Universities Helping Israeli Army to Be Boycotted in Canada

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25/02/2009 The biggest trade union in Canada's Ontario province, CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees), has moderated its call to boycott all academic institutions in Israel. Instead, the union decided to call for a boycott of Israeli institutions engaged in research helping the Israeli occupation army.

CUPE and the Jewish organizations in Canada have been engaged in a dispute for some time now. The issue was raised once again during the Israeli offensive in Gaza, when CUPE Ontario President Sid Ryan suggested severing ties between the Canadian province's academic institutions and those in Israel due to their refusal to denounce Israeli army strikes on educational institutions in Gaza.

Ryan has an argument on the matter with Avi Benlolo, president and CEO of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies in Canada, on a radio show. He said that Israel, despite pulling out from Gaza, was still imposing a hermetical siege on the Strip, causing a serious humanitarian crisis.

The B'nai B'rith organization released a harsh condemnation statement, defining CUPE's decision as "discriminating and racist" and violating human rights in a democratic country.

On Sunday, in a meeting of university workers who are members of CUPE, Ryan admitted that he had been wrong to demand a full academic boycott on Israeli institutions, saying that the boycott should only be imposed on Israeli institutions engaged in research which could help the Israeli occupation army.

He noted that he was not referring to any specific institutions, and added that his organization would look into the investment of the organization members' pension funds, in order to ensure that they were no being invested in Israeli arms development companies which may constitute a threat to the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, campuses in 42 cities across Canada will launch Israeli Apartheid Week on March 1. The Simon Wiesenthal Center has referred to the event as "a worldwide campaign to demonize Israel and intimidate students and faculty who support the Jewish State".

"Israel Apartheid Week has only grown in scope and viciousness, sponsored by aggressive, well-funded organizations committed to demonize the Jewish state and de-legitimize the only democracy in the Middle East," the Jewish organization said in a statement.