Has history not taught us anything? Aren’t we the ones who hold our predecessors accountable for the human rights atrocities that occurred due to their complicity in events such as European anti-Semitism, the centuries of slave trading, and most recently, the Rwandan and Darfur massacres? How contrite do we feel that past generations stood idly by and permitted Apartheid in South Africa?
Better yet, why do we still slip into a vacuum of radical nationalism that blinds objective thinking? It’s as though we have yet to learn that this road will only lead to self-destruction – but somehow we keep submitting to this primitive train of thought.
I sometimes wonder if the brightest minds – those who eventually go on to become influential societal figures – represent the majority of the university student body. I still subscribe to the idea that academics are the ones who most uphold the ethical and moral values that the world is sometimes devoid of. However, what occurred during last Wednesday’s Students’ Society Winter General Assembly suggests otherwise.
I would like to address, of course, the outcome of the motion “Defence of Human Rights, Social Justice and Environmental Protection.” (Full disclosure: I am the vice-president information and research for the McGill chapter of Soliarity for Palestinian Human Rights, the organization that authored this motion.) For those who are not aware, this motion called for the creation of a Corporate Social Responsibility committee in order to investigate McGill’s links to unethical corporate practices. As an example, the preamble cited the illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories as a region where profit from human rights abuses would be deemed unethical.
Due to the fact that the motion merely mentions the human rights of Palestinians, it triggered an outcry amongst some of McGill’s Jewish community and prompted Hillel McGill to embark on a campaign fueled by radical ethnic nationalism. Under the guise of protecting Israel, masking the illegality of the occupation, they managed to rally enough students to vote to strike the paragraphs that made reference to the occupied Palestinian territories from the motion.
It is not unusual that criticism of Israel will hit a nerve amongst some proponents of Israel, but that does not make it morally acceptable. As an Arab-Canadian, I feel compelled to explore the wrongdoings of Middle Eastern countries, not defend them blindly. I am fervently opposed to the plethora of human rights violations across the Middle East – from women’s rights in Saudi Arabia to the inhumane treatment of migrant workers in the oil-rich Gulf. I am even more critical of the Canadian mining industry’s involvement in human rights abuses in places such as the Porgera gold mines in Papua New Guinea. Violations such as these, and those occurring in the occupied Palestinian territories, should invite constructive criticism, not defensive complicity and dismissiveness.
Nonetheless, I am satisfied with the eventual creation of the CSR committee. But the manner in which the motion was passed, the nationalist radicalism displayed on a university campus, and the eventual silencing of any mention of Palestine is disappointing. Actually, it’s deplorable.
It’s clear there is radical antipathy to the word “Palestine.” However, instead of remaining silent on this horrid issue that inexplicably causes discomfort and sensitivity, perhaps a medication of some logic and reason is needed. We are university students after all. We only diminish our role as young citizens by inciting ethnic divide whenever this issue arises, further contributing to the dehumanization of Palestinians.
In closing, I would like to congratulate Hillel on a successful campaign against “demonizing Israel.” Well done. Hopefully we will not fall into the same category as our parochial predecessors. Also, rejoice – the mention of the occupied Palestinian territories will no longer offend your eyes and ears in regards to that motion. Unfortunately, though, it is still a stark reality that persists.
Jamal Daoud is a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering and the VP information and research for the McGill chapter of SPHR.
