Canadian Academic Friends of Israel: Statement in Response to Proposed CUPE Boycott of Israeli Universities and Academics
The Canadian Academic Friends of Israel strongly condemns CUPE Ontario’s proposed boycott of Israeli universities and academics. In addition to being antithetical to the tenets of free expression and free association that are fundamental to academia, Mr. Ryan’s proposed resolution is blatantly discriminatory. No other country’s academics are the targets of such union action, regardless of what kind of government their country of origin may have or whether that country may be at war. Jewish and Israeli students and professors should not be subject to discriminatory rhetoric and tactics from the leadership of a large Ontario labour union. Our campuses offer varieties of courses studying the Middle East, the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and international politics, giving ample forums for reasoned civil and scholarly debate. However, the vilification of an entire nation by boycotting scholars of that nationality is anathema to campus life. We hope that the members of CUPE will tell Mr. Ryan that he should spend his member’s hard-earned dues representing members’ interests, rather than on checking the passports, birthplaces, or institutional affiliations of our scholars.
Signed,
Ed Morgan, University of Toronto, and; National Chair, Canadian Academic Friends of Israel
Irving Abella, York University
Emanuel Adler, University of Toronto
Jack Mintz, University of Calgary
Marshall Walker, York University
Derek Penslar, University of Toronto
Peter Suedfeld, University of British Columbia
Oded Haklai, Queen’s Univesity
Alan Kaplan, Ryerson University
Sally Thorne, University of British Columbia
Sara Horowitz, York University
Fred Zemans, York University
Seymour Mayne, University of Ottawa
Bernie Wolf, York University
Clive Seligman, University of Western Ontario
Joanne Emerman, University of British Columbia
Rena Mendelson, Ryerson University
Alain Goldschlager, University of Western Ontario
Philip Carl Salzman, McGill University
Rachel Altman, Simon Fraser University
Michael Steinitz, St. Francis Xavier University
Aviva Freedman, Carleton University
Maureen Molot, Carleton University
Asaf Zohar, Trent University
Carl Ehrlich, York University
Francis Weil, University of Moncton
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Please consider also signing the SPME – Petition to Protest Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Proposed Boycott of Israeli Academics – to read and sign the petition click here
