* Open Letter to the President of McMaster
University,
Dr. Peter George
dated February 19, 2008
Dear sir,
I am writing to express in the strongest of terms my dismay at the
reported banning of the term 'Israeli Apartheid' on McMaster
University campus.
This will effectively block student efforts to organize events as part
of Israeli Apartheid Week.
The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid makes it crystal clear that
their 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
isolate South African apartheid and is led by many of the same
individuals who were at the forefront of that earlier struggle.'
A university ought not to be in the business of banning ideas,
phrases and expressions, particularly ones that fight for freedom
for the oppressed.
I am sure you are aware of the battleground that universities
sometimes become in the fight for right. It is the brightest
and best educated, empowered with youthful energy
- these are the ones typically brave enough to take up the
standard and lead.
In such times, those who hold positions of authority will be
judged: Did freedom reign under their watch, or, were men called
in wielding clubs, tear gas and guns? The answer is a window into
the democratic climate of society itself.
Israel is an Apartheid regime, of this there is not a shred of doubt.
This is a bitter fight for justice. There are organized gangs such
as Campus Watch ever ready to shred professional careers with
smears, when university instructors do not toe the proscribed
Israel-is-a-democracy line.
Don't let them get away with it. Do not gag those who fight for
justice for the Palestinians, a people who continue to suffer
under the brutal and illegal occupation by Israel's military force of
arms.
Sincerely,
Diane V. McLoughlin
(Update One: Received word from a university administrator
explaining that only the 'Israeli Apartheid Week' banner was
banned as 'inflammatory', but that other student activities planned
for Israeli Apartheid Week were allowed to proceed.
Update Two: Students respond they have no idea what the
administrator is talking about regarding any banner. They were
told no use of the term 'Israeli Apartheid' on anything, anywhere,
anytime, as they were trying to prepare educational materials and
sessions in honor of Israeli Apartheid Week.
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