UBC Faculty Response to Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Deborah Buszard’s October 11th Statement

Oct 24


At time of publication, this letter has been endorsed by over 125 faculty members
and over 1,030 students and community members

LINK: Sign to Support This Petition

As members of the UBC academic community and educators committed to principles of social
justice and equality, we are troubled by the statement that UBC Interim President Deborah
Buszard issued on October 11th titled “Supporting the UBC Community.”

The statement explicitly refers to “the atrocities from the terrorist attacks on Israel” but remains
silent regarding the ongoing state terror committed by Israel against Palestinians.

At the time of this writing, and as reported by UN bodies, Human Rights Organizations, and
news agencies, Israel has:

● Killed more than 3,500 Palestinians including over 1,000 children
● Displaced over 260,000 civilians and ordered the forcible population transfer of over 1
million
● Cut off supplies of food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity, along with humanitarian aid
● Bombed schools, media offices, universities, ambulances, hospitals, houses of worship,
and civilian residences
● Used white phosphorous in its bombing of Gaza and southern Lebanon
● Called for hospitals in Gaza to rapidly evacuate, which as the WHO states is a death
sentence to the sick and injured.

These actions are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and amount to crimes
against humanity.

They are taking place while Israeli officials continuously dehumanize
Palestinians. Israel’s defense minister called Palestinians “human animals.”

Members of Israel’s house of representatives, the Knesset, and apologists abroad openly advocate for slaughter, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, amounting to another Nakba, or catastrophe, when
over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes in 1948.


President Buszard’s statement also makes no reference to Palestine or Palestinians,

choosing to refer instead to “Israel, Gaza and elsewhere”.

The erasure of Palestine as a geography, Palestinians as a people, and their plight as a nation dehumanizes Palestinians and denies them the fundamental right to safety, security, freedom and liberation.

It runs contrary to the claim that UBC is committed to “providing a safe, inclusive environment, with a shared value of peaceful relations.”

UBC’s declared support for decolonization and practices of equity, diversity and inclusion ring hollow in light of this partisan approach.

Such dehumanization comes in the wake of similarly lop-sided statements by UBC’s Faculty Association and other university administrations across Canada, the US, and the UK.


Statements that erase or dehumanize Palestinians may have a dire impact in Palestine and in
the diaspora, as made evident by the hate-driven murder of Wadea Al Fayoume, a 6-year old
Palestinian-American child in Chicago.

In light of all of the above,

We send a message of support to all Palestinian colleagues and academic communities across
North America and Europe that are facing a hostile climate of intimidation from their
governments, media, and university administrations.


We affirm the right of the Palestinian people to freedom and sovereignty from Israeli occupation,
settler colonialism, and apartheid.


We renew our commitment to and valuation of the safety and well-being of UBC’s Palestinian
students, faculty, staff and their allied colleagues.


We demand that the UBC’s President’s office:

  1. Rectify the statement and condemn Israeli state violence and violations of international
    humanitarian law.
  2. Publicly denounce and actively prevent attempts to silence, demonize, or harass any student,
    staff, or faculty member for expressing their solidarity or support for justice in Palestine.
  3. Reiterate UBC’s full commitment to protect academic freedom and freedom of speech,
    including the right to teach on Palestine and criticize any state or group’s crimes and violations
    of international humanitarian law
  4. Provide meaningful support to all faculty, staff, and students who are subject to bullying or
    harassment in class or on campus as a result of their support for justice in Palestine

    LINK: Sign to Support This Petition
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