U of M asked to reconsider allowing Israeli Apartheid Week events

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This article was published 04/03/2010 (5672 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG – B’nai Brith Canada is asking University of Manitoba president David Barnard to reconsider its plan to allow Israeli Apartheid Week events on campus next week.

“We sent a letter to the university’s president Feb. 10 asking for a ban but it is not happening,” David Matas, senior council for the Jewish community advocacy group and a prominent human rights lawyer, said at a press conference today.

Flanked by members of the Jewish community and prominent politians – NDP Christine Melnick and the the Tories’ Hugh McFadyen – Matas said the events have spread misinformation and hatred at campuses in other cities and should be banned from the university.

In an email response Feb .19, Barnard said he appreciated the concern, but the univesrsity is committed to a respectful work and learning environment that includes academic freedom of thought and expression.

“We will monitor the issue closely, and please be assured that maintaining a safe and respectful enviornment for our students, faculty and staff remains a priority for the University of Manitoba,” the Barnard response said.

Israeli Apartheid Week has been staged on campuses in Canada, the United States and several other countries in recent years, promoting boycotts of and sanctions against Israel, while accusing it of being an apartheid state.

Organizers say the goal of Israeli Apartheid Week is to examine the nature of Israel as an apartheid state and promote the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. They say events do not target Israeli citizens or Jewish people but are about the Israeli state and its alleged apartheid practices.

There will be four events in University Centre at U of M next week, one elsewhere on campus and one at a city library, with a variety of speakers and panel discussions.