An Open Letter to the York community and
activists worldwide,
On March 13th 2008, after a successful anti-occupation
demonstration was organized by Campus R.I.O.T in Vari
Hall, the table for Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA)
was attacked by several Zionists in what is
becoming a troubling trend of increasing violence and
harassment against anti-apartheid activists.
For weeks, members of SAIA have been intimidated
by racially motivated students taking material off their
table and tearing it up in front them, and more seriously,
several members from SAIA, including women and persons
with disabilities, have been physically threatened and told
that they must take down their displays, "or else...".
This is not a phenomenon that is new at York University,
which has openly celebrated ties with Apartheid Israel,
nor is it surprising, seeing the historic intimidation of
Palestine solidarity and social justice activists. What is most
troubling about this increasingly problematic trend is the response
of York security to complaints made by SAIA members
including accusations of harassment by women from the group.
The officer on duty during the March 13th attack, who refused
to share his last name, responded to pleas by students afraid
for their safety from the violent gestures of students, some of
whom boast their service in the Israeli military, by saying that
he must wait for a supervisor and refused to move
to a position where he can have a clear view of the
harassment. When "John", the guard in question, was told
that a woman was being physically intimidated, he responded by
saying, "there are two sides to the story."
We, members of SAIA, take the inaction of York Security
to be part of a continuing trend of harassment,
profiling, and intimidation against student activists.
Throughout the entire demonstration, undercover
officers of York Security were filming students and
their peaceful outreach initiatives in Vari Hall. When
confronted about this blatant profiling, York Security assured
students that this tape was for "insurance" purposes only.
Students at York remember when their colleagues
were physically assaulted and called homophobic slurs
by York Security during a rally to mark the second inauguration
of George Bush, a war criminal. Their inaction in the face of
increased violence against women on campus sheds a concerning
light on how serious they are in protecting students.
We also would like to call on all fellow anti-racist,
anti-imperialist, anti-apartheid, and social justice activists
to come out to our outreach efforts in solidarity with students,
some of whom are refugees from Palestine and Iraq, as they
continue to speak out against Israeli Apartheid. A public
demonstration to commemorate the 60th anniversary of
the Nakba (Catastrophe), when Zionist militias engaged
in an ethnic cleansing campaign to clear the way for the
establishment of the state of Israel will be held on Thursday,
March 27th in Vari Hall at 1pm. Ending the current Israeli
siege on Gaza is a central demand of the demonstration,
among others. We are not intimidated by the actions of
racist students nor by the complicity of a historically violent security
force. The intimidation students face at York pale in comparison to the
dehumanization, murder and starvation that our sisters and brothers face
in Palestine and all parts of the world living under the boot of
occupiers.
Our struggle to end Israeli apartheid will continue!
Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) at York University
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