By Joshua Freeman, CP24

  • baconisaveg@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    It was linked in the article as a PDF document.

    Statement of Solidarity with Palestine

    Content warning: The following statement has content on genocide and ongoing violence in Palestine.

    We the undersigned Unions present at York University reaffirm our solidarity with the Palestinian people, within Palestine and the global diaspora, and their ongoing fight against settler-colonialism, apartheid, and genocide. We vehemently condemn all forms of colonial violence and support Indigenous sovereignty.

    Recently, in a strong act of resistance, the Palestinian people tore down and crossed the illegitimate border fence erected by the settler-colonial apartheid state of so-called Israel.

    These resistance efforts are a direct response to the ongoing and violent occupation of Palestine. Since 1948, Palestinian people have been systemically displaced from their land and homes as a result of state-sanctioned violence, siege, and genocide.

    In response to Palestinian resistance, so-called Israel has continued to escalate attacks on Gaza by bombing residential neighborhoods, deploying white phosphorus bombs and cutting off access to food, water, power and medical supplies. These tactics are not new. So-called Israel has continually restricted Palestinians movement to & from Gaza, creating an open-air prison and obstructing access to essential resources within the apartheid fence for decades.

    From Turtle Island to Palestine, and across all occupied lands, these events serve as a reminder that resistance against colonial violence is justified and necessary. This is “decolonization” and “land-back” actualized as we continue to see the Palestinian people stand firm in their resistance against their oppressors.

    We are witnessing clearly how the mainstream media utilizes strategic rhetoric which erases the decades old violence Palestinians have faced and the intentional subversion of responsibility for these atrocities from so-called Israel. Using language like “conflict” and “war in the Middle East” further delegitimizes the Palestinian people’s struggle for self-determination against the apartheid state of Israel by deliberately hindering the ability to acknowledge the ongoing violence as a form of ethnic cleansing. Settler-colonial states like so-called Canada and their institutions continue to legitimize their existence and those of other settler-colonial states making them complicit in the ongoing genocide. York University is complicit as they continue to invest students’ money into weapons and arms manufacturers. We denounce the statements put forth and stances taken by the York University Administration as they use their platform to obfuscate the ongoing occupation of Palestine and absolve themselves from their role in the ongoing genocide.

    Our Unions remain unwavering in our support of the Palestinian people’s fight for self-determination and liberation. We actively affirm that Palestinians are inherently entitled to the right to shape their political, economic, social, and cultural future. This struggle confronts the persistent oppression, displacement, and human rights abuses inflicted upon the Palestinian population. We stand firmly in solidarity with those resisting such oppression, actively contributing to the legitimate fight for justice against settler-colonial nations. We as students’ unions have a responsibility to spread awareness and support the liberation of Palestine and all struggles for Indigenous sovereignty.

      • baconisaveg@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        They’re not wrong, they’re just assholes in the way they said it.

        I certainly don’t condone the actions of Hamas, but at the same time I know it’s wrong to beat and abuse a dog for years and then label it as ‘aggressive’ and demand it be put down when it rips your hand off. The situation in the middle east is definitely not as black and white as the media likes to portray it.

        • zesty@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          Murdering 40 babies is not “a strong act of resistance”. They are assholes AND wrong.

          • baconisaveg@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            What happened to Palestine over the last 80 years isn’t just or fair, but what happened last week sure as shit was not okay or reasonable. It’s not something to be encouraged or cheered on or supported, and it’s not something that they should call for here or anywhere else to make up for past injustices.

            That’s what happens when an elastic band snaps though. We’ve seen it time and time again, office workers, school shooters, abused dogs, the hydraulic press YouTube channel. Over and over and over the pattern is the same.

            And every single fucking time, the response is always the same. “He just snapped, I have no idea why!” So no, I’m not surprised, or outraged. The world had 75 years to address the situation in Gaza and they chose to just ignore it.