Form Response to all writers from McMaster University.
President George forwarded your email to me for response.
The information from which you're working is not accurate.
The University has not initiated a policy as you describe as
it would be counter to the fundamental tenants [sic] of freedom of
speech and academic freedom. I believe this misinterpretation
of events stems from a university decision to disallow a banner
for Israeli Apartheid that a student group wished to display.
It was determined that the placement of the banner would be
inflammatory. Other activities organized by the student group
were permitted. I hope this clarifies McMaster's position.
Ilene Busch-Vishniac
--
Ilene Busch-Vishniac
Provost and Vice-President Academic
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West
Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1
Tel: (905)525-9140 ext. 24301
Fax: (905)546-5213
|
Rebuttal by Henry Lowi to form response to all writers from McMaster University
From: Henry Lowi
To: provost@mcmaster.ca
CC: Peter George < presdnt@mcmaster.ca >
Subject: Free speech at McMaster University
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:35:41 -0500
Ilene Busch-Vishniac
Provost and Vice-President Academic
McMaster University
Dear Ms Busch-Vishniac:
Thank you for your response.
It appears that the information I received is accurate.
You say that you have "disallowed" a banner, based on your
opinion ("determination") that the banner would be inflammatory.
You should know that a banner is a form of speech, protected
by the tenets (not "tenants") of freedom of speech.
Disallowing a political banner is an infringement of McMaster
University students' right to freedom of political expression.
As to "inflammatory" - Inflammatory political speech is
protected. Otherwise, what is the protection worth? You
may recall the Danish cartoons that insultingly portrayed
the Prophet Mohammed. Some called for preventing the
publication of those cartoons because they are "inflammatory".
The cartoons clearly were inflammatory - and deserving of
political denunciation - but such is the nature of free speech.
Furthermore, in your case, there is no evidence that an
"Israeli apartheid" banner is inflammatory. "Apartheid" is
a political term, used in UN resolutions and the subject
of international conventions. "Israeli apartheid" is a
political designation, the use of which needs to be the
subject of reasoned debate. By administratively disallowing
the use of this political term, you are attempting to stifle
debate and exercise thought control. You place yourselves
in the camp of those who seek to shield indefensible
Israeli misconduct from enlightened and informed criticism.
Students throughout the world have fought for the
right to organize politically on campuses. The Vietnam
war generation had the Berkeley Free Speech Movement,
provoked by a neanderthal-minded university administration
that supported the war. You should reconsider your position
now before your unlawful actions become the impetus for
a student-inspired free speech movement that exposes
the academic defenders of oppressive Israeli policies.
You should realize that there is nothing
more inflammatory than what you are doing.
Regards,
Henry Lowi
700A - 40 Eglinton Avenue East
Toronto, Ontario M4P 3A2
****************************************************************************
From: Ismail Zayid
To: presdnt@mcmaster.ca
Cc: provost@mcmaster.ca
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 10:40 PM
We find it unbelievable that an enlightened Canadian an university would deny its students the right to hold a public meeting dealing with a political issue that has a tremendous impact on the human rights of victims subjected to an oppressive illegal occupation, as well as an impact on world peace.
The pretext for this denial, we are told, is that the use of the term "Apartheid Israel" is an inflammatory one. The facts on the ground demonstrate clearly that the policies of the state of Israel towards the Palestinians, under its illegal occupation, are racist and identical, if not worse, than those practised by the Apartheid regime in South Africa. The apartheid nature of these practices are confirmed by many persons of honour and courage who knew first hand that these practices fully qualify for the apartheid term. These distinguished persons include, amongst many others, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Carter and many Israeli authors and intellectuals.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, after visting the west Bank in December 1989, stated: "I've been very distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us blacks in South Africa. I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about..." Shulamit Aloni , a former Israeli cabinet minister and a distinguished author wrote an article in Haaretz and Outlook titled: "Yes, there is apartheid in Israel.", and illustrated the manifestations of the Israeli policies that qualify for this term.
The Israeli Professor Tanya Reinhart, came to see parallels with apartheid South Africa, writing in 2003: "What Israel is doing under Ariel Sharon far exceeds the crimes of the South Africa's white regime. It has been taking the form of systematic ethnic cleansing, which South Africa never attempted." It was the analogy between Israel and South Africa's apartheid that she used in justifying the academic boycott movement of recent years.
The racist laws and policies of Israel are also used against the Muslim and Christian citizens of Israel. The late Professor Israel Shahak , a Holocaust survivor and the then Chairman of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights stated: "It is my considered opinion that the State of Israel is a racist state in the full meaning of this term. In this state people are discriminated against, in the most permanent and legal way and in the most important areas of life, only because of their origin. This racist discrimination began in Zionism and is carried out today mainly in cooperation with the institutions of the Zionist movement." {" The Racist Nature of Zionism and the Zionist State of Israel" Artcle by Israel Shahak, published in Pi-Ha'aton, the weekly newspaper of the studebts of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, November, 5,1975.}
In essence, we find you decision surprisnig, in view of the facts on the ground, and it is our hope that freedom of expression will not be denied at our universities, and trust that you will re-consider this decision.
Your sincerely,
Ismail Zayid, MD.
President, Canada Palestine Association.
----- Original Message -----
Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:29:53 -0500
From: Yakov Rabkin
To: presdnt@mcmaster.ca
Subject: You meant well
Dear President George,
You must be receiving considerable mail about your decision to prohibit the term Israeli Apartheid on the campus. I am sure you meant well, and as a committed and religious Jew, fully appreciate your intention to avoid violence against a religious minority. However, you must have confused Jews with the State of Israel. The latter is a powerful regional power that would be perfectly capable to deal with any threat emerging from your university.
By associating Jews with a foreign state, whose actions are literally inflammatory and raise moral objections from all quarters, you confuse political and religious affiliations, and may, inadvertently, end up endangering Jews. You must be well aware that there are Jews who are Zionists, others who are anti-Zionists, and many who are simply indifferent. The vast majority of those who unconditionally support the State of Israel are evangelical Christians who vastly outnumber all the Jews in the world.
It is therefore important to decouple the issue of Zionism and Israel from that of Jews and Judaism. Having written a book of this subject, I am well positioned to help you. If you want to prevent inflammatory acts against Jews, I would be pleased to give a public lecture on your campus. Please do not hesitate to let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Yakov M Rabkin
Professor of History
University of Montreal
POB 6128, Centre-ville Station
Montreal, Qc, Canada H3C 3J7
(514) 343 7218
PS. The reference to my book is: http://www.amazon. ca/Threat- Within-History- Opposition- Zionism/dp/ 1842776991/ ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203628928&sr=1-1
----- Original Message -----
To: preswww@mcmaster.ca
Cc: provost@mcmaster.ca ; msupres@msu.mcmaster.ca ; hres@mcmaster.ca ;
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 8:02 PM
Subject: (corrected) E-Mail to President of McMaster University
Dr. Peter George
President & Vice Chancellor
McMaster University
Dear Dr. George,
According to your webpage, in 2003 you were "honoured" by the Jewish National Fund ("JNF") at a JNF Negev Fundraising Dinner.
http://www.mcmaster.ca/pres/negevdinner.htm
The JNF's bylaws and operations were deemed to represent racial discrimination by the United Nations Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (1998) and the Attorney General of Israel (2005):
http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/0bc7883100a95730852569af00575179!OpenDocument
UN document excerpt:
"11. The Committee notes with grave concern that the Status Law of 1952 authorizes the World Zionist Organization/Jewish Agency and its subsidiaries including the Jewish National Fund to control most of the land in Israel , since these institutions are chartered to benefit Jews exclusively. Despite the fact that the institutions are chartered under private law, the State of Israel nevertheless has a decisive influence on their policies and thus remains responsible for their activities. A State Party cannot divest itself of its obligations under the Covenant by privatizing governmental functions. The Committee takes the view that large-scale and systematic confiscation of Palestinian land and property by the State and the transfer of that property to these agencies, constitute an institutionalized form of discrimination because these agencies by definition would deny the use of these properties by non-Jews. Thus, these practices constitute a breach of Israel 's obligations under the Covenant." (emphasis added)
http://www.forward.com/articles/in-watershed-israel-deems-land-use-rules-of-zioni/
http://www.forward.com/articles/zionist-groups-facing-legal-problems/
In 1991, a CBC documentary reported that the JNF provided a "Canadian cover-up to a war crime":
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2500957394773313398
It is a sad day indeed for public education in Ontario when the President of a publicly funded university associates himself with an organization that practices institutionalized racial discrimination.
Ron Saba
Montreal, Quebec
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edward C. Corrigan"
To: provost@mcmaster.ca ; preswww@mcmaster.ca ; msupres@msu.mcmaster.ca ; hres@mcmaster.ca
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 1:26 PM
Subject: Baning the terms "Israeli Apartheid: "Brothers in arms - Israel's secret pact with Pretoria," By Chris McGreal, The Guardian,
February 7, 2006
Dear Sirs and Madames
Here is an article from the well respected Guardian in Great Britain
which documents the history of Israel's ties with the Apartheid regime
in South Africa. Please rescind your "inflammatory" infringement of free
speech and academic inquiry at McMaster University and allow the widely
recognized and widely used term "Israeli apartheid" which accurately
describes Israel's discriminatory practices toward the Palestinians.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/feb/06/southafrica.israel
Edward C. Corrigan
Barrister & Solicitor
Associate Editor ImmQuest
Associate Editor Immigration Law Reports
Certified as a Specialist by the Law Society of Upper Canada
Citizenship and Immigration Law and Immigration/Refugee Protection Law
383 Richmond St. Suite 902
London, Ontario, Canada
N6A 3C4
email: corriganlaw@edcorrigan.ca
web site: www.edcorrigan.ca
----- Original Message -----
Dear President George,
I must say I am deeply disappointed in McMaster's actions regarding "Israeli Apartheid Week". Where, if not at a University must students be permitted to explore the urgent issues of our day - freely and honestly?
Disallowing the "placement" of an "inflammatory" banner using the words "Israeli apartheid" is disingenuous. Diplomacy aside, what is really happening here is that supporters of Israeli Apartheid at McMaster are trying to prevent members of the University community from learning the truth about the on-going everyday oppression and brutalization of the Palestinian people. I could point out legal opinions and charter issues relating to this debacle and confirmations from Nelson Mandella and Desmond Tutu regarding Israeli Apartheid but others have already done that. We are very aware of your involvement with the racist illegal organization the Jewish National Fund http://www.mcmaster.ca/pres/negevdinner.htm , http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2500957394773313398 and so your actions are not unexpected. I'm not going to try to convince you of the validity of McMaster students' concerns. You've already "chosen sides". What I am going to do is to remind you of the
students' charter rights for freedom of assembly and freedom of expression and of the fundamental need for academic freedom in Canada. As President of McMaster University it is your responsibility to uphold these rights.
Mrs. Busch-Vishniac, please don't send me a form letter. I have taken the time to raise specific concerns, please respond to my specific concerns. It is sadly hypocritical that on your McMaster webpage you state, "as the Provost and Vice-President [Academic] I was attracted to McMaster for three reasons [...one being] although I have spent my entire life until now as a resident of the U.S.A., I am discouraged by the recent restrictions of academic freedom in the U.S.. By contrast, Canadian universities including McMaster, remain true to the concepts of intellectual integrity and academic freedom." < http://www.mcmaster.ca/vpacademic/bioprovost.html >. I ask you in your capacity as McMaster Provost to explore your own unspoken personal biases and to set them aside to reclaim these principles of intellectual integrity and academic freedom.
I would like to know, if the students invited President Jimmy Carter to speak at McMaster would you ban him too? Have you removed his book, "Peace Not Apartheid" from the McMaster bookstore and library?
The oppression of McMaster students in this case has seriously affected my and others' long held respect for McMaster University.
In order to rectify this injustice I strongly recommend that McMaster host a forum to debate academic freedom at McMaster.
I look forward to your reply.
Susan Howard-Azzeh
Chair, Niagara Palestinian Association
Moderator, Niagara Coalitioin for Peace
Suite 112, 111 Fourth Ave., Ridley Square,
St. Catharines, Ontario
L2S 3P5
1919 majority decision written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr: "there must be "clear and present danger" such as "falsely shouting fire in a crowded theatre and causing a panic" in order to limit freedom of speech."
1969 case (Brandenburg v. Ohio) the phrase "imminent lawless action" became the touchstone regarding limitations to free speech in the USA.
----- Original Message -----
From: Henry Lowi
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 1:03 AM
To: preswww@mcmaster.ca
Subject: Free speech at McMaster University
Dr. Peter George, President
McMaster University
Dear Dr. George:
I am a graduate of Tel Aviv University Faculty of
Law and University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law.
I have read reports that McMaster University has banned
student-organized activities that use the phrase "Israeli
apartheid". While this phrase might not be accurately used,
and while its use might be disturbing, this must be the
subject of vigorous and unfettered discussion and debate.
It is unacceptable for a university to enforce a ban
on student activities that amounts to the curtailing of
constitutionally-protected political speech. I cannot
imagine what your administration hopes to achieve
by such a misguided and flagrantly offensive action.
Before this matter gets out of hand, I urge you to reverse
this decision, to encourage political organizing of students,
and to facilitate free speech, inquiry, and debate.
It would be a shame if McMaster University became
renowned world-wide as a repressive Canadian institution
in the service of a repressive Israeli state.
Regards,
Henry Lowi
700A - 40 Eglinton Avenue East
Toronto, Ontario M4P 3A2
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