SPHR condemns terrorist attack at Ryerson Univer sity in Toronto Canada

SPHR condemns terrorist attack at
Ryerson University in Toronto.

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights with
its' 14 branches and affiliates across Canada, stand
shoulder to shoulder with our Black
brothers and sisters at Ryerson University who
have suffered from a terrorist attack on the offices
of the East African Students Group (EAST).

The arson attack targeted the bulletin board of
EAST witch carried posters and information against
Racisim, Islamophobia, and Military Occupation. This attack
follows the re-activation in Canada of the
Jewish Defense League (JDL),
the only Jewish group labeled by the FBI
as a "right-wing terrorist group."

On February 4th at Ryesron University during events
held by Black and Palestinian students,
around 50 JDL members harassed students attending
the lecture without police interference. This sent a message
to the JDL and other Jewish supremacist individuals that it
is acceptable to target visible minorities in our cities.
Furthermore, this decision by the Toronto
police to stand-by idly only emboldened those who
committed this terrorist action a week later.

The police are not alone in creating a climate of acceptance
around the JDL as several Jewish news agencies, including
the Canadian Jewish News, have touted the founder of the
Canadian JDL, Meir Weinstein, as a strong leader to be
respected and covered the racist harassment at
Ryerson U on the 4th as community empowerment.

On the US side of the border, the JDL was responsible
for many murders and arson attacks in the 1980s, leading
the FBI to label them "the second most active terrorist group
in the United States." In Canada after the tragic events of
September 11, 2001, the JDL Chairman,
Montreal born Irv Rubin, initiated a campaign of bomb
scares and death threats against students at Concordia
University who were critical of US and Israeli state policies.
At the time, Montreal Police also were
unconcerned by the JDL threat. Community
members were assured by Montreal police officers that
Ruben was only able to recruit 5 students at Concordia.
Of course it takes only one person to wreck
havoc upon innocents. A few months later Irv Rubin was
arrested by police in Florida preparing to bomb a host of
targets, including the largest Mosque in the USA and
Concordia University in Montreal.

We urge the Toronto Police force to take our
concerns seriously and investigate any links that could be
made between the attack on the East African Students group
and the reconstitution of the JDL in
Canada. Inaction on the part of the police will send the wrong
message to those who perpetrated this heinous act.

We also call on Jewish organizations to speak
loudly against Jewish supremacy, violence and terrorism
within their community. Setting a good example in tolerance
is the only way any community can isolate fanatics.

We finally call on all people to join
Ryerson students in solidarity
on Tuesday, February 26 at NOON
outside the Cafeteria at the
University to show our opposition to such acts.

To Contact SPHR-National:
Laith Marouf
Chapter Coordinator
(514) 999-1948
sphr.national@gmail.com
www.sphr.org

To contact affected students at Ryerson University:
Mohammed Malik, East African Students of Toronto
@ Ryerson, m8malik@ryerson.ca
Heather Kere,
Vice-President Education of the Ryerson Students' Union
vp.education@rsuonline.ca or (416) 979-5255 ext. 2318

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The Ryerson University Students Union Executive take on Israel

Written by John Shmuel

(The Eyeopener) A Ryerson Students’ Union executive in Toronto Canada wants the Canadian Federation of Students to boycott Israel, accusing the country of being an apartheid state.

Heather Kere, RSU VP of Education, will present a motion to boycott the country at the CFS National General Meeting on Nov. 21.

“The apartheid in Israel is something that I think we should be aware of, and we should be boycotting it the same way as we did with South Africa,” she said. Kere added that a number of students had brought the issue to her attention.

Last month, Kere submitted a motion recommending a boycott at an RSU board meeting. She said the seven RSU delegates to the CFS assembly all support the wording of the document.

The motion Kere proposed would investigate creating a task force for the CFS that would examine the feasibility of a full blown boycott campaign against Israel.

“It would really be up to the task force to see how the boycott would be carried out. But it would involve education and uncovering ties to Israel,” she said.

Kere added the boycott would also include companies that provide financial support to Israel, much the same way as Chapters Indigo has been boycotted by Palestinian human rights groups.

Tilly Shames, associate director of Hillel of Greater Ontario, rejected the idea of a boycott saying it was counter-productive.

“We want to encourage an environment where genuine dialogue to peace in the Middle East can take place. That dialogue will be silenced by a boycott,” she said.

The idea of academic institutions boycotting Israel attracted widespread attention earlier this year when several universities in the United Kingdom proposed the idea.

Motions passed by the University and College Union (UCU) in the U.K. condemned what it called the “denial of education rights to Palestinians.”

Ryerson President Sheldon Levy issued a statement on July 9 supporting Israeli academics. The RSU demanded Levy retract his statements in September, but he refused.

Levy said he is aware of the motion being brought to the CFS.

“I think it’s absolutely the wrong thing to do,” he said. “My position was clear, and it remains such.”

He added he supports debate over whether the boycott against Israel should take place.

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