We are signing this petition to express our great concern over the Students’ Society of McGill University hosting an event entitled, "Boycotting Apartheid States - A Panel on BDS." 

The event features McGill Modern African History professor, Jon Soske, speaking about the ‘similarities’ between apartheid South Africa and Israel, McGill Professor of Arabic Literature Michelle Hartman, and a visiting Palestinian professor, Samia Botmeh, from Birzeit University who is a coordinator for The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

The fact that this panel consists of speakers who only represent one side of such a contentious debate makes students like us uncomfortable. SSMU should ensure that there is open and balanced dialogue on such contentious topics and this will not happen when only advocates of one perspective are given a forum to express their views. We are upset that SSMU, which we expect to represent the entire student body of McGill, has chosen to host an event that offers only one perspective on such a divisive issue. 

We would have thought that after the extensive debate we had at the SSMU GA in October 2014, it was clear that a majority of the concerned students did not want the SSMU aligning itself on one side of this particular debate. For the many students who strongly oppose BDS, these actions only serve to isolate them from their student government.

We call on SSMU to respond to these legitimate concerns and ask that they better accommodate the large number of students who oppose this form of programming.

Concerned Students of McGill    Contact the author of the petition