In a blistering statement, the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) accused the university’s faculty association of endorsing “a campaign of censorship against Israel and the Jewish People.”
In the statement, FSWC president and CEO Avi Benlolo said his group is concerned “for the safety and security” of York’s Jewish students and faculty. “What I’m asking for Jewish students, who are considering going to York or putting in their application for the … 2016-17 year, is to know what’s going on at York (and) to maybe take a pause until the final vote is in,” he said in an interview.
The outcry relates to a vote by the faculty association executive in favour of a campaign urging York to divest itself of any investments in weapons manufacturers, domestic or international.
The motion approved by the executive, in an 11 to 1 vote, makes no mention of Israel. In fact, it specifically states that the vote does not represent an indication of support for “any state or non-state actors involved or associated with a specific political or military conflict.”
Despite that, Benlolo said Wednesday that the vote represents an act of “anti-Semitism.” That’s because, he said, the divestment campaign is being led by the York chapter of Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA), a group that advocates a broader campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel and Israeli academics.
“The problem is, they’re aligning themselves with SAIA,” he said.
However, Richard Welland, the president of the faculty association, said SAIA is just one of dozens of organizations, including Amnesty International, supporting the divestment campaign. He said the executive vote, which still has to be approved by the union’s Steward’s Council, has nothing to do with anything other than weapons manufacturers.
He also accused the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre of “bullying” him and other members of the executive. “I’m Jewish (and) they’ve basically called me anti-Semitic,” he said. “It’s distressing.”
The outcry over the divestment campaign comes just weeks after a heated fight over a controversial painting in the York University student centre generated international headlines. The presence of the canvas, which shows a Palestinian holding rocks behind his back while staring at an under-construction Israeli settlement, spurred film mogul Paul Bronfman to pull all philanthropic support from the school.
Asked about the divestment campaign Wednesday, a spokesperson for York said the university’s investment approach, which has been approved by the Social Investment Organization and the Coalition of Universities for Responsible Investing, “does not recommend the use of negative screening or divesting from particular companies.”
Original Article
Source: news.nationalpost.com/
Author: Richard Warnica
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