Canadians, students rally against Israel support

The Charalatan
Allie Elwell
16 January 2009

Gaza may be half a world away, but students at Carleton are bringing the conflict home through various on-campus efforts after more than 1,000 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed since the conflict erupted Dec. 27, 2008.

“There is injustice out there,” said Doug Nesbitt of the Student Coalition Against the War. “There is a humanitarian crisis taking place in the world and we have to intervene.”

Nesbitt braved the cold along with a thousand other demonstrators at a rally for Gaza on Parliament Hill, Jan. 10.

Canadians from 17 cities across the country came out to show support and denounce the Canadian government's support of Israel. Another set of rallies are planned for Jan. 18.

Canada was the only country to vote against a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council, “strongly condemning the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza,” which included a fact-finding mission to be dispatched to the region, according to a United Nations press release.

“We are really disgusted by the war,” said Jessica Carpinone from Students Against Israeli Apartheid. “The most frustrating aspect of everything has been our governments’ response.”

Canada has called for a ceasefire but is laying the blame solely on Hamas, misleading the public to believe both sides are equally armed, according to Carpinone.

“When you put a population in a strangle hold, that's just as much an act of violence as firing a rocket,” she said.

The Israeli Awareness Committee disagrees, saying Israel must defend its citizens against the rocket fire, according to executive vice-president and Carleton student Alina Sherman.

“It's absolutely self-defence,” she said. “In the long term Israel is removing a terrorist organization, which is important for the world.”

Since the conflict began, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, including an estimated 400 women and children, according to Reuters reports.

Humanitarian organizations, including the Red Cross and the United Nations, have criticized Israel of violating international law by targeting aid workers and preventing them from performing their duties to care for and evacuate the wounded.

“Hamas does use civilians as human shields,” said Sherman, defending reports of civilian targets being attacked by Israel. “Israel can only do so much to distinctualize these areas from areas the rockets are being fired from.”

Both organizations are tabling in the Unicentre and organizing separate speaker series to stir up support for their views of the crisis. But students who oppose Israel’s attacks on Gaza are taking their campaign further by advocating for a boycott on Israeli academic institutions.

“Palestinians have called on the international community to isolate Israel just as South Africa was isolated for their apartheid regime,” Carpinone said.

A boycott would mean an end of activities with Israeli universities, including banning professors who have not denounced the occupation, according to the campaign. No joint projects or exchanges would continue under the boycott either.

“We believe this is a completely unjust act,” Sherman said. “It’s racist and trying to remove certain mentalities.”

The call for a boycott is not new: it was first issued to the sympathizers worldwide by Palestinian organizations in 2005 but has resurfaced after Israel began attacking Gaza for missiles fired by Hamas.

Carleton President Roseann Runte issued a message to the university on Jan. 13 addressing the issue. She stressed that intellectual boycotts are “self-destructive,” but did not rule out whether the university would sanction a debate on the issue. 

“The university is definitely a place open to debate and discussion,” Runte said in an e-mail. “We would need to find good speakers for all sides.”