A response by McGill Professors to Principal Suzanne Fortier’s condemnation of BDS
As
McGill professors committed to justice and equity, we strongly disagree
with Principal Suzanne Fortier’s official response on behalf of the
university administration to the recent Students’ Society of McGill
University (SSMU) motion in support of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
(BDS) against Israel and the subsequent on-line process which failed to
ratify this vote. Her email response, sent to all McGill students and
faculty, came moments after the results of the on-line process were
announced, and echoed the disappointing and ill-informed motion passed
by the Canadian Parliament in condemning the growing BDS movement. For
Principal Fortier to denounce a movement defending the rights of
Palestinians against those who are oppressing them is in fact what
“flies in the face of tolerance and respect"—not the BDS movement
itself. The call for BDS, drawing upon lessons learned from earlier
international movements against apartheid South Africa, indeed urges
universities to end institutional ties with institutions funded and
sponsored by the Israeli state, and which are complicit in the
Occupation and violations of international law. The BDS movement is a
measured, non-violent and principled civil society response to life
under occupation and colonialism when a people’s basic rights are
violated and denied.
The
BDS call demands “tolerance and respect” for Palestinians--something
that they have been denied by the state of Israel. It is precisely
because Palestinians are not afforded the same rights as other peoples
that BDS is necessary. Palestinians do not have equal rights to
education, and are regularly denied their academic freedom. But they are
also denied freedom of movement, freedom of association, and even their
lives. "Freedom, equity, inclusiveness and the exchange of views and
ideas in responsible, open discourse”, which are the core principles of
McGill University as stated by Suzanne Fortier, are precisely what
Palestinians are asking for with this call.
If
these core principles do indeed guide the McGill community, it is our
responsibility to support a grassroots movement initiated by the vast
majority of Palestinian civil society. The demands of the BDS movement
are simple. Israel should comply with international law by: (1) ending
its occupation and colonization of Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
(2) recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens
of Israel to full equality; and (3) respecting, protecting and promoting
the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and
properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194. When Israel complies with
international law in these ways, there will be no more need for BDS.
Our
mission as educators is to advance learning, to create and disseminate
knowledge by offering our students the best possible education. We
believe that upholding the highest international standards in teaching,
research and scholarship, as well as service to local and international
communities, means standing up for what is right when called upon to do
so--locally, by supporting students who are working for justice for
Palestine, and internationally, by responding to the call made by
Palestinian civil society.
While
we respect the freedom of expression of all members of our community,
including the right of Principal Suzanne Fortier to publicly condemn the
BDS movement, we resolve to steadfastly continue to support BDS and the
work of our students at McGill who will carry on and continue to build
this struggle. In this case, the McGill administration, like the
Canadian government, is on the wrong side of history. The Canadian
Parliament’s motion on BDS does not act in our name. As McGill
professors, we also declare now and will continue to state that if this
is the McGill Administration’s response to the BDS movement, it also
does not act in our name.
Signed,
Malek Abisaab, Associate Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies
Rula Jurdi Abisaab, Associate Professor, Institute of Islamic Studies
Diana Allan, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology and the Institute for the Study of International Development
Alia Al-Saji, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy
Isabelle Arseneau, professeure agrégée, département de langue et littérature françaises
Jodie Beck, Course Lecturer, Department of East Asian Studies
Arnaud Bernadet, professeur agrégé, département de langue et littérature françaises
Lara Braitstein, Associate Professor, Faculty of Religious Studies
Brian Bergstrom, Visiting Professor, Department of East Asian Studies
Curtis Brown, Faculty Lecturer, Department of English
Mary Bunch, Faculty Lecturer, Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies
Michelle Cho, Korea Foundation Assistant Professor, Department of East Asian Studies
Aziz Choudry,
Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Social Movement
Learning and Knowledge Production, Department of Integrated Studies in
Education
Barry Eidlin, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Shanon Fitzpatrick, Assistant Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies
Allan Greer, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Colonial North America,
Department of History and Classical Studies
Jill Hanley, Associate Professor, McGill School of Social Work
Michelle Hartman, Associate Professor, Institute of Islamic Studies
Adrienne Hurley, Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Studies
Ahmed F. Ibrahim, Assistant Professor, Institute of Islamic Studies
Steven Jordan, Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education
Pasha M. Khan, Assistant Professor, Institute of Islamic Studies
Thomas Lamarre, James McGill Professor in East Asian Studies and Associate in Communications Studies
Catherine Leclerc, professeure agrégée, département de langue et littérature françaises
Andrée Lévesque, Professor Emerita, History Department
Abby Lippman, Professor Emerita - Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health
Margaret Lock, Marjorie Bronfman Professor Emerita, Department of Social Studies of Medicine
Laura Madokoro, Assistant Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies
Setrag Manoukian, Associate Professor, Institute of Islamic Studies and Department of Anthropology
Gregory M. Mikkelson, Associate professor, Department of Philosophy
Charmaine A. Nelson, Associate Professor of Art History, Department of Art History and Communication Studies
Naomi Nichols, Assistant Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education
Máire Noonan, Course Lecturer & Research Assistant, Department of Linguistics
Kristin Norget, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Anthony Paré, Professor Emeritus, Department of Integrated Studies in Education
Laila Parsons, Associate Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies
Jarrett Rudy, Associate Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies
Jessica Ruglis, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology
Mela Sarkar, Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education
Richard Shearmur, Professor, McGill School of Urban Planning
Jon Soske, Assistant Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies
Maria Theresia Starzmann, Assistant Professor, Anthropology Department
Gavin Walker, Assistant Professor, History & Classical Studies and East Asian Studies
Robert Wisnovsky, Professor and James McGill Chair, Institute of Islamic Studies
Brian J. Young, Professor Emeritus, Department of History
