I find nothing disrespectful, let alone bizarre, about Rachel's message. This is tone-policing, a familiar form of silencing.
As for the faculty group in question: In my opinion, the only coherent reason for endorsing it is if one believes that a nation-state entity called Palestine needs to come into existence in some or all of the geographic area that is currently the state of
Israel. And if one believes that, then one has to reckon both with the methods by which this outcome might be achieved, and with those who wield them.
Frankly, for this group to announce itself in a connection with the International Day of Holocaust Remembrance is really quite extraordinary, to put it respectfully. Sincerely, JDF
James Dougal Fleming
Professor, Department of English
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby/Vancouver,
British Columbia,
Canada.
The truth is an offence, but not a sin.
-- Bob Marley
From: Tamir Moustafa <tmoustafa@sfu.ca>
Sent: January 29, 2024 10:12 AM
To: Rachel Altman
Cc: academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Announcing Faculty for Palestine (F4P) at SFU
Dear Rachel,
In my view, your message serves to underline the importance of this initiative.
I agreed to endorse the ‘basis of unity’ statement in large part out of concern for the climate on campus. Your message has cast aspersions on your colleagues and students through a bizarre chain of supposed associations with the objective of tying students
and faculty to terrorism. In doing so, you are encouraging the sort of targeting and surveillance that the statement highlights.
I hope that we can all engage in more respectful discourse.
Best wishes to all,
Tamir
On Jan 28, 2024, at 4:34 PM, Rachel Altman <rachel_altman@sfu.ca> wrote:
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:
**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:
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
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