Concordia bans Middle Eastern events

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Thu Sep 12 09:21:54 PDT 2002


Chronicle of Higher Education - web daily - September 12, 2002

Campus Unrest Spurs Concordia U. in Montreal to Ban Campus Activities on the Mideast By JANICE PASKEY

Montreal's Concordia University has banned all campus activities related to the Middle East after a violent demonstration on Monday that forced the cancellation of a speech by Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister of Israel.

Mr. Netanyahu canceled after pro-Palestinian protesters smashed windows in the campus building where he was to speak, and harassed people trying to attend the event. "They pushed us, and we pushed back," said Patrick Amar, a member of the campus chapter of Hillel, which invited Mr. Netanyahu to speak.

The protesters eventually entered the building, and Montreal police officers used tear gas to disperse them. Afterward, broken furniture and shattered windows littered the scene. Five protesters were arrested, but they have not been charged. Neither the university nor the police could confirm whether they were students.

Inside the building, some 500 people were waiting in a lecture hall for Mr. Netanyahu when police officials decided they could not guarantee his safety. The protesters never reached the lecture hall.

In the days leading up to the event, Concordia officials had rejected requests by some employee unions that staff members be allowed to stay home on Monday for safety reasons.

Concordia's rector, Frederick Lowy, called the incident shameful and distressing. "What is needed now is a period of restraint," he said in a statement on the university's Web site. "A moratorium on the use of the university space for events related to the Middle East conflict will be instituted immediately and until further notice. This includes a moratorium on public speeches, rallies, exhibits, and information tables."

The first casualty was the cancellation of a planned Tuesday visit by Norman Finkelstein, a professor of political science at DePaul University and a critic of Israel's policy on the Palestinians. He was invited by the Concordia Student Union, which represents undergraduate students.

This week's incident is the worst in a string of others on the campus. Concordia, a public, English-language university, has endured turmoil between its Zionist and anti-Zionist students over the past year. The campus is richly diverse, with a significant Arab student body.

Gil Troy, a professor of American history at neighboring McGill University, called Concordia's ban on Middle East activities "draconian."

"Concordia's way of responding to the tension is by saying, We're not going to talk about the Middle East," he said. In March, Mr. Troy wrote a column in a Montreal newspaper blaming Concordia's faculty for not doing more to quell tensions. "The innocent bystanders are not so innocent. Professors and students have to stand up and say this is not acceptable. There has to be a real push for civility.

"If this can't happen 6,000 miles away from the Middle East, here in Canada, the capital of niceness," he asked, "then where can it happen?"

Meanwhile, Hillel and other groups say they plan to continue to push their views.

"My idealism is gone," said Mr. Amar, 23, and a student of political science. "I realize we just can't get along. We can't live together."

He said that he welcomes the ban but that Hillel would continue to put up booths, celebrate the Jewish holidays, and hand out falafel.

"Our activities are not political."



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