Silencing Strategies

More silencing strategies. A colleague of mine who was protesting the active involvement of Chapters/Indigo CEO in supporting israel's military was arrested based on flimsy accusations. Instead of supporting her, the administration suspended her!

"We, the undersigned, express our outrage at the Toronto Police Services raid of homes and subsequent arrests of eleven people on charges of hate-motivated mischief and conspiracy and, most recently, criminal harassment. Allegedly, those charged were involved in splashing washable paint and postering windows of an outlet of the bookstore, Indigo. The arrestees are now subject to doxxing, harassment, and workplace reprisals. We echo the voice of others in the community who have called for these charges to be dropped immediately and call for the police to publicly apologize for these acts of intimidation and harassment.

We condemn the characterization of anti-war actions against Indigo as antisemitic. Challenging the genocide unfolding in Palestine today, where more than 15000 Palestinian civilians have been killed, demands active protest against these war crimes. The unfolding genocide necessitates criticism of Israeli state actions, Canadian and US government complicity, and the exposure of private institutions actively bolstering the Israeli military, notably arms manufacturers and those that finance them.

Indigo has long been subject to civil society protests based on the fact that its founder and CEO also co-founded a charity that directly supports the Israeli military. The HESEG foundation, and its Lone Soldier program, provide direct financial support to foreign volunteers to the Israeli Defense Forces. As such HESEG, its founder, and Indigo - the Canadian business which she runs, and of which she is the very public face - all provide either direct or indirect financial and political support to the Israeli military. This implicates Indigo in the many crimes and human rights violations committed by the Israeli military, crimes that have been condemned through countless UN resolutions dating back decades. Characterizing political protest against Indigo as antisemitic is not only inaccurate but disingenuous: its only purpose is to silence legitimate dissent.

We call out the actions of the Toronto Police as a strategy to attack the growing Palestine solidarity movement by creating a climate of fear. These charges are political. They serve to send a message to the public that critiques of Israel’s war crimes, and those institutions that support Israeli state actions, will be met with repression. This is yet another instance in a long history of efforts to silence dissent against Israeli state crimes.

....we call upon York University senior administrators to immediately reinstate those who have been suspended, including those arrested by police as well as students placed on leave..."

read full statement  more here :
​https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf8FzeV2qvCUo7HIXbk2nMO4K2Cb0xFgb0dSGfMu9gNgqXcJQ/viewform