Segacs's World I Know

Posts Tagged ‘samer elatrash’

I guess it’s not enough for SPHR that most of the middle east doesn’t have a free press. Now they’re trying to control the student press at Concordia, as Link editor Steve Faguy explains in his journal entry, “SPHR takes over Link . . . again”:

Allow me to vent. Being the editor-in-chief of a student newspaper, it’s my job to see that everyone gets his/her voice.

But today wasn’t about giving people voices, it was about silencing the voices of others.

For the second time, members of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights flooded our Annual General Assembly, the meeting where we approve financial statements and elect people to our board of directors.

[ . . . ]

And Samer Elatrash is voted onto our Board of Directors.

It’s not that I disagree with Samer’s politics (or Laith’s or Adam’s for that matter). And it’s not that I’m guided by racism against Arabs and Muslims (though some might disagree). I opposed Samer’s nomination because the last time he was on our board of directors, he attended only a single meeting, which he had to leave early.

As my colleague Julia Cyboran said during the meeting, the Board has no editorial control over the paper, and as such the positions are not political but administrative. All I ask of administrators is that they administrate. Samer has no interest in doing so (as he explained to me shortly after the meeting).

But now he’s on our board of directors, until he’s removed for lack of attendance. All to prove a point that when the SPHR disagrees with your editorial stance, they’ll try to take you over.

I guess they were pissed about losing the CSU election, and decided to take it out on the Link. It’s becoming increasingly clear how these groups operate. And it’s a real shame – especially for the journalism students who would love to see the Link emerge as a respected campus newspaper like the McGill Daily, instead of the zero-credibility rag that it is becoming.

Samer Elatrash has been suspended from Concordia for 3 years for his role in instigating the September 9th riots.

Samer Elatrash, 23, was found guilty of all five charges against him under the school’s code of rights and responsibilities.

The charges, which include rioting, assault and harassment, stem from a violent protest in the Henry F. Hall building last year that prevented former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu from speaking on campus.

In an article in the Link, Elatrash levels his usual myriad of accusations against the university administration, the hearings panel, the police, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hillel, and of course the Zzzzzionists.

Verdicts against the other accused students are to be announced this week.

And now, to write about what happened tonight at Concordia:

I arrived at about a quarter to five, unsure what to expect in terms of turnout – after all, this event had been organized less than 24 hours in advance, and students are in the middle of final exams. No sooner did I get there but I caught sight of people walking in with sound equipment and others carrying large Israeli flags. After a few minutes went by, the crowd in the lobby began multiplying exponentially. There was a bit of confusion as to the location of the event, and then everyone was asked to enter the H-110 auditorium and have a seat. By the time the event began, the auditorium was more than half full; by the time it ended, it was well over three-quarters. Definitely an amazing accomplishment in terms of sheer numbers!

Noah Sarna, co-president of Concordia Hillel, spoke first. He welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming, and told us that we were there to celebrate our freedom, just as the Maccabees proclaimed theirs. Noah spoke briefly but powerfully, and then passed the microphone over to the president of McGill Hillel.

He spoke more at length about the issues that Concordia is facing, and how this is big news not only at Concordia, but at McGill, in the greater Montreal Jewish community, across Canada, the US, Europe, Israel, and around the world. “We are a small people,” he said, “with Am Echad, Lev Echad – one nation, one heart!” (Judging by the amount of e-mails of support I’m receiving from around the world, I’d have to say he’s right).

Next to speak was Rabbi Reuven Poupko, who is very active in community and campus affairs. Rabbi Poupko definitely knows how to work a crowd. He spoke passionately about how targeting Hillel is antisemitism, no matter how the CSU tries to cloak it. He said that Hillel is being targeted not because of any law, but because it is a Jewish students’ organization. And that the CSU only believes in freedom of speech when it agrees with what is being said.

At that point, some pro-Palestinian hecklers began shouting from the back of the auditorium, hoping to agitate the crowd. At first, heads turned as they distracted us. Rabbi Poupko addressed them directly, claiming that if they truly believed in freedom of speech and democracy, they would be right down there in support of Hillel. He then began talking about how there is no democracy or freedom in most of the Arab world, and how despite the abuses and lack of freedom, the words “human rights” are only used in the context of criticizing Israel. “When democracy and freedom comes to the Arab nations of the Middle East,” he shouted over the heckling, “then there will be peace!” This drew loud cheers and a standing ovation, but it wasn’t as loud as the cheering when he declared, shouting into the microphone, “AM YISRAEL CHAI!”

That was the signal for the time to light the menorah. The crowd was implored to ignore the hecklers and face the front, and Hillel led everyone in the singing of the Chanukah brachot while they lit the electric menorah. The singing drowned out whatever heckling was still going on – which was minimal – and as soon as we finished the brachot, we went straight into Chanukah songs – Maoz Tzur, for example – and then began singing Israeli folk songs, leading off with “Am Yisrael Chai”. Dancing broke out at the front, with circles of men and women doing the hora around the Israeli flag. Everyone stood and clapped and sang along.

This went on for about twenty minutes. Then, Noah Sarna once again stepped to the microphone and thanked everyone for being there, and stressed the importance of leaving peacefully and not getting drawn into a fight. Before we left, we all stood and sang Hatikvah together, proclaiming once and for all that the Jewish voices at Concordia will not be silenced!

The scene in the lobby afterwards was pretty calm, with most people just talking amongst themselves and their friends. At one point, I saw people with cameras running outside. I followed to see what was going on. A police car was there. I couldn’t see that well because of the crowd but apparently, Palestinian activist Samer Elatrash was arrested, ostensibly for violating the terms of his bail (after being arrested for participating in the anti-Netanyahu violence on September 9th, he’s only allowed on campus for classes and exams). The cameras seemed to be busy interviewing Elatrash’s buddies, and I’m sure that that’s the message that the mainstream media will carry – not the overwhelming message of peace and freedom that the rally was all about. And as much as that bothers me, I know what I saw. I know what happened. And I think that despite efforts to disrupt things, Hillel and the Jewish community organized an event that was an overwhelming success.

I invite anyone who attended the event to e-mail me with their firsthand accounts. I’m only one person, with two eyes and two ears (and no camera), so the more stories the better. If you give me permission I’ll post them.

Concordia has been hijacked. It’s time to reclaim it as an environment of equality, openness, and freedom for all.

Update: I accidentally and erroneously referred to Samer Elatrash as a CSU vice-president. This is incorrect. The reference has been removed, and I apologize for the error. Mr. Elatrash is, in fact, a former member of the CSU council of representatives, not of the executive.