Israeli Apartheid Week is an annual series of university lectures and rallies held in February or March. According to the organisation "[t]he aim of IAW is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement".[1] It began in Toronto in 2005 and, by 2010, spread to 55 cities around the world including locations in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa, the West Bank, Mexico, Norway and Australia.[2][3][4][5][6]
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The aim of the week was officially said to be a contribution "to this chorus of international opposition to Israeli apartheid and to bolster support for the boycotts, divestments and sanctions campaign in accordance with the demands outlined in the July 2005 Statement: full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, an end to the occupation and colonization of all Arab lands – including the Golan Heights, the Occupied West Bank with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – and dismantling the Wall, and the protection of Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in U.N. resolution 194."[7]
The term "apartheid", while historically associated with South Africa, is a legal term under international law as defined by the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.[8] It is included in the list of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
The organizers said the week has "played an important role in raising awareness and disseminating information about Zionism, the Palestinian liberation struggle and its similarities with the indigenous sovereignty struggle in North America and the South African anti-Apartheid movement." An international divestment campaign was also said to have gained momentum in response to the 2005 statement by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations who called for boycotts, divestments and sanctions. They also claimed that important gains had been made in the campaign in countries like South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.
The years preceding 2008, a significant year in that it marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel, had seen a sharp increase of literature and analysis that was said to have sought to document and challenge alleged Israeli apartheid, including reports issued by major international bodies and human rights organizations and findings published by political leaders, thinkers, academics, and activists. The efforts were also said to have highlighted the role that people and governments across the world could play in providing "solidarity with the Palestinian struggle by exerting urgent pressure on Israel to alter its current structure and practices as an apartheid state."[7]
Opponents of Israeli Apartheid Week argue that it has fomented an upsurge of anti-Zionism on Canadian and American campuses. Some have also labelled the event as anti-Semitic, although this charge is rejected by supporters.[9][10][11][12]
Cities to have hosted a previous event of the Week are, amongst others: Oxford University, Oxford;[13] New York City;[14] University of Toronto[15] and University of Ottawa, Canada;[16] Montreal, Hamilton, London, Cambridge,[17] and Soweto, South Africa.
Speakers have included Balad MK Jamal Zahalka in 2007 and former MK Azmi Bishara, also of Balad, who began Israeli Apartheid Week 2008 with a live broadcast from Soweto.[3]
In 2009, locations included Abu Dis, Berkeley, Boston College, Emory University, Bir Zeit, Edinburgh, Edmonton, Johannesburg, Oxford, Kalkilya, San Francisco, Soweto, Tulkarm and Washington, DC.
In 2010, locations include Jerusalem, Amsterdam, Bard (NY), Beirut, Berkeley, Bethlehem, Bil'in, Bogota, Bologna, Boston, Cape Town, Caracas,Chicago, Connecticut, Duluth, Dundee, Durban, Eastern Cape, Edinburgh, Edmonton, Gaza, Glasgow, Guelph, Hamilton, Houston, Ireland, Jenin, Johannesburg, Kingston, London (ON), London (UK), Madrid, Melbourne, Minneapolis/St.Paul, Montréal, Nablus, New York City, Nil'in, Ottawa, Oxford, Peterborough, Pisa, Pretoria, Providence, Puebla, Roma, San Francisco, Seattle, Sudbury, Tilburg, Toronto, Truro (CA), Utrecht, Vancouver, Waterloo and Winnipeg.
The first Israeli Apartheid week was held Jan 31 to February 4, 2005.[18]
The 2006 Israeli Apartheid week was held February 13 to 17, 2006.[19]
The 2007 Israeli Apartheid week was held February 12 to 17, 2007.[20]
The 4th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week 2008 was officially launched on February 3, 2008 in Soweto, South Africa as the "exiled Palestinian Israeli Knesset" Azmi Bishara, gave a lecture on the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba. The conference continued till the 19th of the same month.[21] The week of the event was February 4 to February 9, 2008.[22]
The 2009 Israeli Apartheid Week was held March 1 to 8, 2009.[23]
The 2010 Israeli Apartheid Week was held March 1 to 6, 2010.[24]
While academic institutions hosted the events, amidst controversy and debate,[25] other speakers at the various meetings around the world supported the goals of the Week. An Arab citizen of Israel and Member of the Knesset, Jamal Zahalka, spoke in Montréal in 2007. He said: "Calling the occupation apartheid isn’t an overstatement, it’s an understatement. The Israeli occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are worse than apartheid.[26]
In response to "rhetorical attacks" and "institutional measures" directed at Israeli Apartheid Week 2009 in Canada, Omar Barghouti, one of the founders of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel[27] and a prominent speaker at the events, stated that equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism would be analogous to equating criticism of Saudi Arabia with Islamophobia, and labelled such accusations as "hypocrisy". He noted the role of Canadian Jewish citizens amongst the organizers of the event, while remarking: "Who says Israel equals Jews? Making this equation is itself anti-Semitic [...], since saying that attacking Israel is the same as attacking Jews assumes that Jews all over the world assume full responsibility for every crime and violation of international law committed by Israel."[28]
At Toronto’s 2011 Israel Apartheid Week event, Chadni Desai, speaking on behalf of the organizers, announced, “We as the organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week in Toronto believe that we cannot speak meaningfully about Israeli apartheid without speaking first about the realities of apartheid here in Canada. Canada’s reservation system and the treatment of indigenous peoples is (sic) closely studied by the planners of apartheid in South Africa, although this is a hidden chapter of our history. From its very foundations, Canada has been based on the theft of indigenous land and the genocide and displacement of indigenous peoples. If you are with us in opposition to Israeli Apartheid, we encourage your consistent opposition to apartheid right here in Canada."[29]
The University of Toronto president, David Naylor, said of the week featuring the events "this isn’t [my] favourite time of year." However, Dr. Naylor responded to objections from the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, in signing a statement that declared, "We do, in fact, recognize that the term Israeli Apartheid is upsetting to many people, [but] we also recognize that, in every society, universities have a unique role to provide a safe venue for highly charged discourse."[15]
University of Manitoba President David Barnard, in a report to the Board of Governors regarding Israeli Apartheid Week in 2010, that "while he had not personally attended any of the events, the events proceeded as anticipated and were orderly. He added that he had received a lot of communication from the external community regarding this, and that while there were a number of people against the event, there was also support for the University's position in allowing the event to proceed."[30] In 2011, Barnard responded publicly to complaints about IAW, saying "Ultimately, we have an obligation to uphold the right to freedom of expression, and will not censor an individual or group for what has not yet been expressed." [31]
In April 2011, 16 African-American members of the Vanguard Leadership Group published full page ads in several U.S. university newspapers, with an "Open Letter to Students for Justice in Palestine" saying that the SJP's use of the word "apartheid" in regards to Israel and Israel Apartheid Week "is not only false, but offensive."[32]
In March 2011, various Canadian government and other political figures, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff all criticized IAW. Kenney indicated that he was "deeply concerned about the events and activities" associated with IAW and said that the event was "all too often [...] accompanied by anti-Semitic harassment, intimidation and bullying." He further indicated that students participating IAW were "free [...] to speak their mind" but encouraged them to "reflect on whether these activities are beneficial."[33] Ignatieff, in condemning the week, said it is a “dangerous cocktail of ignorance and intolerance” that threatens “the mutual respect” of Canadian society.[34]
Stuart Appelbaum, gay president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union feels that those groups opposing the New York LGBT Center’s decision to prohibit an Israel Apartheid Week March 2011 event were intellectually dishonest, saying "This was not a question of free speech. This was hate speech. The center should not be used as a venue for racism, Islamophobia or anti-Semitism. Nor did they even care about free speech. The same groups have consistently sought to ban and prevent supporters of Israel from expressing their views."[35]
In advance of the 2011 IAW, the government of Israel chose a group of Israelis, including Arabs, gays, Ethiopian Jews and an MTV "VJ" (presenter) to oppose the apartheid analogy used by going on a speaking tour of the USA[36]; an additional group went to Britain "to combat anti-Israel messages students there are receiving from Israel Apartheid Week activities."[37]
In an effort to combat IAW, the Jerusalem Post wrote in March 2011 that NGO Monitor has produced "the “BDS Sewer System” which provides detailed information, in graphic form, on the sources of delegitimization campaigns against Israel."[38]
Popular gay columnist and pornographic film producer Michael Lucas has called Israel Apartheid Week "a hate group" and "a group of antisemites." In February 2011 he brought about the cancellation of a planned event involving New York's LGBT Center and Israel Apartheid Week after threatening to organize a boycott of large donors to the center. He said of his achievement that it was a landmark moment in his life, of which he was enormously proud.[39][40][41][42][43][44][45]
In 2009, Canadian MP Michael Ignatieff condemned IAW as a form of "demonization" of Israeli and Jewish students, causing them to "fear for their safety" on campus. He went on to say that IAW "should be condemned by all who value civil and respectful debate about the tragic conflict in the Middle East." [10]
A representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center described it, in 2009, as an event that "promotes anti-Semitism on Canadian university campuses." [12]
In 2008, Orna Hollander of Betar Canada called for supporters of Israel to stand up to the event telling the Canadian Jewish News that, "The strategy has been … from an organized community end, to not lend credibility, to be quiet about it, not bring press around it … Four years later, I think we definitely learned that we can keep our heads in the sand, but it’s going to go on with or without us. [IAW organizers] very much control the PR and rhetoric on campus, and its time to stand up and take responsibility.” [5]
Also in 2008, pro-Israel activists countered the event with "Islamic State Apartheid Week" organized by the Hasbara Fellowships and endorsed by Betar.[5]
The Institute for Global Jewish Affairs describes Israel Apartheid week as example of anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism.[11]
Organizers of the counterprotest stated that they "want to remove the connection that modern-day students have to the word apartheid and Israel and refocus it to the countries that we think really exemplify the definition of apartheid, being a policy of separation and segregation. Through a week which encompasses the themes of gender, sexual and political apartheid, we hope to get out a new message."[5]
Some commentators have called for an "Arab Apartheid Week" to counter Israeli Apartheid Week.In one of his series of articles accusing the government of Lebanon of practicing "apartheid" against the resident Palestinian community, journalist Khaled Abu Toameh describes the "special legal status" as "foreigners" assigned uniquely to Palestinians, "a fact which has deprived them of health care, social services, property ownership and education. Even worse, Lebanese law bans Palestinians from working in many jobs. This means that Palestinians cannot work in the public services and institutions run by the government such as schools and hospitals. Unlike Israel, Lebanese public hospitals do not admit Palestinians for medical treatment or surgery." [46][47][48]
In 2008, Israel's ambassador to Canada, Alan Baker, denounced Israeli Apartheid Week as "crude propagandism, pure hypocrisy and cynical manipulation of the student body."[49]
In 2007, the event spread to New York University, Columbia University and Hunter College in New York City.[50] The David Project, organized meetings the same week in opposition to the characterization of Israel as an apartheid state, and the American Jewish Committee Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations denounced the apartheid week saying "the specter of apartheid should not be raised in any form."[50]
