Monday, January 19, 2009
Volume 35, Issue 16
www.mediumonline.ca
Xpression Against Oppression: Dr. Norman Finkelstein speaks ANDREW HAMILTON SMITH NEWS EDITOR
The Ministry of Social Justice (MSJ) led an awareness campaign called Xpression Against Oppression (XAO) last week, which began on January 12 and concluded with a three-hour discussion featuring Doctor Norman Finkelstein on Thursday January 15 at CCIT 1080. Doctor Finkelstein is a renowned academic with a controversial reputation for opposing Israel’s recent actions in Gaza despite being born of WW2 Holocaust-survivor parents. “Israel’s right of self-defence is not really the issue here,” Finkelstein noted, “but [rather] about Palestinian’s right to defend themselves,” and to live free from economic embargoes or military attacks. Finkelstein’s point of view is controversial because Israel has claimed all along to be engaged in a “defensive military operation against Hamas in Gaza” according to the Canadian Jewish Congress, suggesting very clearly that Hamas is the aggressor in this conflict. XAO and MSJ deny this is the case, pointing out that it was Israel who broke last year’s ceasefire
Photo/Matthew Filipowich
Dr. Norman Finkelstein addressed over 500 people who came to hear him speak about solutions to the crisis between Hamas and Israel. Dr. Finkelstein has been banned from Israel for ten years because of his views. agreement, and is therefore responsible for the conflict. Dr. Finkelstein for his part has been banned from Israel for ten years for holding such views. Over 500 people were expected to turn up for the event and a dozen
Campus Police and Ontario Provincial Police officers were present to maintain crowd control. Despite a few heated questions posed to Dr. Finkelstein, the event went smoothly and calmly, save for a few microphone problems throughout.
Dr. Finkelstein explained how the real question was: “Does violence and attacks help Palestinians to achieve their goals?” To resounding applause, he pointed out that while he wished Palestinians had chosen non-violent means, they ultimately
have the right to defend their homes and nation, citing Mahatma Ghandi to back up his argument. He further argued that no one can afford to be bound by dogma or ideology in finding a solution to the forty-year occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank by Israel. “If the whole world has embraced the current two-state solution, how likely is it that any one group will be able to change that consensus?” At one point, Finkelstein rejected a question from the audience about the truth in the Koran or Torah. “I don’t care what they say,” replied the scholar, who added that they have nothing to do with the on-going peace process and the two-state solution. Compromise and adaptability are the only things that will lead to change, and the goal of allowing Palestinians to govern their own territory must be the paramount concern in any discussion. He pointed out that Hamas was elected in an internationally-monitored, free and democratic election. The rejection of Hamas as a legitimate government by the international community – Prime Minister Stephen Harper being the first leader to denounce Hamas and cut off aid – is hypocritical, Finkelstein suggested, especially “since they themselves determined the elections of 2006 to be legitimate.” Conitnued on page 3
Child Care Centre plagued by delays ANDREW HAMILTON SMITH NEWS EDITOR
Photo/Andrew Hamilton Smith
A child reacts to news of further delays for the new Child Care Centre.
The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) administration has announced that the planned Child Care Centre, which was initially supposed to be opened by January 2009, will not open in February as was recently announced at a November 18 meeting with students. UTM offered no timeline for completion, citing delays in obtaining construction permits from the City of Mississauga. At press time, the city had not responded to inquiries by Saaliha Malik, UTM Student Union (UTMSU) Vice President Equity, as to why the necessary permits had not been issued.
“In June or July, UTMSU had a meeting when Mark Overton, Dean of Student Affairs at UTM. He told us they had selected an operator (Early Learning Centre) and they had given us timelines claiming they submitted all the paper work for permits already,” explained Malik. When Dean Overton was recently contacted by UTMSU VP External Dhananjai Kohli, he stated that he was no longer involved in the project. According to Malik, the contact person for the UTM Child Care Centre is Francesca Dobbin, manager of the St. George campus family day care. Dobbins has apparently not replied to e-mails and has only visited UTM once in the past. “UTM just told me over an
e-mail that [the Child Care Centre] is not opening, and that they can’t even provide us with a timeline,” complained Malik, suggesting that the university may be violating its own policies, which recognize child care as essential to creating a better learning environment. “I am really angry about this” she added. The University in 2003 created a University Child Care Advisory Committee (UCCAC) in order to further its policy of being “committed to the provision of child care programs and services on its campuses that further the University's academic mission.” Continued on page 2