On Israel-Palestine, there is an enormous gulf between Canada’s rhetoric and its actual policies
The list of Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinians grows longer every day. So far, Israel has killed about 38,000 people in Gaza, though the actual number may be far higher. Israel attacks aid workers, hospitals and their staffs, and journalists. It has levelled Gaza’s health care and educational systems. It is starving 2.3 million civilians, half of whom are children. Right now, 500,000 Gazans face famine. Israel has made Gaza uninhabitable. In the West Bank, it has increased its attacks on Palestinians, killing more than 560 people since Oct. 7, 2023, and recently announced the largest illegal “land grab” in decades. Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons are subject to physical and psychological torture, sexual assault, and starvation.
In the West, opposition to Israel’s conduct has been met with an extraordinary campaign of intimidation and silencing. The fear of being blacklisted has kept most of the supposedly “liberal” entertainment industry quiet. Across western media, numerous reporters have been fired for being overly critical of Israel while the media have been accused of pro-Israel bias. In Canada, the CBC has been accused of stifling efforts to critically cover the Gaza War. American Senator Mitt Romney admitted that the United States Congress’ primary reason for trying to ban TikTok is because the platform evoked support for Palestinians among young people. “Antisemitism” has been misused to muzzle Israel’s opponents. Pro-Palestinian protestors have been assaulted by police and attacked by counter-protestors.
The Guardian has revealed the extraordinary co-ordination between Israel and pro-Israel groups to “police” the political discourse around Israel within the U.S. and Europe, especially on university campuses. Professors have lost job offers— something familiar to the University of Toronto—and part-time instructors have lost their careers for daring to protest Israel. Students have been punished and blacklisted with threats to their professional futures. Wealthy donors have threatened universities for failing to shut down pro-Palestinian protests.
Yet this effort to silence the Palestinian voice will, inevitably, fail. Donors may fume, university administrations may try to appease them, but Israel and Palestine/Gaza have become an unavoidable part of the curricula of thousands of classes. Every course on human rights, genocide, international law, racial discrimination, colonialism, etc., will need to examine Israel’s siege of Gaza and the Palestinians. There is no avoiding this. (more...)
Why Palestinian voices cannot be silenced again
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