Re: Announcing Faculty for Palestine (F4P) at SFU

Dear Eugene:

I was delighted to see that this new group supports movements for Indigenous land rights, which surely includes Zionism (the movement for the self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland). Well done.

The fact that the group supports Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) though, is a concern. On our campus, SJP has been promoting Samidoun, which has been designated as a terrorist organization in Israel and banned in Germany. Recently, Khaled Barakat, alleged high-ranking member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP, a designated terrorist organization in Canada) and husband of Charlotte Kates (the international coordinator of Samidoun), was caught on video at a rally in Vancouver saying "we're not going to shy… Our resistance is very united. The PFLP is fighting today among Hamas and Islamic Jihad… One united front." Barakat and Kates were banned from entering the European Union in October 2022 because of their connections to the PFLP. I do hope that F4P will clarify its stance on terrorism soon.

Sincerely,

Rachel Altman

Associate Professor

Statistics & Actuarial Science

Simon Fraser University

Burnaby BC Canada

From: Eugene McCann <emccann@sfu.ca>
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2024 3:25:07 PM
To: Faculty Forum Mail List
Subject: Fwd: Announcing Faculty for Palestine (F4P) at SFU

Hi all,

I’ve been asked to pass this along. A new initiative by SFU colleagues, with an opportunity to endorse it via the link.

Best,

Eugene

PS As with other things I’ve been asked to send recently, there’s an email link to the organizers available (on the linked website), if you have further questions.

Begin forwarded message:

From: FforP-SFU <f4p.sfu@gmail.com>

**Please forward this message widely**

Dear Colleagues,

We hope this email finds you well. Recognizing both International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and today's landmark International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision requiring that Israel take all necessary measures to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, we are reaching out to invite you to join an urgent initiative to support the cause of Palestinian freedom.

We are writing to announce the formation of Faculty for Palestine (F4P) at SFU. Faculty for Palestine is part of an emergent network of faculty initiatives taking root in and across over 90 universities in North America. We invite you to read and endorse our Basis of Unity statement if you embrace its values and aims.

In the coming months, there will be gatherings, events, and opportunities to organize together. Please fill out our Interest Form to stay in touch or get involved.

Please also share the URL for our website:

https://sites.google.com/view/f4psfu

In solidarity,

Faculty for Palestine, SFU

_______________________________________________________
Eugene McCann (he/him/his)
Professor, Geography
Associate Faculty, Sociology & Anthropology
Simon Fraser University

Managing Editor, EPC: Politics & Space
https://journals.sagepub.com/home/epc

Minor Revisions podcast
https://journals.sagepub.com/page/epc/collections/podcasts

Personal website: https://emccanngeog.wordpress.com

Contact information:
Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University,
8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
Unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Email: emccann@sfu.ca; Phone: 778-782-3321