Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) applauds the agreement reached between the University of Windsor and the Uwindsor Liberation Zone encampment students. The University of Windsor is following a long tradition of universities taking a stand in the face of injustice in response to student anti-war activism and the agreement ought to be considered a model for all institutions to follow.
While many universities have refused to negotiate with the student encampment movement and have instead relied on violent tactics to dismantle them, the University of Windsor has joined the ranks of universities that have chosen to take a stand against the genocidal violence being committed against Palestinians. Based on human rights law and other international legal principles and a result of good faith negotiations, the University of Windsor is exemplifying how academic institutions should be engaging with student protest.
By contrast, while the University of Windsor was taking these bold steps, McGill University hired a private security firm to dismantle the student encampment on the campus’ Lower Field, the longest standing student encampment in Canada until that date. The McGill administration preferred to spend exorbitant sums of money to salvage their investments in war and genocide instead of heeding the legitimate demands of the students.
We salute the courage of the students at McGill and the activists at other dismantled encampments including in Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, Guelph, London and Winnipeg who stood firm and put themselves on the line to push for an end to this genocide. It is because of the courage of student encampments throughout Canada, because of their growing numbers and their impact on public opinion, that the agreement at the University of Windsor was made possible. The University of Windsor agreement is a victory for all of the student encampments across the country.
It is deplorable, though unsurprising, that pro-Israel lobby groups are attempting to undermine the agreement by labelling it antisemitic. There is nothing antisemitic about calling for an end to genocide, acknowledging Palestinian self-determination, and ethical investment. The opposite is true. Independent Jewish Voices is comprised of a membership who views these principles as integral to our Jewish identities following a long history of Jewish opposition to war, violence, genocide, and racism.
Attempts to conflate political critique with antisemitism not only further endanger Palestinian life and distract from the genocide being committed in Gaza, they also distract from genuine instances of antisemitism and erase decades of Jewish debate about the relationship between the state of Israel and Jewish identity. Jewish people are not a monolith and as Jews of conscience, IJV refuses to be erased or silenced.
The student encampment movement at the University of Windsor, across Canada, and internationally, has modeled what a shared future should look like. Rooted in anti-racism, decolonization, and the promotion of critical conversations and community care, these students are teaching us how to live and how to collectively work towards liberation. In the face of escalating genocidal violence in Palestine, we are proud to stand in solidarity with Palestinians, with the student encampment movement, and with universities such as the University of Windsor as they lead the way towards justice.
*Photo credit @Windsor4Palestine and @psguwindsor on Instagram