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Hi All,
When it comes to speech acts made by members of the SFU community (pace David's claim) it is NOT "pretty reasonable that police and security [should] follow us to keep us all safe". Nor do I see anything in the campus actions described on this string which cause me to revise that assessment in this case.
Is there evidence of documented convictions for anti-semitic assaults at SFU, or even at other Canadian college campuses? None that I could find. But I welcome being corrected.
Hate speech is also a crime in Canada. But someone commenting on the Israel/Gaza war -- even declaring support for a group on the government's terrorist list -- would have a clear defence under Canadian Criminal law. The charge is a non-starter.
The more general point is this.
There is (and should be) plenty of offensive speech on campus. I'm very grateful to those who think highly enough of this forum and this community to take the time to engage with it, or to produce some of their own. I also think it is absolutely corrosive to the silo-busting culture, which should be part of our ethos, to suggest that disagreement should be reserved for experts in an area (or postponed until some are hired). Admittedly, personal attacks are generally not helpful. But the line between them and more substantive points is easy to blur.
Best,
Sam
Sam Black Assoc. Prof. Philosophy, SFU
This note is not AI-generated.
I respectfully acknowledge that SFU is on the unceded ancestral and traditional territories of the səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw
(Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations.
From: David Freeman <david_freeman@sfu.ca>
Sent: January 29, 2024 9:12:39 PM To: Rachel Altman; Ronda Arab; Tamir Moustafa Cc: academic-discussion@sfu.ca Subject: Re: Announcing Faculty for Palestine (F4P) at SFU Dear all,
I appreciate Ronda clarifying her own views and Tamir’s call for respectful discourse. But with all due respect, you should all be aware of the movements that F4P endorses and take full stock of the discourse at SFU.
BDS demonizes Israel and is generally opposed to a two-state solution and opposed to productive Israeli-Palestinian discourse. The SFSS BDS resolution has been used to prevent the Jewish Students Association from booking rooms to hold events on topics related to Israel and antisemitism (Hillel's BC rabbi is from a Jewish movement that is pro-peace/two-state, and that's their general vibe, but Hillel is far more focused on bringing Jewish students together than on political advocacy).
SJP chapters have openly celebrated the October 7 terrorist attacks, and yes, I also got the flyer that referenced Samidoun (a known PFLP front).
Some faculty who have signed on to the initiative also celebrated the October 7 attacks, or commented approvingly on vandalism here in Canada against Jewish-owned businesses with no direct ties to the State of Israel.
So I think it’s pretty reasonable that police and security follow up to keep us all safe. And I’m glad that Rachel raised this concern. CSIS and the RCMP are welcome to come to my classes and follow up with me afterwards.
I’m not really sure how the “discourse” Tamir is referring to can get much worse. I don’t really see any productive dialogue at SFU on this topic, only Israel-bashing. There aren’t any Jewish faculty who research Israel who would even bring that perspective anyways (nor any tenure-track faculty specializing in the Holocaust or Jewish history). I haven’t seen any of the faculty taking an active interest in Israel/Palestine issues right now trying to bring in mainstream Jewish perspectives to promote dialogue.
Forming a pro-BDS group is just a step to entrenching SFU as a place that teaches students to blame Israel for the world’s problems and thereby foster antisemitism. Openly supporting SJP and opposing security makes Jewish faculty and students feel unsafe and justifiably so given the sheer quantity and severity of harassment and attacks directed against Jewish people and institutions in recent weeks here in Canada. It sounds like that isn’t what Ronda and Tamir want out of it; other members have clarified their views in other directions.
David
PS While we’re at it, notice how Eugene tends to send out his controversial messages around the start of Shabbat, when observant Jews wouldn’t be checking their e-mail? From: Rachel Altman <rachel_altman@sfu.ca>
Sent: January 29, 2024 5:08:10 PM To: James Fleming; Ronda Arab; Tamir Moustafa Cc: academic-discussion@sfu.ca Subject: Re: Announcing Faculty for Palestine (F4P) at SFU Dear Tamir:
Aspersions? No. I simply raised a question about F4P's support for SJP given that they are advocates for Samidoun. If you're asking for proof of the latter, in the fall, SJP widely distributed a pamphlet that promotes Samidoun, even slipping a copy under many SFU faculty members' doors. Samidoun has (rightly) been under watch for years because of their close connections with the PFLP, a designated terrorist organization. Read in their own words how they support Hamas (another designated terrorist organization) and how they view the massacre, rape, torture, and kidnapping of Israelis and others on October 7 as "heroic". If you think that they -- and the groups that support them -- don't warrant surveillance, we'll have to agree to disagree.
Rachel
From: James Fleming
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 12:08:43 PM To: Ronda Arab; Tamir Moustafa; Rachel Altman Cc: academic-discussion@sfu.ca Subject: Re: Announcing Faculty for Palestine (F4P) at SFU Could have sworn, Ronda, that I expressed a thought of my own. If it strikes you as food for yours, I guess that's dialogue. JDF
From: Ronda Arab
Sent: January 29, 2024 11:52:18 AM To: James Fleming; Tamir Moustafa; Rachel Altman Cc: academic-discussion@sfu.ca Subject: Re: Announcing Faculty for Palestine (F4P) at SFU James,
No body is talking about the tone of Rachel's message; Tamir referenced the content.
Please don't tell me what I think. I firmly believe that Israel has a right to exist. I believe there needs to be either a two-state or one state solution for all Palestinians and Israelis. I'm really weary of people insisting that those of us who advocate for Palestinian rights and freedom are simultaneously calling for Israel's destruction. Non-sequitur.
Ronda Arab
Dr. Ronda Arab Associate Professor of English Simon Fraser University
pronouns: she/her From: James Fleming <james_fleming@sfu.ca>
Sent: 29 January 2024 11:36:51 To: Tamir Moustafa; Rachel Altman Cc: academic-discussion@sfu.ca Subject: Re: Announcing Faculty for Palestine (F4P) at SFU 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
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
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