a hungry, poor Gazan child looking across a border crossing (cruelly and illegally closed by Israel) at a truck load of desperately needed food and humanitarian supplies? Please read this Human Rights Watch report that was released yesterday entitled: "Israel/Egypt: Choking Gaza Harms Civilians"
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/02/18/israelegypt-choking-gaza-harms-civilians.


Feras Hamad

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Jake Lomax <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 10:44 AM
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Dear Roseanne Runte

I am writing to enquire why you are suppressing free speech and open debate on your campus. It is legitimate to criticize Israeli government policy, just as it is any other government. And given Israel's human rights record combined with substantial military aid from the US, debate about Israel is particularly important. And i this debate can't happen on university campuses where can it happen?

I hope you will change your decision.

Regards,

Jake Lomax
Birzeit University

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Alan Sears <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 10:23 AM
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Cc: " This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >

Dear Dr Runte

I am writing to protest the actions of the Carleton Equity Office and Administration, which I believe constitute an important threat to freedom of expression on our campuses.  The Carleton University Equity Office banned the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and the Provost has issued a letter to the campus community which, among other things, warns about human rights violations and reminds people of the student code of conduct.  This happened in the same week as Bnai Brith took out newspaper advertisements labeling Israeli Apartheid Week as anti-semitic.

I am a member of Faculty for Palestine.  We believe the Carleton University Administration is heading in the wrong direction with its decisions to ban the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and the letter to the campus community by the Provost.  The actions of the Carleton Administration are a serious attack on academic freedom, freedom of speech and assembly, and equity on Canadian university campuses.

We realize that the University is genuinely concerned about the well-being of the campus community and that political debate and activism around Palestine/Israel can lead to feelings of pain and injury.  However, silencing this debate is not the answer.  Indeed, it sets a very dangerous precedent.  Will the Carleton Equity office and Provost also ban provocative discussion of the situation of Tamils in Sri Lanka or Kurdish people in Turkey, which might also result in hurt among some members of the community.  Will it ban provocative queer materials that students with certain religious beliefs might find offensive or hurtful?

Rather than attempting to model "norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society" the administration is silencing debate on controversial topics and singling out advocates of Palestinian rights for unique discriminatory treatment.  This fits with a larger pattern of systemic efforts to impede Palestine solidarity activism at Carleton and many other Canadian universities.  Our recently released Open Letter from over 300 faculty members across Canada raises these issues.

We are committed to open and democratic debate and to the struggle for equity and against all forms of discrimination, incuding islamopohobia, anti-semitism and racism.   The Carleton University administration is using the language of democratic discourse and equity to foreclose debate in ways that threaten to harm the freedoms of members of the campus community.

I believe your Administration needs to take a clear stand in favour of democratic discussion and equity by clearly recognizing the rights of Palestine solidarity activists to have events on campus.

Sincerely,

Alan Sears

Department of Sociology
Ryerson

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Henry N. Lowi <>
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Subject: Carleton University must reverse its ban on "Israeli Apartheid" poster
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:06:17 +0000

Dr. Roseann O’Reilly Runte
President and Vice-Chancellor

Feridun Hamdullahpur, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Interim Provost and Vice-President (Academic)

Dear Dr. Runte and Dr. Hamdullahpur:

I am a graduate of Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law and University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law.  My only connection with Carleton University is through my friends and family members who have been students and faculty at Carleton.

As you know, apologists for indefensible Israeli misconduct are waging a campaign that alleges that Jewish students at Canadian universities are under “attack” by an “onslaught” of “intimidation” that makes them feel “unsafe”.  This campaign is being waged across Canada.  It is orchestrated by organizations such as B’nai Brith that refers to the “onslaught” in headlines in its newspaper.  In the aftermath of the Israeli atrocity against the people of Gaza, this campaign is calculated to deflect the focus of attention from Palestinian misery and Israeli accountability, and to shield the Israeli regime’s misconduct from scrutiny and enlightened criticism.  Thus, the attempt to suppress student activism in solidarity with Palestine uses a disinformation campaign that is brazenly dishonest and motivated solely by its participants’ need to defend oppression and murder.   In a free and democratic society, no university administration can be part of such a campaign.

In this context, it is reported that Carleton University has banned a student poster advertising “Israeli Apartheid Week.”  No cogent justification has been offered for this repressive action.  While the phrase “Israeli Apartheid” might be inaccurate, and while the poster might be disturbing, these must be the subject of vigorous and unfettered discussion and debate.  A political poster is a form of political expression.  It is unacceptable for a university to enforce a ban on a form of student expression that amounts to curtailing constitutionally-protected political speech.

Human Rights codes and policies, and generally-accepted standards of civility to which you refer, do not justify repression.  You have acted well beyond the bounds of legitimate regulation.

I cannot imagine what you hope to achieve by such a misguided and inflammatory action.

I urge you to reverse this decision, and to facilitate free speech, inquiry, and debate, especially on highly contentious issues such as those that engage Israelis and Palestinians.

It would be a shame if Carleton University became renowned world-wide as a repressive Canadian institution in the service of a repressive Israeli state.

Regards,

Henry N. Lowi


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Kim Ford <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Reply-To:
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Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009

 Dear President Runte,

As a member of Carleton University’s Alumni, I was disturbed to learn of the silencing of open debate and infringement of the right to free expression that has taken place on the Carleton campus and I question the decision to ban a poster inviting people to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  When 56 Carleton professors came forth to ask you to condemn Israel's bombardment of the Islamic University of Gaza, you refused.  Why is it that the direct bombing of a university campus was not enough to elicit condemnation, but an event that has been organised to encourage informed public debate on the conflict has been so thoroughly condemned by Carleton’s administration?

I am asking you to lift the ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning, and to explain how the decision to ban the poster was made and how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.  I would also like to see a full public debate on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.  In more general terms, I would like the administration to consider appointing a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.

I look forward to the full restoration of public debate and freedom of expression on the Carleton University Campus.

Respectfully,


Kimberly-Anne Ford, Ph.D.
Chelsea, Quebec


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Bahija Réghaï <>
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:45 PM
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President Roseann Runte
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6


Dear President Roseann Runte,


I write this letter as a concerned Canadian, and the mother of a former Carleton student. It seems to me that the Israel Palestine conflict has triggered knee jerk reactions that have no place in a university. I note that student groups challenging Israeli policies are having a hard time these days, not only in Carleton U. but on other campuses.


No other official university student club speaking on behalf of human rights in Canada and abroad is being singled out as those speaking on Palestinian rights. Various factors explain this, one of them being the intense advocacy drive on behalf of Israel and its policies. The advocacy include an Israel Fellows Program, a partnership between the Jewish Agency for Israel, Hillel and Birthright Israel, which "places young Israelis on key North American campuses for a year of educational service as Hillel staff members." According to their website, “fellows focus on Israel programming on campus, working with birthright returnees and recruiting for Israel programs.” Another important element of the Hasbara is a program that targets politicians and leaders - from University, high schools, police and more.


You took part in such a program in 2005. According to the blog you published then from Israel, you “heard the poignant story of a severely burned victim of a terrorist attack. This tale was all the more poignant as at the same time in Netanya, 3 people were killed and 70 injured in a suicide bombing.” You had dinner and attended "a talk by Aviezer Ravitzky, professor of Jewish Philosophy at the Hebrew University” who “showed how they [Israeli Palestinians] are treated democratically but inequitably.”  To you, the wall that has disrupted the lives of so many Palestinians and separates them from their farms, “looks like a sound barrier along one of our highways only in four places. You also met with Avraham Infeld, President of Hillel, who “gave a sage and perceptive talk on the challenges Hillel faces” and the “need to define what is meant by ‘Jewish’.”  This trip, which was organized by the UJC/JCPA Israel Advocacy Initiative for non-Jewish Community Leaders, was meant and has obviously had a profound effect on you and probably all other participants. This is the purpose of such organized and tightly managed trips.  


Given the leading position you hold, I trust that, in the name of balance and fairness, you did take the time to visit the Palestinian Occupied Territory (OPT), see first hand and listen to what Palestinian life under occupation is like, to balance the advocacy program for Israel and its policies. If your connection to Palestine is through Israeli eyes only, I trust that you will oppose any decision that seeks to curtail the freedom of students to hang their posters for, and hold without harassment their “Israel Apartheid Week.”  SAIA presents a point of view based on international law, human rights and humanitarian law, not on public relations campaigns. They offer those who have been exposed to only one side of the issue to have a better grasp of the conflict, and understand how Israeli policies are in flagrant violation of the rule of law.  

 

I invite you to take the time to read A Call from Within - signed by Israeli citizens – 540 of them, who yesterday called for a boycott of Israel, because “Israel's destructive criminal policy will not cease without a massive intervention by the international community.”

 

Instead of being part of the problem, SAIA wants to be part of the solution, in the best Canadian tradition. They are walking the same path as the earlier Carleton alumni who led the boycott of South Africa. They must not be punished for being active in the name of a just cause.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bahija Réghaï,

Ottawa

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Rosalie Reynolds <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 9:18 AM
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President Runte:
 
The treatment of your administration towards the SAIA (Students Against Israeli Apartheid) is deeply troubling. By refusing them the opportunity to advertise, you are shutting down their ability to explain themselves. What is next; denying any opportunity to speak?
Why are you so biased towards Israel? Is this appropriate for a centre of learning? What a strange situation we find ourselves in, where no questions can be asked. Such a shame for Carleton.
 
Rosalie Reynolds
Ottawa

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Pike Krpan <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 10:33 AM
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To President Roseanne Runte;


I am appalled to hear that posters for "Israeli Apartheid Week" have been taken down on your campus. Since it depicts a situation that has a factual basis and its intention is clearly to invite people to a lecture series, the notion that the poster is an incitement or a violation to norms of civil discourse is preposterous. As I'm sure you are aware, the precise event pictured in the poster - a Palestinian child killed by Israeli aerial bombardment - occurred at least 430 times in Israel's recent attack on Gaza.

I am more concerned however, that your repressive actions are part of a wider pattern of stifling academic freedom and rights to free expression regarding the issue of Palestine/Israel. This is contrary to what I believe education stands for. By taking down these posters and attempting to stifle open debate, your are effectively shutting down the attempts of your students to have access to diverse opinions and to develop the skills to think critically about the world.

That you are using human rights grounds to violate free expression on campus is a double insult. Internationally, the movement against Israeli apartheid has been endorsed by hundreds of universities,
unions, religious groups and social justice organizations. This campaign is proudly anti-racist, and founded on the principles of opposition to all forms of racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. It draws its inspiration from the global campaign to end South African apartheid and is led by many of the same
individuals who were at the forefront of that earlier struggle.

I demand that you:

1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly
apologize for the banning.

2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the
poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in
future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire
university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional
boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the
University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of
Palestine solidarity.

Stifling debate will not stop the attempts of the Coalition against Israeli Apartheid from encouraging open debate on the violation of international law in Gaza.

Sincerely,
Pike Krpan
Academic Worker & Student,
University of Toronto

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Malgorzata Juszczak <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 7:56 AM
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Dear Roseanne Runte,
 
I am sending this email to you as Carleton University President, because I was informed of banning of Israeli Apartheid week student initiative at your university.
As a former intermational observer in the West Bank, I am deeply shocked by such approach to this very important debate. I ask you to rethink this decision and consider  immediate restoration of Charter rights of Carleton students. Freedom of expression is one of the most fundamental value of democratic countries.
 
Gosia Juszczak

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Yezin Al-Qaysi <>     
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 6:04 AM
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Dear President Runte ,

News of your actions travel very quickly and have been felt here in Montreal. I, among many other students at McGill University are outraged by your decision to silence a grass roots movement aimed at raising awareness about the plight of the Palestinian people and the systemic violation of their human rights. I had previously looked at Carleton as a respectable Canadian academic institution and considered it for my undergraduate, and possibly graduate education. I tell you with confidence that this will not be the case if such undermining of genuine student initiatives continue. Your actions are apart of a greater movement to turn Canada into a nation that can not foster dialogue between its own peoples. If students cannot express their thoughts and opinions freely on campuses then where do you suggest they go? Universities are places for education and dialogue and Carleton University should end its policy of stifling the debates that we need to have.

Regards,
Yezin Al-Qaysi

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David McNally <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 4:03 PM
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Dear President Runte,

I am writing to protest your administration's decision to ban posters produced by students advertising Israeli Apartheid Week at Carleton. Your decision is a clear infringement on Charter rights to free speech and freedom of expression and it brings shame on Carleton and on your administration by violating principles that ought to be precious to any university.

I have viewed the banned poster and it is clear to me that it in no way incites hatred against any group. Like thousands of posters over the years, it graphically depicts its opposition to the policies and actions of a specific state. You or others may disagree with its message, but you have no legal or moral right to ban it for that reason. The reasons that have been cited by Carleton's Equity Services are specious and flimsy in the extreme. They smack of political censorship.

At a time when the term "apartheid" has been applied to Israel by the likes of former US President Jimmy Carter, former South African President Nelson Mandela, and many faith groups, human rights organizations, and trade unions, it is shameful to see a university administration infringing fundamental freedoms in this way. Again, you have every right to disagree with any or all of these individuals and organizations. But you have no right to prohibit students or others from expressing their legitimate views with respect to a term and a set of issues that are now well established in the public sphere.

It is time for Carleton to live up to its moral obligations in this regard. I call on you to respect basic Charter rights and rescind the ban on the poster in question.

Yours truly,

David McNally
Professor
Department of Political Science
York University

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Jasmine Abdelhadi <>
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Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:35:24 -0500
Subject: campus repression
President Runte,
 
I was appalled upon hearing of the recent banning of the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and the subsequent threat of expulsion directed towards members of Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) Carleton. Not only does this come in bad academic spirit, but also violates the fundamental right to expression. These students have been working tirelessly to bring to the Carleton campus and community a dimension of world politics so often overshadowed, ignored, and silenced through repression. The banning of the poster and threat posed to the students only proves your stance on the issue, falling prey to those who would have you conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. I urge you to lift the ban and publicly retract and apologise for this grave decision so as to re-instill in the students of Carleton University a sense of safety on their campus as well as set an example to other universities.
 
sincerely,
 
Jasmine Abdelhadi

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Elham Karimi <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 9:26 PM
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I demand that YOU immediately restore the Charter rights of Carleton students!

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Stephen and Susan Lawrence <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 8:52 PM
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Please restore the Charter rights of Carleton students who are being discriminated against in expressing free speech regarding Israel's war crimes.

Stephen & Susan Lawrence
Manotick.

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Jason Kunin <>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 7:27 AM
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To Roseann Runte and Feridun Hamdullahpur:
 
I am writing to express my outrage at Carleton University's censoring of Israeli Apartheid Week advertisements and its intimidation of students involved in organizing it.
 
I teach in the International Baccalaureate programme at a high school in Toronto.  Many of my students have gone on to study at Carelton.  As a high school teacher, I have been frustrated by the strict and narrow parameters of debate we are permitted to have at the secondary level when teaching the Israel-Palestine conflict.  In my school board, a whole set of policies has actually been put in place, upon recomendation by the Canadian Jewish Congress, to limit if not squelch discussion on the conflict.  That such limitations are being put into place at the post-secondary level too is depressing for those of us who try to instill in students a faith in edcuational institutions.
 
That the Carelton administration has invoked the Ontario Human Rights Code to censure the student involved in IAW is not only a gross misuse of the code but an insult to those who genuinely suffer discriminatrion. It's been said before, but let me say it again: criticism of Israel is criticism of a state, and it is not anti-Semitic, nor does it foster hatred of Jews.  "Apartheid" is a political descriptor, not a racial or religious or cultural pejorative.  For what it's worth, I'm Jewish myself, and I can tell you that I have been to several IAW events. Jews are always widely represented among the organizers and speakers.
 
My high school students can tell you that criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic.  If a university administration filled with PhDs can't figure that out, then Carleton, I'm afraid, is a sorry excuse for an institution of higher learning.  I will think twice before recommending it to my graduating students.
 
Jason Kunin (PhD, York Univeristy)
Department of English and Social Studies
Vaughan Road Academy
Toronto

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Robert Ryan <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 8:07 PM
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Dear President Roseanne Runte,

As a former Carleton Student, I am appalled by your behaviour in regard to the Israeli Apartheid Week. Your clear and blantant disregard for academic freedom and freedom of speech, hidden behind vague language - "could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights code" brings shame upon your office and your insitution.

Indeed, the argument is clearly racist. It implies that the deeds done by the Israeli government reflect on all Jews and thus makes an implied identification of all Jews and the State of Israel, which, as an academic, you should know is untenable and the very thing you accuse the Carleton Students Against Israeli Apartheid of doing. Not only are a large and growing number of Jews world-wide opposed to the barbaric behaviour of the Israeli government, but so it are a disparate and growing number of Israeli citizens of both Jewish and Arab descent.

This argument further implies that the others in question - Carleton Students generally - are potentially "prone to infringe on human rights" and constitutes, in itself, a gross insult to each and every one of them.

Below you will find a statement by Archbishop Desmond Tutu published by the South African Press Association. Presumably you would deny this renowned fighter for human rights the right to use the words "war crimes" on the Carleton Campus under the same or similar flimsy rationale.

Gaza attacks like war crimes - Tutu
28/12/2008 14:05  - (SA)

Johannesburg - Israel's bombardment of Gaza "bears all the hallmarks of war crimes", Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said in a statement on Sunday.

"In the context of total aerial supremacy, in which one side in a conflict deploys lethal aircraft against opponents with no means of defending themselves, the bombardment bears all the hallmarks of war crimes."

The attacks, in retaliation for rockets fired by the Palestinians, would not contribute to the security of Israel, he said.

"It is a blight not only on the Middle East, but on the entire world - and particularly world leaders who have consistently failed the people of Palestine and Israel over the past 60 years."

I urge you seriously refect upon what you and Carleton's Equity Services have done and to restore the rights of the Carleton Students Against Israeli Apartheid.

Yours truly,

Robert Ryan, Ottawa, Canada

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Linda Hayes <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 8:06 PM
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Attention: Roseanne Runte, President, Carleton University


    I am dismayed to learn that Carleton students seeking to have a lecture series on Israel's latest attack on Gaza were prohibited from displaying posters depicting a child in the firing line of aerial bombardment.  There were over 1300 citizens of Gaza killed and many thousands wounded.  One third of these were children. There is no question about what happened, and people, especially those in an academic environment, SHOULD be talking about it.
     It is such a hopeful sign that students in the US , Canada  and other countries are involved in actions that seek to change the situation between Israel and the people of Palestine. It has become difficult to even make a criticism of Israel for many people, especially politicians, and the double standard that our countries have been supporting cannot continue to go on if we are to uphold the standards of equality and justice in the world.  These students should be praised for their efforts, but instead, your university is denying them the opportunity to even discuss the situation publicly with their peers.
      I am shocked that a university in 2009 would take this kind of step to prevent truth from being heard, and I am certain that your university will be discredited internationally if you do not lift the ban on the poster and sponsor a full public debate.  In any event, I am thankful that students around the world and those at your university are stepping up to challenge the hypocrisy and uphold justice.  These students give me hope for the future.

Linda Hayes
Riverton, NJ

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Sarah Claudette <>
Date: Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 7:52 PM
Subject: In full support of SAIA & Israel Apartheid Week
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Hello Ms. Runte,

I am writing to you to express my full support of the students involved with Students Against Israeli Apartheid, and Apartheid Week.

That there are students who are facing expulsion for thinking critically, for standing up for justice & human rights, and for "questioning everything" should be absolutely unthinkable. Yet, this is the current situation at Carleton University.

Your administration has a clear bias in favour of Israeli's tactics. The is obvious, as you refused to request from 56 of your faculty members condemn Israel's bombardment of the Islamic University of Gaza. You chosen to violate the the rights of these students, because their view is in conflict with your own.

I fully support SAIA's demands:

SAIA Carleton demands that the Carleton University administration:

1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.  
    
2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.
    
I should hope that you respect these demands, and make amends to those you have wronged.

Sarah Claudette
Ottawa, ON

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Monzer Zimmo <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 4:58 PM
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Ms. Roseanne Runte, President
Carleton University

Dear Madam President,
 
This is a follow up to my earlier telephone call to your office.  For a long time, I have been a strong supporter of, and contributor to, Carleton University.  I am told that the administration of Carleton University has made a decision and taken action to restrict the freedom of speech of its students on campus by confiscating a poster circulated by students who are peacefully advocating public dialogue and exchange of ideas, views, and opinions on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and in particular the Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights and its ongoing atrocities – including massacres - against Palestinian civilians; most notably in the Gaza Strip during the recent slaughter of December 2008 – January 2009.

I am disturbed and concerned because of the actions of Carleton University’s administration against freedom of speech and against open dialogue on campus under your leadership, or more accurately lack thereof.

I am seriously considering withdrawing my support, and stopping my contributions, to Carleton University unless the following is implemented:

1.  Releasing the confiscated posters, lifting the ban on them, and allowing the peaceful resumption of the students’ activities of Israeli Apartheid Week as is happening in tens of universities around the globe.

2.  Taking the necessary steps and putting in place serious measures and practical safeguards to ensure that similar violations of the students’ right to free speech is never tampered with, ever again.

3.  Issuing a clear unambiguous apology to the student body for this violation of their freedom of speech, and holding a public forum of debate on the question of students’ freedom of speech on campus.

4.  In an effort to prevent such travesty from occurring again, appointing an independent commission to investigate the circumstances and events that lead to this unfortunate decision and action on the part of your administration.

In closing, madam President, I would like to sincerely offer you an advice that you should not place yourself and your legacy on the wrong side of human rights.  Throughout human history, oppressive measures to stifle debate, restrict freedom of speech, or silence and intimidate the vulnerable by the powerful never worked anywhere else on the planet Earth.  They will not work on the campus of Carleton University.

Sincerely,

Monzer Zimmo

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Asha Philar <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 7:22 PM
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Hi OPIRG Carleton and SAIA Carleton,
 
I'm a board member at WPIRG and just wanted to let you know that I called the President's office to put in my voice on the issue, for what it's worth. I will raise this at the next board meeting and see if WPIRG can write a letter of support for you as well.
 
Good luck and keep up the struggle!
 
Asha

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Amy Bartholomew <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 6:30 PM
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Dear President Runte:

I write to you as an Associate Professor of Law at Carleton University who has taught at Carleton for over 20 years. I teach courses in human rights. Please let me express my outrage to you that the University Equity Office has censored the "Israeli Apartheid Week" posters. I would like to know on what basis the Equity Office decided to violate the free speech rights of the University community. I would also like to know why those of us who are serious about human rights and war crimes, and seek to denounce war crimes no matter what state perpetrates them - Canada, the United States or Israel, for example-- should not have /our /political beliefs and expression protected against discrimination.

I have already joined with other Carleton professors to ask you to condemn Israel’s bombardment of the Islamic University of Gaza. But, you refused. I have also been part of a group that has requested that the administration support and take part in a debate on campus about the the boycott and divestment campaign aimed at Israel. As far as I know, we have never heard back from you on this. Instead, the University seems hell-bent on squelching the political speech with which it does not agree on the university campus. This will not be tolerated by students or faculty. *We will not be silent.*

Please know that should the administration take actions against "Israeli Apartheid Week" that trench on my political speech, including continuing to ban the poster, I will launch a complaint at the Equity Services office myself for the administration-mandated discrimination against my political beliefs and I will seriously look into the possibility of litigation against the University for violating my Charter rights.

I am ashamed of Carleton University right now. I believe that the list of demands made by SAIA is exactly right. SAIA Carleton demands that the Carleton University administration:

1. Immediately lift the ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.

2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate– ensuring generous access to the entire university community– on Carleton’s position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.


I also think the students, in particular, deserve a more general public apology from the administration - starting with one from you. This is no way to treat students who care deeply about social and legal (in)justice in the world. We all deserve a public acknowledgment from the administration on this matter. One way of doing this is by making certain the organization of "Israeli Apartheid Week" goes smoothly and does not meet administration-imposed obstacles. Perhaps/ this /is the proper context in which to begin a discussion on "Hope and History."

Sincerely,

Amy Bartholomew, LLB, PHD
Associate Professor
Department of Law
Carleton University

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Michael Scheinberg <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 7:06 PM
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Dear Carleton University President, Roseanne Runte,

As a person who regards freedom of speech to be one of main pillars of a democratic society I must respectfully demand that you stop your anti-democratic restrictions on the students efforts to engage the campus and wider community in discussions about the conflict in the middle east. The students are involved in the process of democracy and freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is always enunciated and blared out like a mantra time and again before the world from the leaders of our so called "civil society" governments. Can we not practice what we preach? It is an abomination that such restrictions should be occurring at one of the primary centers of learning and enlightenment. What will be next? Burning books, rounding up "trouble makers" and closing the universities? Please get on the right side of history, restore the Charter rights of Carleton students, take down the barriers and let those students practice democracy!

Sincerely,
Michael Scheinberg

PS: I am Jewish and whole heartily agree with the students efforts to seek justice for the people of Palestine in the face of a continuing decades long brutal assault by the government of Israel on the Palestinian people.

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Marjorie Robertson <>

February 19, 2009

President Roseann Runte
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive

Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6  

Dear President Runte:

On February 8, Students Against Israeli Apartheid Carleton put up 100 posters which feature one of  award-willing graphic artist Carlos Latuff depictions of  the recent assault on Gaza .  The posters announced international  "Israeli Apartheid Week", a series of public lectures on campuses in over 40 cities around the world March 2 – 5, 2009.

On February 9, Carleton's Equity Services directed that these posters be taken down, Carleton administration’s  rationale being that the posters "could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights code" and that they were "insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society"
First , whoever infringes rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights Code is solely responsible for their own actions.

Second, as far the S.A.I.A. Carleton’s International Israel Apartheid Week poster goes, it was clearly aimed not at incitement but at what I would call “insightment”—the latter being something which your administration seems to have in short supply.

Third, there is an odd parallel with Carleton administration’s actions and that of the attack helicopter in the Carlos Latuff graphic, in that you are using your disproportionate highly leveraged power against those whose only power is their call for truth and justice, those who not only have not encouraged Human Rights violations but are encouraging discussion and debate about Human Rights violations at a series of upcoming campus events. If the underlying goal for your assault on S.A.I.A. was the derailing of these events, you have only added urgency to the need for them to take place.

On February 18, 2009 Terrence Watson commented on a Western Standard blog that your administration was calling upon “human rights” to justify the suppression of free speech. He went on to say, “Censorship should be opposed. And universities should be shining examples of the benefits that accrue from the unhampered, free exchange of ideas -- even bad ideas.”

Fourth, while it is understandable that aggressors and occupiers would want to wall off the truth about their egregious violations of international law and human rights, it is more than puzzling that Canadian University Presidents, yourself at Carleton included, would become agents for aggressors and occupiers, and use Canadian taxpayer money to do so. I suggest you redeploy your considerable discretionary power against those who are manipulating you to collude in a cover-up of what many in civil society consider to be war crimes.  Moreover to be on the ‘right side of history’ you would be wise to support the courageous Carleton students who are using democratic means to bring this issue to the academic commons for discussion and debate.

Finally, I leave you with but one picture—and not the worst-- of what happened after the assault scene artist Carlos Latuff  depicted in his Israel Apartheid Week poster.
Now Dr. Runte, take a look at Human Rights Watch investigator Marc Garlasco's black and white images of Gaza  and ask yourself about your leadership on the case of S.A.I.A Carleton and Israel Apartheid Week.

http://marcgarlasco.zenfolio.com/p20100174

I salute the courageous young Carleton students of S.A.I.A. and the equally courageous Carleton faculty who recognized in the specious pretext for bombing of a Gazan university the need for the academic community to speak out-- which you refused to do.  These exemplary Carleton students and faculty will have a special place in the annals of Carleton university.  Sadly, I fear the record of Carleton administration during this watch will be one of ignominy, a credit to neither Carleton nor the Canadian academy.

Sincerely,

Marjorie Robertson
Please take a close look Dr. Runte and ask why you are abandoning these victims of those for whom you are an apologist.

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Jawad Qureshy <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 3:01 PM
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Ms. Runte,

It is shocking that Carleton has gone to this length to support the Israeli policy of apartheid in the Occupied Territories of Palestine. Neither banning posters, nor disallowing debate and free speech on the issue of the rights of an occupied people are going to help Carleton's reputation as a school for thinking people. Furthermore, your vague threat to students to toe the administration line or risk expulsion are desperate acts that will not succeed in suppressing the truth about Israel's actions on the Carleton campus.

I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the concept of the University being a place where people are allowed to think for themselves. I also encourage you to realize that Israel and Judaism are 2 separate things, such that the criticism of former's army does not imply prejudice of the latter. It is actions such as yours that equate the two, needlessly confusing people on an issue that has much more to do with international law and human rights than with religious or equity issues. In any case, if the criticism of Israel is an Access and Equity issue at Carleton and the administration has chosen to defend the actions of an occupier state rather than allow its students to critically examine the effects of the occupation on Palestinian society, then I fear that what was supposed to be a policy driven by morality has morphed into to a tool of ideological suppression.

I trust you will reconsider your heavy-handed approach to the matter and give due consideration to the rights of SAIA at Carleton while being transparent about the events that lead to the enactment of this short-sighted policy of banning and threatening students.

Sincerely,
Jawad Qureshy


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Joanne Naiman <...>
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Sent: Wed Feb 18 18:42:00 2009
Subject: Israeli Apartheid Week

February 18, 2009

President Roseann Runte
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6

Dear President Runte,

I have just read that the Carleton administration recently banned a poster promoting Israeli Apartheid Week, and circulated a vaguely worded letter to the entire Carleton community threatening indefinite expulsion for anyone contravening the university's equity and human rights codes.

As a Canadian Jew and as someone who was actively involved in the anti-Apartheid movement through the 1970s and ‘80s, I found this most distressing. I am well aware that there are many powerful Jewish organizations in Canada that equate every criticism of Israeli government policies with anti-Semitism. This, of course, is nonsense, and the unwillingness of any university to allow open debate on this issue actually contributes to the anti-Semitism such groups claim to be opposing.

Our universities and colleges must remain places for open debate and discussion. Surely this is what we want our young people to learn – to listen to various points of view, to weigh and judge, to evaluate the evidence, and to draw their own conclusions. This is the very thing that the pro-Israeli organizations most fear, for they know full well that most Canadians will oppose current Israeli policies against Palestinians once they are examined and understood.

Prohibiting groups from criticizing current Israeli government policies is outright censorship, and does not contribute to creating a peaceful and better world. I urge you to give your full support to the Carleton Israeli Apartheid Week program and the students who have organized it.

I would appreciate receiving a response from you on this matter.

Sincerely,

Joanne Naiman
Professor Emerita
Department of Sociology
Ryerson University, Toronto

cc. Feridun Hamdullahpur, Provost

     Equity Services

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David Lethbridge <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 5:31 PM
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[I sent the following via email today]
 
Dear Roseanne Runte,
 
I am writing to you as an academic that is most concerned about your administration's attitude toward free speech at Carleton University. As I understand it, your administration has confiscated posters advertising a series of lectures and discussions concerning Israeli Apartheid. I have seen the poster in question and in my view it is rather mild and innocuous, while nevertheless reflecting a certain repugnant reality. Surely it cannot have escaped your attention that the state of Israel recently bombed the people of Gaza causing the death of hundreds of innocent civilians including children. You may also be aware that Israeli armed forces deliberately bombed United Nations installations and transport services. What's more, I don't see how you can have avoided noticing that Israel has engaged in war crimes by, at the very least, illegally using white phosphorous weapons on crowded civilian neighbourhoods. Now, I do not know how old you are, but I remember very clearly when Canadian students marched and held sit-ins and teach-ins against US aggression in Vietnam, and later against the illegal US proxy-war against Nicaragua. I also recall clearly the student and academic response to South African apartheid. What is different now? Why should only the state of Israel be allowed to engage in genocidal war crimes without being held accountable? What conceivable reason could you have to prevent faculty and students from meeting at Carleton to discuss Israeli state violence? Are you so terrified that certain organizations will accuse Carleton of engaging in antisemitism - where it does not exist - that you are prepared to muzzle free speech? How else is one to interpret your cowardly claim that the posters "could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights Code" and are "insensitive to the norms of civil discourse." What rubbish! Your own actions are far more "insensitive" to the dead and the wounded and the starving people of Gaza.  As for me, I understand antisemitism very well. For a dozen years I fought Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi, Holocaust-denial and other organizations who were devoted to the hatred of Jews. I am proud of that record. But both you and I know that criticizing the policies of the Israeli state is not antisemitism. No state is immune from criticism. And apartheid in Israel is, quite frankly, a reality. All students, all faculty, all university administrators that had any sense of honor ought to be fighting it. When you choose to try to shut down Israeli Apartheid week, you choose at the same time to ally yourself with war crimes and genocide.
 
Yours,
 
Dr. David Lethbridge
Okanagan College
Department of Psychology

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Lorraine Farkas <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:00 PM
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Dear President Runte,

    I would like to add my name to the list of those who are extremely disappointed by your university's actions in banning a poster (which I have seen) which sharply criticizses Israel over its attack on Gaza.

    As a baby boomer and a former student at Carleton, I recall that equally agressive posters attacking US policy in Vietnam were tolerated by previous Carleton University presidents.   I would bet that posters promoting anti-apartheid in South Africa were also tolerated on Carleton's campus.

    I urge you to base your decisions on our own human rights law and international law.    

    Yours sincerely,

    Lorraine Farkas

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Peter Larson <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 10:26 AM
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Dear President Runte,

Please add my name to the list of those wo are extremely disappointed by your university's actions in banning a poster (which I have seen) which sharply criticises Israel over its attack on Gaza.

As  baby boomer and a former student at Carleton, I can assure you that equally agressive posters attacking US policy in Vietnam were tolerated by your predecessors.

I see no good reason why Israel should get special protection from Carleton University.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Larson

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Ian Angus <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 5:27 PM
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Dear President Runte:

I am a graduate of Carleton. I was profiled in the alumni magazine as
an example of what Carleton graduates achieve. I never thought I would
be ashamed of my university, but I am.

Your actions against the conference on Israeli Apartheid constitute a
gross violation of free speech. You are undermining the fundamental
principles every university should uphold.

Until Carleton withdraws its ban on the Conference poster and
apologizes for its actions in this matter, I will withhold all support
from the university, and I will encourage every alumnus I know or meet
to do likewise.

Ian Angus
BA'70

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Micheline Beaudry <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:44 PM
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Ms Roseanne Runte, President

Carleton University
 
I urge you to make sure that the Charter rights of Carleton students is immediately restored.  Debates on campuses - and particularly those on some of the most important human rights questions of our times - are fundamental to academic life and to freedom of expression. They should not be silenced by administrative rulings.
 
Micheline Beaudry, Ph.D., professeure titulaire associée
Département des sciences des aliments et de nutrition, FSAA
Université Laval

...

Tel: ...
FAX: idem

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Ida Henderson <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 5:25 PM
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Roseanne Runte
President, Carleton University
Ottawa

Dear President Runte:

Re: Carleton University violates free expression - bans and confiscates SAIA posters

How on earth can my alma mater justify banning posters for a human rights debate, that depict accurately what happened mere weeks ago to children in one of most densely populated areas of the world?

You may not like the SAIA poster.  You may have another view of what constitutes human rights, but to claim the poster is an incitement “to others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights code” beggars belief!  That has got to be one of the most pathetic, illogical excuses for stifling academic debate – the very cornerstone of every university’s existence if it’s to justify calling itself “university” – that anyone has ever used.

As an alumnus who has always been proud of my educational experiences at Carleton, I am mortified that Carleton is not leading Canadians in a full and honest discussion of what is happening in Palestine and Israel.  Instead your administration is making despicable efforts to stifle such a debate taking place.   

I fully support the demands of Students Against Israeli Apartheid Carleton that the university Administration:

   1. immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning;
   2. explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future;
   3. sponsor a full public debate -- ensuring generous access to the entire university community -- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions; and
   4. appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.

Sincerely,

 

Ida C. Henderson


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Campbell Robertson <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 5:09 PM
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From: Campbell Robertson
To: Presidents_Office
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:00 PM
Subject: "Political stance has students fearing expulsion"

 
Subject: Fw: "Political stance has students fearing expulsion"

Dear President Runte:
 
The following is my letter to the Ottawa Sun in response to the paper's news story about the students, the posters, the lectures on human rights and you.  The best I can say for your administration is that your attempt at intimidation must be garnering much more publicity for Israel Apartheid Week than the posters would have.

Dear Editor:
 
Bravo to the Sun for shining a spotlight on Carleton University administration's attempt to intimidate students who organize and promote lectures about the occupation of Palestine and other human rights issues.
 
Are universities not supposed to foster free and open discussion and debate?
 
Sincerely,
 
Campbell Robertson

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Sheila Hewlett <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:01 AM
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Dear President Runte,

The university is a place for debate. It is a place to posit difficult theses/themes and try to prove or disprove them.

I am surprised at your reaction to Israeli Apartheid week (posters, debates etc). Israel is a nation, it has a foreign policy and a history. If a group of students decides to tackle this state's foreign policy in a serious and lengthy fashion - that is within your academic mandate, the one you are supposed to uphold.

The poster in question is difficult, as is the situation in Palestine, but it isnt offensive, hateful or false. It's not even bloody or hyperbolic and most importantly, it isnt a lie. Given what just occurred in Palestine this subject is more timely then ever. I agree that it is upsetting, which is why people are rallying around the Palestinian cause - which is not a complicated one.

You might disagree with SAIA now, but what if they are right? (They are.) What if Israel is an apartheid state? (It is.) Complicity in matters of international law, in terms of racial cleansing isnt where any ethical institution should stand.

Im not trying to be patronizing here, but you should probably go to these events, you will see they are not racist, anti-semitic affairs. They are politically critical affairs in the face of an unbelievable human tragedy. You will find a group of people uncomfortable with sitting in silence while others suffer.

Sheila Hewlett
Student @ UofT

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Sarah Kardash <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 4:48 PM
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Dear President Runte,

I am writing to condemn the recent banning of SAIA Carleton's Israeli Apartheid Week poster. I strongly urge the University administration to take action to rectify this infringement of basic democratic principles at Carleton University and to ensure that the Charter rights of Carleton students will not be breached again.

I fully support the demands of SAIA Carleton to:

1. Lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.

2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.

Your administration should be ashamed for its involvement in the repression of academic freedom and rights to free expression on a university campus. Your administration should be ashamed for threatening students with expulsion for affirming the humanity of all peoples and the universality of international law. Your administration should be ashamed for discriminating against students who seek an open debate on a political issue and silencing them because they happen to disagree with your stand.

The movement against Israeli apartheid has been endorsed by hundreds of universities, unions, religious groups and social justice organizations. This campaign is proudly anti-racist, and founded on the principles of opposition to all forms of racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. It draws its inspiration from the global campaign to end South African apartheid and is led by many of the same individuals who were at the forefront of that earlier struggle. Attempts to silence SAIA will not be tolerated by the Palestine solidarity and student movements. Your attempt to repress free expression will ultimately fail. Debates on campuses on some of the most important human rights questions of our times cannot be silenced by administrative rulings.

Sincerely,

Sarah Kardash

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Naomi Wall <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 5:34 PM
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President Roseanne Runte
Carleton University

Dear President Runte,
I am writing to urge you to immediately restore the Charter rights of students at Carleton University.
The banning and removal of posters regarding Israeli Apartheid Week is a clear violation of free expression and flies in the face of respected educational practice.

The pattern of repression of academic freedom and rights to free expression, especially on Israel/Palestine, on Canadian campuses including Carleton University is a dangerous attack on the princples of democracy and democratic debate within our academic institutions.

The current course taken by you and your administration shows a contempt for students' rights and freedoms on the Carleton campus. It also blatantly exposes the political agenda behind the actions you have taken. Students who are seeking open debate on Palestine/Israel are being silenced because they disagree with the politics of the administration.

Open debate and discussiion regarding Palestine/Israel is crucial, and it is the responsibility of our educational institutions to provide the support, and the space, to make this happen. I urge you to show leadership on this most serious matter and immediately restore students' rights on Carleton's campus.

Professor Naomi Binder Wall
UPC, Georgian College

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Adi Dagan <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:53 PM
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Adi Dagan, Tel Aviv, Israel -

I support the following demands of SAIA Carleton:
 
1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.  
    
2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.
 
3.Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4.Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.


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Julia Cipriani <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 4:16 PM
To: Rosanne Runte < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
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Dear Dr. Runte,

As a Carleton grad I receive and read the alumni publication. From all that I have read it sounds like you bring a great perspective and a lot of energy to the university. I am delighted you are there.

I was disappointed to read that there is an effort to suppress open conversation about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I had the good fortune to be visiting a friend, another proud Carleton grad with a PhD in Anthropology, who was working on a Mother/Child health care project for the Palestinian government. While I was visiting there was a democratic process followed which resulted in the election of Hamas. Within hours, or perhaps days, the very event which had the western world in a state of elation turned into a pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian movement. The Palestinians I met were not terrorists deserving of being held up and harassed at the will of youthful Israeli soldiers as they tried to move through their own country. Israeli has treated Palestinians in most unacceptable ways under the leadership, or lack thereof, of Mr. Harper and Mr. Bush.

There needs to be a conversation about what Israel is doing to ordinary Palestinians in their fight against Hamas. Please retract your decision to shut down this event.

I support the SAIA group's requests to:

1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.  
    
2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.
3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.


4.Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.

Julia

Julia Cipriani


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David Mandelzys <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 9:58 PM
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President Runte,
 
I am a student at the University of Toronto where the identical poster to the one you have censored is now up around campus. I can not understand how the equity office could possibly ban this poster on the grounds that it is a violation of anyones rights. Furthermore as a Jew I find it insulting that you would imply that legitimate criticism of Israel, such as the poster you have banned, is somehow anti-Semitic. I have taken courses at Carleton and find it extremely concerning that students' freedom of expression is being repressed by your administration. Also, tonight listening to CBC radio at 6, the coverage of your actions makes me wonder what impact this repression of academic freedom will have on Carleton's reputation.
 
Please correct this error and restore your students' rights, along with a public apology immediately.
 
Sincerely
-David Mandelzys

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Blair Kuntz <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 3:49 PM
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As an academic librarian, I am appalled at your decision to take down posters for Israeli Apartheid Week. Your decision is an obvious attempt to censor ideas--this at an institute of higher learning no less!

As you are no doubt aware, the poster was created by noted Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff and depicts a situation - a child being killed by aerial bombardment – that occurred over 430 times in Israel's latest attack on Gaza according to United Nations reports. In fact, the Israeli army has killed 1,487 Palestinian children since September 29, 2009 (while 123 Israeli children have died in the conflict since the same date). In fact, it is quite likely that the Israeli army has deliberately targetted Palestinian children for execution. If you wish to take the time, you can read all about such an incident at the following URL: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3552.shtml.
Since the poster depicts a situation that has a factual basis and its intention is clearly to invite people to a lecture series, the notion that it is an incitement or a violation to norms of civil discourse is preposterous.

Your attempt to censor the poster is all the more reprehensible given that when 56 Carleton professors asked you to condemn Israel's recent bombardment of the Islamic University of Gaza, you refused. Neither the direct killing of hundreds of children nor the direct bombing of a campus were enough to elicit condemnation, but your administration has decided that a poster inviting people to discuss the conflict ought to be banned.

Shame!!
 
I join with SAIA Carleton and demand that the Carleton University Administration:
 
1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.  
    
2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.
 
4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.
    
I agree with SAIA Carleton and concur that this attempt to repress free expression will ultimately fail. The Carleton University administration should understand that debates on campuses on some of the most important human rights questions of our times cannot be silenced by administrative rulings.
 
Blair Kuntz
Near and Middle Eastern Studies Librarian
Robarts Library, University of Toronto

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Marc Folley <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 3:17 PM
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Dear madam(s)/sir(s),

Below is a copy of the email I sent to the President of Carleton University on behalf of human rights and freedom of expression:
 
Dear Ms. Runte,

As a former graduate student and thus alumni of Carleton university, I am deeply troubled by your, and the university's, refusal to acknowledge the gross human rights violaions being enacted on a daily basis in Israel/Palestine. Please restore the Charter rights of Carleton students, regardless of your or your supporters' political beliefs. Carleton - due in large part to its humanities department(s) - is developing an excellent reputation in graduate student communities throughout Canada; it is a place that students believe encourages and produces progressive and humanitarian thought and scholarship. It would be a shame to see this building momentum cut short by an administration which, due to political and/or financial pressures, continues to support the enactment of an egregious "new" apartheid. Should this miscarriage of human rights and freedom of expression endorsed by yourself and the university obtain, I will be forced to look elsewhere in distributing financial support to English departments in the future.
Thank you for your time.

Marc Foley, Ph.D. candidate, Queen's University; M.A. 2008, Carleton

-----------------------
Thank you for the work you do - if there are other ways in which I can be of assistance to your cause, please contact me at this email address.
Take care.
Marc

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Adnan A. Husain <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 2:58 PM
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Dear Dr. Runte,

I am quite disturbed as an academic who teaches Middle Eastern history at an Ontario university that you have participated in an evident campaign in our province's higher education of impeding discussion about an important issue in today's world and violating rights of expression of your students who wish to engage in such discussion.  It is really unseemly for a president of a university to shut down critical inquiry, debate, and informed discussion rather than to facilitate it through an institution whose purpose is education. Instead of condemning the Israeli attack on another university in Gaza recently, you are threatening students and violating their rights for advertising their discussion with potent imagery that is nevertheless grounded in some basis in reality.  Amazingly, you are making yourself and your institution complicit in the political and cultural conditions that allow such Israeli violations of human rights and international law to occur routinely without serious and responsible outcry from leaders of civil society. I realize that the issue is often portrayed as terribly confusing and complicated and that there are strong pressures within and outside the university community that discourage acknowledging some really rather straightforward political realities and moral principles.  As a specialist in the field of Middle Eastern history, I would certainly be happy to discuss these matters with you, recommend some readings of genuine scholarly value, and/or answer any questions you might have.

But, I would actually encourage you to benefit from further education on the issues about Palestine and Israel and attend some of the events of Israeli Apartheid Week at Carleton along with members of your upper administration.  Apart from this, I would encourage you to reflect on your earlier decisions and consider the legal rights of your students, the mission of a university, and the negative consequences for Carleton of such unwise and hasty actions.  You should be aware of the similar actions of university administration at McMaster University last year over advertising using the term "Israeli Apartheid" that used similar arguments about the provocative nature of the wording as your arguments about the images on student posters. Eventually, and after really galvanizing a new movement in defense of free expression and enormous attention to the event, the university discovered that its position was publicly embarassing, legally untenable and also simply unjust.  Civil society in Canada is mobilizing--peace and social justice groups, church and other religious and community associations and organizations, unions, etc...--around these issues and responsible officials, whether politicians or university administrators, who succumb to the pressure to shut down discussion rather than help inform and seek just solutions are finding that citizens and students are increasingly frustrated with such behaviour.  

I suggest that you facilitate discussion about Palestine and would be happy to help or encourage you to seek out scholars and specialists at Carleton in Middle Eastern history who can give you serious and considered guidance.  Our own principal consulted myself and another colleague after a similar controversy and acknowledged that she should have availed herself of expert advice earlier.

Best,
Adnan A. Husain
Department of History
Queen's University

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Jean Hanson <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 2:31 PM
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Jean Hanson
22 Boyce Ave,
Ottawa, ON K2B 6H9
February 18, 2009

President Roseann Runte
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6

 

Dear President Runte:

As a Jew and a member of Independent Jewish Voices, I endorse the March Israeli Apartheid Week events organized by Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) at Carleton.  I believe that the students have exercised appropriate and laudable initiative in organizing this event. It will bring world-renowned speakers to Carleton and raise opportunities for the kind of cutting-edge academic discourse that Carleton should encourage.

I strongly believe that alternative voices are needed to counterbalance the heavy propaganda and censorship of Israel lobby groups such as B’nai Brith, the Council on Israeli and Jewish Advocacy, and the Canada Israel Committee.  I ask that you reject the pressure from these groups to characterize Israeli Apartheid Week events as anti-Semitic.

As a Jew, I can affirm that criticizing Israeli policies is NOT anti-Semitic.  The Israeli government claims to speak for all Jews, and characterizes any criticism of Israel as “the new anti-Semitism.”  I believe that Canadian universities should not condone this ethical smokescreen. No one group or country speaks for all Jews.   More and more Jews world-wide, as well as in Israel, oppose oppressive Israeli policies.  To responsibly raise critical concerns about the discriminatory, illegal, and brutal policies of any government is an ethical imperative which our universities should support.

The SAIA poster advertising Israeli Apartheid Week accurately portrays the experience of residents of Gaza (as well as many other Palestinians): besieged, starving civilians imprisoned behind walls and targeted by Israeli war planes. In the January assault on Gaza, a large proportion of the casualties were children like the one portrayed in the poster.  This poster does not demean or attack Jews, and it does not promote hatred of Jews. It is not anti-Semitic.  It appropriately criticizes actual Israeli behaviour condemned by the UN and many other countries (sadly not including Canada).

I endorse the Carleton Israeli Apartheid Week programme.  I urge you to do so as well and to celebrate, rather than threatening and harassing, the hard-working, courageous students (several of them Jews) who have organized it.  You owe them an apology.

Sincerely,

Jean Hanson
cc.   SAIA


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Adam Balsam <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:45 PM
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Dear Dr. Roseann O’Reilly Runte,

       As a Jewish individual and a recent alumnus of Carleton University, I am appalled at the depths to which the administration has sunk to repress the voices of those involved in Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA). I personally resent the slanderous misuse of the label of Anti-Semitism as it has been applied to SAIA.  SAIA Carleton is a non-hierarchical, exclusively anti-racist and anti-oppressive group that opposes all forms of racism including Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I know all the members of SAIA and am sure that none of them espouse any Anti-Semitic sentiment. Criticism of the behaviour of a state, in this case the state of Israel, is in no way a racism or Anti-Semitism towards its citizens.  This type of criticism takes away from the genuine grievances of people that have been the targets of bigoted and repressive remarks including that of Anti-Semitism. I take a personal offense to this usage.

   If this type of framing was applied in the past surrounding other world issues, we would be living in a much more repressive world, under the guise of tolerance. Maybe the Anti-South African Apartheid movement could have been framed as ‘Anti-White’ or ‘Anti-Dutch’ and the poor white people in South Africa were just trying to protect their security from people who want an end the racial purity of their state or end their state altogether. The criticisms of the appalling crimes of Nazi Germany, in which many of my relatives were massacred, could have been called ‘Anti-Arian’ or ‘Anti-German’ and a threat to the ethnic purity of their state. A similar argument could have been given for this as well: “There is no Arian state,” and “Why won’t the world allow the Arians to have a homeland.”  (As a side note, Jews were also labeled as terrorists and seen as threats to the state in Nazi Germany. Many people did rise up against their
 oppressive states like in the Warsaw ghetto and elsewhere, as they do in Palestine.) The criticisms of the massacres of the East Timorese could have been spun as ‘Anti-Indonesian.’ The criticisms of the Rwanda genocide could have been spun as ‘Anti-Hutu.’  I hope you realize how absurd these claims are and how they can and are being used to morally justify and deflect criticism of state terrorism and mass murder of ethnic minorities. These claims are similarly absurd when applied to the state of Israel. The crimes committed against Jews in Europe do not excuse Israel from committing crimes just as a rape survivor is not excused from the accusation of rape crimes or any other crimes that they themselves commit. If crimes are suspected, as they are surrounding the recent aggression against the citizens of Gaza, then discourse is acceptable, if not extremely necessary.  Suppression of this discourse amounts to an offence that is virtually criminal
 in that it prevents the discussion around the prosecution of the crime, obstructing justice.

   Recently, Prime Minister Harper apologized for the massive crimes committed in Canada against our Indigenous Peoples in the residential school system. Using this same logic as is applied to Israel, criticism of these crimes could be labelled ‘Anti-Christian,’ since these school were Christian based, ‘Anti-White’ or ‘Anti-Canadian.’ Could anyone in their right mind accuse the Prime Minister of this? Then why is this line of logic acceptable concerning Israel?

   Two out of five of the Israeli Apartheid Week events are being done in conjunction with Aboriginal rights organizations. Will this lead to suppression of their voices as well?  Canada’s Indian Act, as is common knowledge, was the primary model for South African Apartheid. We, therefore, have a personal responsibility to oppose these types of state crimes to attempt to atone for our past offenses, as the Prime Minister has begun to do recently.  We in no way should condone these crimes.

   As a Jewish person, whose family was killed in the Nazi Holocaust, as victims of state crimes, I will not stand behind any government that systematically oppresses any group of people.  To do so would directly contradict the credo of the decedents of Jewish survivors that I have been raised to embrace: “Never Again.”  By condoning this type of rhetoric and behaviour of any state, i.e. the claims that criticism of state actions are racist, would assure that massive crimes against innocent civilian minorities across the world continues indefinitely, since the criticisms of these crimes will not be tolerated in public discourse, as your institution now demands. Since there will be no public discourse, there will be no significant pressure on these state institutions to stop committing these crimes.

    The banning of the Israeli Apartheid Week posters, that do accurately depict what has gone on in Gaza in recent months and do not depict Jews in any way at all, is shameful on the part of your administration. This suppression of SAIA truly amounts to an attack on student freedom of speech and the freedom to organize at your University. This is in no way a principled stance and contradicts the recently released mission statement of Carleton University, specifically on its commitment to social justice, as well as tolerance for different opinions and a commitment to questioning commonly held beliefs. At the very least, your organization could show more tolerance for social justice movements like SAIA. If this precedent is set then it may become the norm. What is next? Suppression of Indigenous rights groups for being ‘Anti-European’ or suppression of Tamil students groups for being ‘Anti-Sri Lankan?’ There is no rational end to this type of
 insanity.  This is a perversion of student equity and of human rights in general.  I pray you do not continue to endorse this perversion.

       As with the struggle against South African apartheid, where the student movement played a huge part ending the Apartheid regime, the student movement and particularly Israeli Apartheid Week has been one of the driving forces in the struggle for justice and equity in Israel/Palestine.  Universities, as places of higher learning, exchange ideas and debate, should be encouraging the activism that has grown on campuses all across the nation around the defence of human rights of Palestinian people the analysis of the root cause of the violations of such human rights, ie. colonization, occupation and apartheid.  This should be doubly so as Canadians. Consequentially, an important action that should be taken to rectify such violations is showing solidarity with the oppressed, ie. by boycotting Israeli Academic Institutions. These institutions have expressed no public dissent to the bombings of the Universities in Gaza.  Palestinians have as much a right to
 education as any other people.  The silence from these institutions is complicity. Therefore, if these institutions are not condemning the suppression of right to education of Palestinians, we should not have any ties with them.  Would you have promoted ties with Universities in Apartheid South Africa or Universities in Nazi Germany if they did not criticize the atrocious behaviours of their governments?  This tactic was very effective in contributing to the ending of South African Apartheid and there is no reason why it should not be effective here.  This tactic has been embraced recently at other North American and European Universities.  Israeli Apartheid Week is a great tool for popular education and creates spaces for debate while always upholding the ideals of anti-oppression as well as clearly stating that all forms of discrimination including racism, Anti-Semitism and Islamphobia are absolutely unacceptable within these spaces.  In fact, two of
 the speakers for Ottawa Israeli Apartheid Week are Jews. One is a South African Jew who was very active in the South African Anti-Apartheid movement. The other is a Holocaust survivor from the Warsaw ghetto.  Despite this fact, this event is still this is framed as Anti-Semitic.

       Carleton University’s refusal to engage in a public debate to defend its rejection of the boycott of Israeli institutions, banning of Israeli Apartheid Week posters, threatening emails to the student body and general failure to fully respond to appeals of these actions, not only show the university’s obvious political position of complicity in Israeli Apartheid, but it’s clear repression of student’s freedom of speech, assembly and academic freedom.

       I recognize the importance for these freedoms to exist in our society, especially within our Universities.  I am appalled at the message Carleton is sending, not only to the students involved in Students Against Israeli Apartheid, but to all of its students.  As I see it, this threat on the freedom of expression of some students is a threat on freedom of speech and assembly for every student as well as every individual in this city, province and nation.  If Carleton is to uphold its record of being a university that encourages academic freedom, as well as freedom of speech and assembly and not succumb to the pressures of groups that encourage political and academic repression on the basis of false pretences, I feel the administration must succumb to the following demands.

       I call on the University Administration to:

1)      unban the Israeli Apartheid Week  poster and/or explain clearly and precisely the basis for this ban in ways that permit discussion and appeal.
2)      Sponsor a full public debate in front of the university community on the appropriateness of the term “Israeli Apartheid”
3)      Appoint a university/community commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine Solidarity.


Sincerely,

Adam Balsam BSc Biology, BSc Integrated Science
Ottawa Coordinator for Independent Jewish Voices Canada
Not in Our Name Ottawa


P.S.  Due to this campus repression, you are receiving some very bad press. If you don’t want Carleton University to become synonymous with the repression and the denial of freedom of speech then you will reverse this policy. Here are links to a few of the recent articles:

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2009/02/19/8443771-sun.html

http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2009/02/supporting-freedom-of-expression-is-good-policy-always.html

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12352

http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/bullet187.html

I imagine there are many more to come. If you would like to maintain your reputation, I suggest you act now.


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Angela Keller-Herzog <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:42 PM
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Dear Dr. Runte:
 
I am an alumni of Carleton (MA Economics 1994) and am rather concerned about the reputation of Carleton University.
 
Through the alumni network, I am given to understand that a number of mistakes have occured at Carleton with regard to the administration's reactions to the upcoming Israeli Apartheid Week including the removal of posters and refusal to engage on the issue of a proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions in the context of the Carleton strategy which looks to position the University in a global context.
 
I would strongly recommend that the university not only act transparently with regard to these commissions (and apologize for any mistakes that occured) but also pro-actively ensure that:
-- public debate on the issue of Israeli apartheid occurs at Carleton in a visible demonstration of freedom of speech and freedom of association at Carleton
-- the debate be demonstrably and actively welcomed by Carleton's administration who should seize this opportunity to be seen to ensure that all sides to the issue have the opportunity to be equally heard
-- the university publically laud and support its activist student leaders that promote global awareness, promotion of social justice and active debate.
 
Canadians are generous people; they will appreciate the honest admission of some mistakes and the pro-active demonstration of awareness of the importance of these principled human rights issues by the university.
 
I think it is clear that any further limitation of public debate, freedom of speech or association at Carleton in connection with these topical issues will attract adverse public attention that can haunt the reputation of the university for decades to come. The administration must, and must be seen to be acting justly. Critically, this includes an accountability by the administration for the provision of an environment that is free of repression and retribution against student and academic activists.
 
I look forward to hearing about the pro-active public actions that your administration is undertaking to preserve the good reputation of Carleton University.
 
Sincerely,
 
Angela Keller-Herzog
M.A. Economics (1994)

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Mike Burke <...>     Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:37 PM
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President Roseanne Runte

Carleton University

I’m disgusted by Carleton University’s decision to take down posters announcing Israeli Apartheid Week.  This is an indefensible decision that violates the very rights that are the foundation of a free university.

You should immediately restore the right of free expression to students at Carleton and embrace SAIA Carleton’s demands for equity and democratic discourse.

Mike Burke

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Carol Lynne D'Arcangelis <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:31 PM
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To Whom It May Concern:

I join the Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA Carleton) in strongly directing the Carleton University administration to:

1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly
apologize for the banning.

2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the
poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in
future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire
university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional
boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the
University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of
Palestine solidarity.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this serious matter.

Carol Lynne D'Arcangelis
Doctoral Candidate
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

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Sima Aprahamian <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:12 PM
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Dr. Roseann O.Reilly Runte
President and Vice-Chancellor
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6 Canada

Dear President Runte,

It is with great sadness that I heard the news about the repression of academic freedom at Carleton University. It is disturbing to hear that the university is engaged in discrimination against students who seek an open debate on a political issue such as the recent bombing of civilians and a university in Gaza. It is even more disheartening to witness the silencing of alternative voices in an academic campus that is getting ready to host the Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences!

As a concerned member of academia, I join SAIA Carleton in their demands that the Carleton University administration immediately lift the  ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Sima
----
Sima Aprahamian, Ph.D.
Sociology-Anthropology &
Simone de Beauvoir Institute
Concordia University
1455 de Maisonneuve W.
Montreal (Quebec)
H3G 1M8
E-mail: ...

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Paul Handford <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:05 PM
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Cc: SAIA Carleton < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
Dear President Runte,

I have just heard of your administration's decision to forbid posters at Carleton that advertise a series of lectures and other public events that is to be conducted widely elsewhere (here at Western, for example).  This would seem prima facie to represent the stifling of a legitimate effort to bring discussion of an important matter to the public.  Such suppression seems at odds with a university's traditional role in fostering open discussion of matters in the public interest.

I gather that the rationale for the decision to suppress these posters is that they "could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights code" and are "insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society".  I would suggest to you that, on the contrary, the posters are designed to draw attention to the uncontested carnage that has taken place in Gaza, most especially in recent months, and that to discourage involvement in an education effort in regard to this matter itself represents a violation of the Charter Rights of Carleton Students.  Accordingly, I would urge you to immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster.  
    
regards

p.h.

--
Paul Handford
Biology Department
University of Western Ontario
LONDON, ON, N6A 5B7
X81324
home: http://publish.uwo.ca/~handford/
research: http://publish.uwo.ca/%7Ehandford/res.html


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Leem Ibrahim <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:40 PM
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Dear Ms. Roseanna Runte,

 I am writing to you in response to your university's banning of an Israeli Apartheid Week poster, designed and printed in order to advertise for lecture series and debates on a very important issue, that being of the Israeli/Palestine conflict.

 As President of Carleton University you have the most important part to play in promoting the freedom spoken and written about in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and in the morals and ethics shared by all people around the world.  Students in your university should not only be allowed, but be encouraged by yourself and your administration to speak their minds, get informed, and engage themselves with their peers and faculty members in the learning process.  Your decision to ban the poster that was calling for this type of student organization shows your lack of concern for freedom of expression.

 According to your university's Equity Services, the poster informing students of Israeli Apartheid Week "could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights code" and are "insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society".  These statements seem ironical and devoid of the truth because a poster that rightfully depicts the reality of an ongoing conflict and ongoing violations of human rights cannot in any ways "incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights code".  Quite the contrary, it encourages the rights of students to engage in "civil discourse in a free and democratic society".

 Furthermore, before coming to your decisions and your administrations' rulings, it should be your professional responsibility to understand the ongoing conflict in Palestine and know the history underlying the Zionist regime.  Without an unbiased and complete knowledge of the Israel/Palestine question, it cannot be just for you to take the step you took in your univesity.

 I, as well as humdreds of students both in your university and in other educational institutions around Canada and the world request your immediate unbanning of the posters banned on February 8th.  We also request your administration to sponsor a full public debate, open to the whole of the university community, on Carleton University's position regarding the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

Thank you for your time

Regards,
a concerned student from Simon Fraser University

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Ryan Katz-Rosene <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:40 PM
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Dear President Runte,

I wanted to add my voice to the many other students who were dismayed by Carleton Equity Services' decision to ban a poster informing students of the upcoming Israeli Apartheid Awareness Week. As a Jewish student at Carleton, I believe it is of utmost importance for members of our university community to learn about the Israel/Palestine conflict and to engage in open dialogue on the issue. Banning a poster such as this will only inflame affected students' sensitivities; banning a poster such as this is a move against open dialogue.

While the poster contained a stirring image, I do not agree with Equity Services that it could incite others to infringe on people's human rights. That argument is akin to suggesting that the full-sized advertisements for the Canadian Armed Forces found on our campus incite students to go to fight wars (given that these advertisements have pictures of fighter jets carrying missiles, tanks, and gunners, etc). Yet Equity Services seems to have no qualms with the advertisement that tries to convince students to join the Canadian military with similar vivid imagery.

Although I am not a member of Students Against Israeli Apartheid, I believe that this particular student group exemplifies student dedication to truth and justice. From what I understand the group is quite diverse, and thus serves as an exemplar of how students with varying beliefs can work together cooperatively. Finally, through events such as Israeli Apartheid Awareness Week, groups like SAIA have a lot to offer Carleton in creating awareness and open dialogue about the situation in the Middle East and what we can do at Carleton to address the issue in a civil and responsible manner.

Thanks for your consideration,
Ryan Katz-Rosene

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Vera Szoke <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:45 AM
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President Runte,
 
First of all, I am the child of Holocaust survivors. I am also a pro-Palestinian activist. What was done to my family should make the actions of Zionists and the Israeli government against Palestinian human rights and plain old basic human decency obsolete. Sadly, the oppressed have become the oppressors, some of the worst in history.
 
I'd like to say that McCarthyism is back, but, unfortunately, the situation is even beyond that. When our educational institutions are giving into pressure from Zionists to shut down political work supportive of Palestinian human rights, we know we have crossed a most treacherous boundary. The media has caved, our government has caved and now our universities and schools are caving. And this despite the fact that only this week hundreds of university professors have joined together to protest the suppression of voices supportive of the Palestinian people.
 
Shame on you and all who participate in this despicable practice of violating our Charter of Rights and then pretending that you are protecting it.
 
Vera Szoke

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Melody Malakooti <...> Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:44 AM
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Dear Roseanne Runte,

I am writing with concern to our recent decision to take down the posters advertising Israeli Apartheid Week. While recognizing that the poster is controversial, I also recognize that it is an accurate portrayal of the actions taken by Israel against Gaza. With a 100:1 death rate, where mostly Palestinian civilians and mostly Israeli soldiers were killed, this poster is unfortunately incredibly telling.

By choosing to take down posters that truthfully portray the recent horror that Gazans have faced, you must acknowledge that you are knowingly and with intention, backing the rights and political views of the winning, the powerful, the abusing faction. That you are being compliant to the idea of a monopoly of discourse in dialogue's historic home, the university.

And if these posters truly do incite controversy with the truth they portray, then this controversy should be managed in the form of healthy debate where both sides have equal footing and time to share their substantiated opinions.

I urge you to look to the example of South African Apartheid to note how boycotting from the international community, including academic institutions, pressured change in a revolting situation of inequality and abuse. If educators then too decided to protect the rights of the Whites in South Africa to not have their image tarnished on posters so as to maintain their comfort little headway would have been made.

Please be bold and dynamic enough to reconsider your stance in a larger more historic sense. We have enough Uncle Toms.

Allow the posters to be put up and the events to carry on undisturbed and call for an academic debate about the matter of Israeli apartheid so that dialgoue can be reinstored.

Sincerely,

Melody Malakooti

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Thomas McGuire <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:40 AM
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Dear Ms. Runte,

This is clearly an issue of freedom of speech.  I implore you to reconsider your ill advised decision and restore Charter rights to Carleton students.

Sincerely,

Thomas McGuire
Toronto

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Anna Malla <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:39 AM
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Dear Roseanne Runte,

I am appalled at the recent decision by the Carleton University administration to ban a poster that was aimed at informing students and others around campus of a week of educational and cultural events. This is a clear show of contempt for freedom of expression on campus. I ask myself how you can claim that the Israeli Apartheid Week poster (which depicts a cartoon version of real-life events) could be "insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society" while you are actively censoring debate and freedom of speech on campus.

Furthermore, based on your administration's previous refusal to condemn Israel's bombardment of the Islamic University of Gaza, I ask myself, as I presume thousands of students, educators and community members around the country are asking themselves at this time, how you can justify valuing the lives of Palestinian students less than any other human being.

This type of racist censorship will not go unnoticed in Canada and internationally. I urge you to reverse the decision to ban these posters, as well as to meet the rest of the demands of SAIA and SPHR Carleton, listed below.

Thank-you for your time.

Sincerely,
Anna Malla
Montreal, Canada

SAIA and SPHR Carleton's demands of the Carleton University Administration:

1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and
publicly apologize for the banning.

2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning
the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

 3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed
institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.

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Dan Hara <>
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 11:21 AM
To: ' This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '
Cc: ...
Subject: Alumni concern over Carleton Censorship of Anti-Apartheid Lectures & Posters
Importance: High

Dear Dr. Runte:

I hold my PhD. from Carleton and am a little outraged about the suppression of academic freedom I see at Carleton.  I am especially concerned about the abuse of anti-racism legislation as a cover for these actions.

To be against current Israeli actions and policy in Palestine is not to be racist.   As the recent election in Israel shows, there are plenty of people in Israel who also oppose the current regime’s actions.   

There is nothing overtly racist in the lectures or the illustrations of real events depicted on the posters.   The events are real and the issue is real.   Not only is the University incorrect in citing the Ontario Human Rights Act as an excuse for suppressing this academic event -  the University also lays itself open to complaints under the very same law  through it’s attempt to suppress discussion of the victimization of another race: the Palestinian people.     The poster depicts part of what the issue is – the facts are not in question – it’s just culpability and accountability that are at issue.  It’s not a pretty poster – but neither is the issue.

Similarly, for the University to try to suppress these events by claiming that they might incite racists is to say that any dissenting voice may be suppressed because it upsets people and might incite reaction.   If there is any forum where the truth should be shared and issues discussed openly – it is at a University.    This is one of the important roles of Universities in society.

 

I might close by offering you a unique piece of Carleton history from before your tenure:    I was once a member of a political club at Carleton who chose to hold an event permitting the South African ambassador to speak and defend their then apartheid policy.    The club held a naïve belief that the other side should be heard.    The event caused huge consternation and mass protests – but the University stood by the right of free speech and open academic discourse.    In the end – the Ambassador did not convince the audience, but people learned a whole lot more about how the South African apartheid system worked and how the South African government tried to rationalize it.    From this I can offer two lessons:

1.       That sticking to academic principles and freedom of speech is the right thing to do even in difficult circumstances; and

2.       That, as an economic system of oppression, the parallels between South African apartheid and current Israeli policies is not an exaggeration.   The mechanics and the articulated rationales match on many points.


Your duty as President is to  further the Academic missions of the university while cognizant of the resource constraints represented by the Board of Governors.    It is for the academic mission that your office exists.   This issue is an academic one and your duty is to defend the University’s role in freedom of expression and open debate.     If you have any doubts about this, I suggest you  take it to the University Senate and hold open hearings.   If the Senate is informed of the facts about the event  it will become apparent where the faculty thinks the high road lies, regardless of their feelings on the issue.

Sincerely,

Dr. Dan Hara
Carleton (1994)

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Aaron Lakoff <>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:38 AM
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Dear Roseanne Runte,

It has come to my attention recently that your administration at Carleton university has banned postering and publicity for the upcoming 5th international Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) on campus. As a Jew, a human rights advocate, and an organizer of Israeli Apartheid Week in Montreal, I find it abhorrent how your administration has chosen to clamp down on this important event under the guise of  protecting students from "racial and religious intolerance". Clearly, racial and religious intolerance is something any individual of conscious should oppose, but how does criticizing Israeli state policy and human rights abuses against Palestinian people amount to intolerance? The actions of your administration, beyond being a blatant repression of freedom of speech at Carleton, are cowardly and dishonest.

I demand that your administration immediately reverse the ban on the IAW poster, issue a public apology to SPHR and SAIA at Carleton, and ensure that Carleton remain an environment where all students can have their voices heard.

Failure to do so will result on tremendous amounts of public pressure being put on you and your university, not to mention quite a slant on your institution's image, which I'm sure is not desirable for you.

Thank you for dealing with these matters in a timely and responsible fashion.

Aaron Lakoff, Montreal

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Anonymous <sender withheld by request>
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:11 AM
To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Cc: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dear President Roseanne Runte,
 
I was shocked an appalled to hear the news about banning the poster announcing Israeli Apartheid week. I was doubly shocked to know that it was banned by the Equity Services. I was also perplexed by the reasons that the Equity Services gave for banning the poster. These are abstract reasons without any explanation, and using the same reasons you could potentially ban any poster or publication. Which section of the Ontario Human Rights Code was breached? How? Who defines "the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society"? What are those norms that were the poster did not sensitivity towards?  As a person who studies and does research on human rights and human rights law, I fail to see any justification for the banning. On the contrary, I see a contradictory statement banning civilized discourse and basic freedoms in the name of "human rights" and "free and democratic society". I think that the Carleton Equity Service, and the Carleton Administration, the very people entrusted with protecting the freedom of speech, owe the Carleton community, and even the public at large, an explanation. One could even say they owe them an apology.
 
Given the latest publications about the attempts to silence pro-Palestinian voices on different campuses in Canada (see http://rabble.ca/news/exposed-university-toronto-suppressed-pro-palestinian-activism , http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/bullet187.html, http://www.caiaweb.org/faculty)  I am worried that banning the poster and the emails with the threatening tone sent to the students are the latest wave or unfortunate repression on our campuses.
 
I strongly urge you to lift the ban on the poster and uphold the principles of freedom of speech.
 
Regards,
 
<sender withheld by request>
...
Osgoode Hall Law School
York University
E-mail: ...
Phone: ...

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Arthur Milner <...>     Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 11:24 AM
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Dear President Roseann Runte and Provost Feridun Hamdullahpur,

I am appalled by Carleton University's actions with respect to Israel Apartheid week and its posters.

The university is supposed to a model of freedom of speech.

I can't believe you would curtail basic freedoms because some people find the posters or the suggestion that Israel is apartheid "hurtful." Political discussion is not always pretty.

What are the real reasons for your actions? Has the University been threatened with a cutback in donations? You have a responsibility to be honest about this.

Arthur Milner
BA, MA Carleton

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Abdul-Jabbar Asiri <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 10:12 AM
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Dear President Roseanne Runte:

We urge you to allow and encourage the students of Carleton University to exercise the academic freedom and rights to free expression, especially on Israel/Palestine, which is the longest active conflict in the world (over 85 years) that must be justly resolved to save the Israeli and Palestinian people from the vicious cycle of violence and destruction.

Carleton University students deserve your support, so let them express their opinions by addressing their concerns:

1. Immediately lift the  ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.  
    
2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.


Sincerely,

AJ Asiri
Kanata, ON ...

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Naomi Ann Schiller <....>     Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 9:55 AM
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Dear President Runte,

I write to express my disappointment that the Carleton's administration has banned an Israeli Apartheid Week poster.  The complex issues surrounding Israel and Palestine need to be openly debated, not censored.

As an American Jew, I am heartened by recent efforts at college and university campuses across the world to address Israel's unjust treatment of Palestinians.

I hope you will immediately restore the Charter of rights of Carleton students.

Best,

Naomi Schiller
Department of Anthropology
New York University


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Anonymous <sender withheld by request>
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 9:18 AM
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President Runte,

I am a Canadian citizen, a professional in the health care industry, who believes in the protection and human rights of all civilians, no exceptions. Do you?

Your refusal to insist on the protection and human rights of Palestinians is appalling. Furthermore, your repressive measures against those who work for the protection and human rights of all civilians, Palestinians and Israelis alike, is outrageous, both from a moral and Charter of Rights perspective. I have viewed the poster in question: it does not reflect any racial or religious intolerance; it depicts what actually occurred in Gaza between Dec. 27 and Jan 18. Of course, it is critical of Israel’s actual actions. This is not anti-Semitic. This is being pro-human rights for all, no exceptions. Are you pro-human rights for all, no exceptions? Or anti-human rights for all, if you deem Palestinians as “unworthy” of human rights?

I would like to express my support for the call by the Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA Carleton) to:

   1. Immediately lift the ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.
   2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.
   3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.
   4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.

I will be closely monitoring how Carlton University proceeds on this matter. Depending on the outcome, I will decide whether to provide any financial support and whether to send my children to your university. Finally, if you continue to deny freedom of expression in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights, you can be sure that I will make every effort to ensure that my tax contributions do not support your institution.
 
P.S. Would you also ban a poster depicting a hungry, poor Gazan child looking across a border crossing (cruelly and illegally closed by Israel) at a truck load of desperately needed food and humanitarian supplies? Please read this Human Rights Watch report that was released yesterday entitled: "Israel/Egypt: Choking Gaza Harms Civilians"

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/02/18/israelegypt-choking-gaza-harms-civilians.

Sincerely,
 

<sender withheld by request>


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Donald_Swartz <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 9:30 AM
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Dear President Runte,

I want to express my deep dismay upon learning that the University removed the posters advertizing Israeli Apartheid Week at Carleton.  There was absolutely no justification for this action which has put an ugly stain on Carleton’s reputation.  Surely we want to be known as a centre of open intellectual exchange and not a bastion of political correctness.

I urge you to repair this terrible mistake by immediately accepting the 4 demands put to you by  SAIA Carleton.

Sincerely

Donald Swartz

SPPA


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Mohammed Amer <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 8:19 AM
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Cc: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , mohammed amer <...>
Hello  Roseanne Runte,

Regarding the SAIA posters removed from Carleton Campus.

As a Canadian citizen who cares about the freedom of speech, I demand
that you immediately restore the Charter rights of Carleton students.
This is a repression of academic freedom and rights to free
expression, especially on Israel/Palestine, on Canadian campuses,
including Carleton University. It is accompanied by double standards.
If you think this poster is misleading or not accurate please explain
the reason for killing 430 children in less than a month, this is more
than a dozen of kids a day being executed by Israeli armed forces
against KIDS.

Regards,

--
Mohammed Amer
Senior Electrical Engineer
Barrhaven

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Anonymous <sender withheld by request>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 3:20 AM
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Cc: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Hello Mrs. Runte,

I am a 3rd year student at the university of Ottawa and was passed on a
message regarding the removal of posters promoting open debate and
discussion of the Isreal/Palestinian situation.

I think it is ashame that even in the one place on the world where people
of all classes and thoughts are supposed to be able to get together and
talk, university that is, these rights are being not only discouraged but
also violated.
You are entitled to your opinion of global issues and politics, but they
should not prevent students and people from having discussions and and
learning about the important things going on in the world.

I may not be a student on your campus, but as a near by student and
eventual academic, I 'demand(e) that (you) immediately restore the Charter
rights of Carleton students'.

Thanks, and have a great day,

<sender withheld by request>

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Rachel Gurofsky <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:37 AM
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Dear President Runte:

I am writing to convey my deepest outrage that you have chosen to censor SAIA's Israeli Apartheid Week posters on Carleton's campus.  As SAIA rightly notes, the poster "depicts a situation - a child being killed by aerial bombardment – that occurred over 430 times in Israel's latest attack on Gaza according to United Nations reports. . . . Since it depicts a situation that has a factual basis and its intention is clearly to invite people to a lecture series, the notion that it is an incitement or a violation to norms of civil discourse is preposterous."  It is personally offensive to me, as a Jew, that you would assume that the message of the poster would discriminate against me, when in fact it is the act of CENSORING the poster that discriminates against my freedom of expression and beliefs (do you assume that all Jews blindly support Israel, which would be a genuine instance of anti-Semitism?).  You have violated the Charter rights of the students of Carleton in a misguided effort to avoid offending those students who believe Israel should be able to violate international law with impunity.

I stand with SAIA in calling for you to:

1. Immediately lift the ban on the Israeli Apartheid Week poster and publicly apologize for the banning.  
    
2. Explain, publicly and precisely, how the profound error of banning the poster was made and address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future.

3. Sponsor a full public debate-- ensuring generous access to the entire university community-- on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

4. Appoint a university/community Commission to investigate the record of the University in relation to democratic discourse and equity around issues of Palestine solidarity.
    
The Provost of the university stated that "Carleton and its students are exceedingly capable of thoughtfully engaging in vigorous and sometimes contentious debates."  I fully agree.  Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people is not a matter of religion, it is a matter of racism and political struggle, and it needs to be fully and openly debated as such.  Academic freedom and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms demand it.

Sincerely,
Rachel Gurofsky
Peterborough, Ontario

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Sarah Martin <....>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 8:13 AM
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Greetings President Runte,

It was with disappointment and dismay that I received the news that the university had not only removed the posters announcing Israeli Apartheid Week but had also implicitly and explicitly threatened the student organizers with expulsion.

At the very least the university, and you as president, should be protecting free speech and encouraging debate. The statements used to condemn the poster such as "incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario Human Rights code" and that they are "insensitive to the norms of civil discourse in a free and democratic society" are at best misguided.

Most upsetting to me is that the university's actions in taking down the posters. By sending out security guards to pull down posters under the guise of  a human rights code does nothing to forward civil discourse. Instead the university this has created an atmosphere of fear and repression.

This is an opportunity for you and the university to provide leadership in forwarding free debate and free expression. True leaders stand up for ideals such as free expression and justice. Please lift the ban on  the Israeli Apartheid Week poster, address how to prevent such violations from occurring in future, and sponsor a full public debate on Carleton's position on the proposed institutional boycott of Israeli academic institutions. As president of a university you are in a position to right this injustice and lead the community by example.

I look forward to your response.

Best,

Sarah Martin
MA Candidate
Political Economy

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Andrew Kraan <...>     
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 1:55 AM
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President Runte,

It deeply concerns me to hear of the recent decision made at your university to remove a series of posters concerning the upcoming Israeli Apartheid Week.  My understanding of this unfortunate situation does not coincide with the ideals which I believe Canadian universities ought to uphold and represent to both our society and world at large.  Given the fact that free and democratic societies allow for a variety of views and opinions, it does not seem right to selectively filter these perspectives.  Rather, it ought to be the case that the value of ideas are determined by the people based on their unimpeded understanding of them.

Granted, there are usually exceptions made in cases of extremism, but I do not see how these views can be construed as such when notable figures such as the Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu, both of whom have referred to the Israeli policy towards Palestinians as "apartheid".  Furthermore, I believe that the international celebration (for lack of a better word) of Israeli Apartheid Week is something which ought to be encouraged and promoted because it serves as a peaceful means through discourse for people around the world to contribute to the improvement of the lives of others.  Claiming that the facts which are being presented may be misinterpreted and used as an excuse by some extremists is a hypothetical situation which is not based on the manner in which Israeli Apartheid Week is conducted.  In fact I believe this policy of associating legitimate beliefs with illegitimate behaviour may even serve to encourage illegitimate behaviour by otherwise reasonable people, who are still responsible for their actions, but it begs the question: why would the university not seek to isolate extremism rather than confuse the issue about what true extremism is?

This apparent impingement on students' freedom of expression must be rectified so that all views may be equally represented according to the ideals of our free and democratic society.  I strongly encourage you to consider the 4 demands made by the Students Against Israeli Apartheid in regards to this situation and your school's policies regarding democratic discourse.

Sincerely,

Andrew Kraan

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Shannon Lee Mannion <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 10:56 PM
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Dear Ms. Runte,
                       I fear you may have made a mistake by insisting
that one group of students not be permitted their freedom of speech. You
may have misconstrued the posters advertising "Israeli Apartheid Week"
as prejudicial but they are no more so than what other groups often
post.

       The administration, and people in general, cannot pick which
free speech they want to exercise. It must be across the board.

       I adjure you to please ensure the free speech and human rights
of all.

Yours truly,

Shannon Lee Mannion



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Britt Lehmann-Bender <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 2:47 PM
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Hello,

My name is Britt and I am a student and a Jew at McMaster in Hamilton. I am really concerned about the banning of ISraeli Apartheid week and the threatening of students who were organizing that event with expulsion. Is this indeed true?

I understand that it is difficult to label the Israeli Occupation as an Apartheid because it reminds us of horrible atrocities in South Africa. But it really is not that different in the Occupied Territories. I was traveling there this past summer, and it is really very much what I imagine apartheid would have been like. There is separation, racism, different laws under which people are prosecuted, different rights, different standards of living, and different economic policies that discriminate against Palestinians.

What is the problem with calling it ISraeli Apartheid week? This is not just about this specifically, but I am also concerned that discussion about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is being pushed off of campus' all over Canada. This is a serious threat to free speech.

Please help me understand where you are coming from because this seems outrageous.

Britt

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Ria Heynen <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 10:29 PM
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Dear Ms. Runte,

It is with sadness that I heard the CBC news coverage regarding the planned Israeli Apartheid Week at Carleton University.                                                                                                

It was hard to believe that the University had removed the posters, and really was (and maybe still is) harassing students who are involved.                                                                    

It was even harder to believe that all this is done on the basis that somehow the students (SAIA)involved have violated the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Personally, I admire the young people who are making us think of he conditions in which the Palestinians are living.                                                                                                         

I too call it Israeli Apartheid, and the outside world should do all it can to help the Israeli Government and its people in showing  that another way is possible in which everyone can live in harmony.  Occupation, invasion, walls, checkpoint, house demolitions etc. etc. is certainly going against all International Human Rights Agreements.

Of course, the outside world should also speak out against any Palestinian violations.                                                                                                                                                                                    But I believe that is certainly something SAIA would agree with. There is no doubt however that at the moment it is Israel which is doing far out the most harm and that should be addressed. Bravo to the students who dare to take this on, especially to the Jewish students among them.

And what better place to see this happening than in a University setting.

You should be proud of those students.

I urge you to do all you can to undo the harm  which has been done against SAIA's action and to make this Israeli Apartheid Week a success.

Respectfully,


Maria Heynen


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Jan Heynen <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 10:15 AM
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       Dear president and provost,

This is to tell you about my endorsement of the students that are organising the Israeli Apartheid Week at Carleton. It appears to be a laudable effort to get another viewpoint out from the Jewish community. This obviously does not show an 'anti semitic' attitude. It just condemns certain actions of repression by the Israeli state.

Please let democratic rights of free speech stand at your institution of progressive thought!

Jan Heynen


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Mira Khazzam <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 10:31 AM
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February 18, 2009
 
President Roseann Runte
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6

Dear President Runte:

I endorse the March Israeli Apartheid Week events organized by Students Against Israeli Apartheid at Carleton.  I believe that the students have exercised appropriate and laudable initiative in organizing this event. It will bring world-renowned speakers to Carleton and raise opportunities for the kind of cutting-edge academic discourse that Carleton should encourage.

As a Canadian Jew, I believe that alternative voices are needed to counterbalance the heavy propaganda and censorship of Israel lobby groups such as B’nai Brith, the Council on Israeli and Jewish Advocacy, and the Canada Israel Committee.  I ask that you reject the pressure from these groups to characterize Israeli Apartheid Week events as ant-Semitic.

As a Jew with Israeli citizenship, I can affirm that criticizing Israeli policies is NOT anti-Semitic.  The Israeli government claims to speak for all Jews, and characterizes any criticism of Israel as “the new anti-Semitism.”  I believe that Canadian universities should not condone this ethical smokescreen. No one group or country speaks for Jews.   More and more Jews world-wide, as well as in Israel, oppose oppressive Israeli policies.  To responsibly raise critical concerns about the discriminatory, illegal, and brutal policies of another government is an ethical imperative which our universities should support.

The SAIA poster advertising Israeli Apartheid Week accurately portrays the experience of residents of Gaza (as well as many other Palestinians):  Besieged, starving civilians imprisoned behind walls and targeted by Israeli war planes. In the January assault on Gaza, a large proportion of the casualties were children like the one portrayed in the poster.  This poster does not demean or attack Jews, and it does not promote hatred of Jews. It is not anti-Semitic.  It appropriately criticizes actual Israeli behaviour condemned by the UN and almost all countries (sadly not including Canada).

I endorse the Carleton Israeli Apartheid Week programme.  I urge you to do so as well and to celebrate, rather than threatening and harassing, the hard-working, courageous students (several of them Jews) who have organized it.  You owe them an apology.

Sincerely,

 

Mira Khazzam
 
cc.     Feridun Hamdullahpur, Provost
Equity Services


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Jonathan Wouk <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 4:29 PM
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President Runte-

   The language of IJV is not mine.  The issue they raise with respect to Carleton & its apparent treatment of SAIA does, however seem valid.  Yes. I am a Jew.  Yes, synagogue member, communal employment @ one time.      The term Apartheid has been part of Israeli political discourse for years.  As have discussions of the nature of Israeli military operations.  Carleton's seeming over sensitivity surely does not reflect the belief that anything unacceptable to the Government of Israel is /ipso facto/ "Anti-Semitism".  The impression that is left is that Carleton--quite understandably for a for-profit business--(but a) University is making an effort to stay  in the good graces of key donors. <sigh>
For shame if it's so.   Yes, the other side presents things "without context".  Yes, each side operaters in a context within which it is unequivocally the good guys.

My view is very definitely a minority view [at the moment] within Diaspora Jewry.  Also within Israeli Jewry but it is represented in the Knesset.

-Jonathan Wouk



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Linda Belanger <....>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 7:52 PM
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Dear President Runte:

What you are doing to the students organizing Israeli Apartheid Week is a grave attack on freedom of speech.  It is not only wrong it is truly frightening.  Freedom of speech is essential to the functioning of our democracy and serves as an outlet for peoples' frustration.  John F. Kenney said  "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable".   Freedom of speech is a  fundamental right of all Canadians and our universities are supposed to be the focal point of debate.
I am probably the most mainstream type person that you could imagine.  I do not support radical causes or militant methods.   I know the student organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week and they are by no stretch radical or militant.  Carleton has nothing to fear and all to gain by letting these wonderful young people hold their events.

All they ask is nothing more than the rights that you would allow any other student group attempting to build awareness on issues of peace, human rights and democracy.

Linda Belanger
Ottawa

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Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights SPHR U of O < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 7:29 PM
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Mr. Hamdullahpur,
 
I am writing to you in regards to the latest incidents that have been taking place at Carleton University.  At your campus, students who are trying to speak their minds and who are showing your campus the other side of the story are being called reprimanded and silenced for speaking nothing but facts.

I am part of a club at the University of Ottawa, Solidarity for Palestinian Human rights, and I must say that for the past 3 years we have not encountered what is going on at your campus.  Actually, people here thanked us for speaking and for showing them the things they never see on TV.  On the other hand, you have Carleton Univeristy who is trying to silence the voices of truth by essentially threatening to dismiss students who don't fit your definitions of civil discourse.

Mr. Hamdullahpur, not every complaint about discrimination is valid.  During the war on Gaza, some students supported and even argued that Israel is not doing enough and should be more violent against the unarmed Palestinian civilians.  Now, I find that very disrespectful and should not be tolerated at any campus.  However, nothing was done about it.  On the other hand, you have a group who is showing nothing more than facts and argues only for the end of occupation and basic human rights and the result is them being silenced?  Let me just say that I am glad I am a University of Ottawa student at the moment, not a Carleton one.

Mr. Hamdullahpur, I trust that if you look closer at these "discriminatory" allegations, you will find they are nothing more than a coward call from few students to silence the other side--something which should not take place at a university, where you should be encouraging dialogue.
I trust Carleton will come out with a reason for what is it doing and not take actions because some students are telling it to.  I can also assure you that the Ottawa Palestinian Solidarity Network will not stand aside watching students being silenced for speaking the truth.
 
 
Regards,

SPHR U of O
www.sphrottawa.blogspot.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Judy Haiven <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM
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Cc: ...

Dear President Roseann Runte,
 
I am a Jewish- Canadian and an academic. I belong to Independent Jewish Voices which is a cross-Canada  Jewish organisation which is against Israel's illegal and brutal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza; we also  support Palestinian human rights.  
 
I was horrified to read that you and the Provost banned and confiscated Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) posters at Carleton University.  These posters announced Isareli Apartheid Week.  Whatever you personally might think of Israeli Apartheid, respected  international figures such as Reverend Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter have  named it outright and condemned it.
 
While I, as a Jew, once had qualms about using the term Israeli Apartheid --I no longer do.  This is because especially since Israel's last war on Gaza mere weeks ago, it has been clear to me and the broad international community that Israel's deadly attacks were targetted at defenceless civilians;  that Israel destroyed Gaza and its infrastructure; that Israel killed 1400 people, horribly maimed about 4,000 (a third of the killed and maimed were children) and deliberately made 9,000 Palestinians homeless.  Israel also used chemical bombs on Palestinians.  These are admitted matters of fact, not fiction.  
 
I am not the source for these reports however the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem (the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) have all agreed these murders and maimings and chemical bombings happened, and that Israel was solely responsible for them.  
 
So it seems Jewish students, or organisations such as the Canadian Jewish Congress complained about the cartoon on the posters.  I understood they did not like the fact that the fighter aircraft is about to drop a bomb on a Palestinian child holding a teddy bear. Well sorry. This just happened IN REALITY, one month ago.  Hundreds of children died and more were terribly maimed and burned.  While Israel can certainly dish it out, Israel cannot "take it."  Whenever there is the slightest criticism of Israel -- its representatives in Canada -- namely the mainstream Jewish Congress or B'nai B'rith  -- scream unfair and demand to close down opposition. Israel's supporters insist only they have the right to "frame" what is going on. And unfortunately you -- as the President and the Provost -- fell into the trap laid by Israel's supporters.  
 
It is very important for students, faculty and the Canadian public to know the truth about what is going on in Israel and Palestine.  These posters help increase awareness of what Israel is doing "on the ground."
 
I think you owe SAIA an apology and should return their leaflets.  Their campaign is vital to human rights in Palestine and Israel and the world over. Don't censor them.
 
--
Judy Haiven, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Management
Saint Mary's University
Halifax, NS
Canada B3H 3C3

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Eleanor  Grant  <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 4:19 AM
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Dear Ms Runte -

It concerns me to hear that students at Carleton have been threatened with expulsion or other punishment simply for putting up a poster about Israeli apartheid.

Please stop all such punishments and threats, and assure the public that you have done so.

Yours truly,

Eleanor Grant
Waterloo, Ontario
member, Independent Jewish Voices - Canada

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Greg Starr <...>     
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 1:35 AM
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Dear President Runte:
 
I am writing to endorse the Israeli Apartheid Week events organized by Students Against Israeli Apartheid at Carleton. I believe that the students have exercised appropriate and laudable initiative in organizing this event. It will bring world-renowned speakers to Carleton and raise opportunities for the kind of cutting-edge academic discourse that Carleton should encourage.
 
As a progressive Jewish Canadian, I strongly believe that alternative voices are needed to counterbalance the heavy propaganda and censorship of Israel lobby groups such as B’nai Brith, the Council on Israeli and Jewish Advocacy, and the Canada Israel Committee.  We ask that you reject the pressure from these groups to characterize Israeli Apartheid Week events as anti-Semitic.
 
As a Jew, I can affirm that criticizing Israeli policies is NOT anti-Semitic.  The Israeli government claims to speak for all Jews, and characterizes any criticism of Israel as “the new anti-Semitism.”  We believe that Canadian universities should not condone this ethical smokescreen. No one group or country speaks for Jews.   More and more Jews world-wide, as well as in Israel, oppose oppressive Israeli policies.  To responsibly raise critical concerns about the discriminatory, illegal, and brutal policies of another government is an ethical imperative which our universities should support.
 
The SAIA poster advertising Israeli Apartheid Week accurately portrays the experience of residents of Gaza (as well as many other Palestinians):  Besieged, starving civilians imprisoned behind walls and targeted by Israeli war planes. In the January assault on Gaza, a large proportion of the casualties were children like the one portrayed in the poster.  This poster does not demean or attack Jews, and it does not promote hatred of Jews. It is not anti-Semitic.  It appropriately criticizes actual Israeli behaviour condemned by the UN and almost all countries (sadly not including Canada).
 
I endorse the Carleton Israeli Apartheid Week programme.  I urge you to do so as well and to celebrate, rather than threatening and harassing, the hard-working, courageous students (several of them Jews) who have organized it.  You owe them an apology.
 
Sincerely,

Greg Starr
Jews for a Just Peace
Vancouver, BC

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Diana Ralph

INDEPENDENT JEWISH VOICES (Canada)

 
February 18, 2009

 
President Roseann Runte
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6

Dear President Runte:

Independent Jewish Voices represents Jews from across Canada who oppose the Israeli occupation of Palestine and who support justice and peace for all parties. As Jews from across Canada, we believe that alternative voices are needed to counterbalance the heavy propaganda and censorship of Israel lobby groups such as B’nai Brith, the Council on Israeli and Jewish Advocacy, and the Canada Israel Committee.  We ask that you reject the pressure from these groups to characterize Israeli Apartheid Week events as ant-Semitic.

We have endorsed the 2009 Israeli Apartheid Week events organized by Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) at Carleton.  We believe that the SAIA students have exercised appropriate and laudable initiative in organizing this event. It will bring world-renowned speakers to Carleton and raise opportunities for the kind of cutting-edge academic discourse that Carleton should encourage. Regardless of whether you personally  support the views of the speakers and the students, we urge you to defend the virtues of a healthy dialogue and academic freedom to disagree.

As Jews, we affirm that criticizing Israeli policies is NOT anti-Semitic.  The Israeli government claims to speak for all Jews, and characterizes any criticism of Israel as “the new anti-Semitism.”  We believe that Canadian universities should not condone this ethical smokescreen. No one group or country speaks for Jews.   More and more Jews world-wide, as well as in Israel, oppose oppressive Israeli policies.  To responsibly raise critical concerns about the discriminatory, illegal, and brutal policies of another government is an ethical imperative which our universities should support.

The SAIA poster advertising Israeli Apartheid Week accurately portrays the experience of residents of Gaza (as well as many other Palestinians):  Besieged, starving civilians imprisoned behind walls and targeted by Israeli war planes. In the January assault on Gaza, a large proportion of the casualties were children like the one portrayed in the poster.  This poster does not demean or attack Jews, and it does not promote hatred of Jews. It is not anti-Semitic.  It appropriately criticizes actual Israeli behaviour condemned by the UN and almost all countries (sadly not including Canada).

We urge to follow our example in endorsing the Carleton Israeli Apartheid Week programme and to celebrate, rather than threatening and harassing, the hard-working, courageous students (several of them Jews) who have organized it.  

Sincerely,

Diana Ralph
Coordinator
Independent Jewish Voices (Canada)

cc.   Feridun Hamdullahpur, Provost
Equity Services

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Matthew Hawkins <...>     
Sat, Feb 14, 2009 at 12:29 AM
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A letter I sent this week in response to the Provost's email to students.
In Solidarity,
Matt Hawkins

Dear Mr. Hamdullahpur,

Regarding your recent email, I am concerned about the use of the Ontario Human Rights Code and the University Human Rights Policy and Procedures and the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy to threaten debate on our campus without accurately presenting a true picture of the legal function of those documents, particularly the OHRC. I fear that the University is using these documents to present themselves as a neutral arbiter of facilitating debate, when in truth the University has taken an one-sided position, without debate or consultation with the students and faculty who make up Carleton, on a very serious issue.

I realize that a very difficult, emotional, and complex debate by students and faculty is happening on campus concerning issues of violence, security and oppression in the middle east - a debate in which many students have deeply held positions and emotional connection to. There have also been graphic presentations of the consequences of violence, security and oppression. These presentations must be seen in the light of the context of the violence, security and oppression in the middle east. However, the implications of the University's position should not be seen in an isolated context. Countries, societies, and people have experienced violence and oppression in many other cases as well, and representing the reality and perceptions of these historical and contemporary events has been and is an important component of a university's ability to discuss these issues.

For example, does our university stand to silence graphic presentations of the Rwandan genocide - both artistic and photographic - because they show humans, and their institutions, committing violence on other humans? Did our university prevent discussion of the South African Apartheid regime's racist, oppressive and violent policies because it affended the opinions and view point of the supporters of that regime?

To make the connection, which I have interpreted your email to be about, to the "Israeli Apartheid Week" poster that has been banned on campus I would ask you to sit down and reflect upon the significance of such a ban. If we ban a poster - that does not advocate violence - as 'hate speech' what else does the university consider to be hate speech? To be consistent our university would have opposed posters critical of South Africa's apartheid regime and would ban pictures against the genocide in Rwanda. If those images and representations are presentable, and this poster is not, than the university is taking a position on the debate concerning the conflict in the Palestinian and Israeli territories. And that position would have been forged by the administration without debate. Further, as your email suggests the legal and coercive mechanisms available to the University would be employed against students and faculty to defend the administration's position.

I do see the need for universities to be spaces of debate and discussion. I do see universities as places where issues like human rights are held to be of the utmost importance. But I would urge the office of the Provost and the rest of the administration of Carleton University to give more reflection on the position it is staking out for itself. There are very serious consequences to free speech, debate, and the ability to critically engage with human rights violations at our University because of the position our University's administration is taking.

Sincerely,

Matthew Hawkins