Canadian university student union strips anti-Israel group of official status
(JNS.org) The University of Manitoba Student Union (UMSU) in Canada has become the first student group in North America to ban the anti-Israel “Israel Apartheid Week” and strip the anti-Israel “Students Against Israel Apartheid (SAIA)” group of official status.
The motion, which passed 19-15, bars SAIA from receiving student funding or using student activity space on campus, the Winnipeg Jewish Review reported.
Pro-Israel students argued that the anti-Israel student efforts violate university policy which protects the “dignity and self-esteem” of its students and prevents them from “discrimination or harassment.”
“According to the UMSU policy, I didn’t have to prove that IAW has actually incited hatred, but that it is likely to undermine the dignity or self- esteem of students on campus who are Zionists,” pro-Israel UM student activist Josh Morry told the Winnipeg Jewish Review.
The move at the University of Manitoba comes amid recent battles on North American college campuses between pro-Israel and anti-Israel students.
Last week, the student government at the University of California (UC), Santa Barbara rejected a resolution to divest from Israel, joining several other California schools—UC Riverside, UC Berkeley and Stanford University—who have rejected Israel divestment resolutions. But the student union at Toronto’s York University, Canada’s largest, recently endorsed an Israel divestment resolution.
*
Justin Bieber draws criticism for Anne Frank remarks
(JNS.org) Pop music star Justin Bieber has drawn criticism for comments he left in a guestbook following a visit to the Anne Frank House while he was touring Europe.
The controversy stems from a posting on the Anne Frank House’s Facebook page on Saturday that described Bieber’s visit. “Yesterday night Justin Bieber visited the Anne Frank House, together with his friends and guards. Fans were waiting outside to see a glimpse of him. He stayed more than an hour in the museum. In our guestbook, he wrote, ‘Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber,’” the post read.
The Facebook post has drawn more than 2,500 comments, with many critical of Bieber’s remarks that imply Anne Frank would have been his fan. One popular comment called Bieber a “little idiot” and said he should show “some respect.”
On Monday, the Anne Frank House posted another comment defending Bieber and praising him for his interest in the story of Anne Frank.
“We think it is very positive that he took the time and effort to visit our museum,” the Anne Frank House posted. “He was very interested in the story of Anne Frank and stayed for over an hour. We hope that his visit will inspire his fans to learn more about her life and hopefully read the diary.”
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), also defended Bieber’s comment.
“If you read Anne Frank’s diary, she was into celebrities, she was into pop culture,” Foxman said in a statement. “So for [Justin Bieber] to say he would have hoped that she would have been a fan, it’s a nice thing.”
*
Preceding provided by JNS.og