SPHR Concordia is going independent
The club will continue to fight for Palestine until divestment
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) Concordia has established itself since 1999 as one of the primary voices supporting Palestinians at Concordia.
Now, 25 years later, they are still fighting for the same cause.
From fundraisers to sit-ins, walkouts, protests and a contribution to the encampment at McGill University, the club has made its stance clear: There will be no rest until there is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and Concordia University completely divests from Israel. However, divestment is currently not a priority for Concordia.
On May 27, Concordia President Graham Carr testified at a House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, stating that “the university’s position, since 2014, has been in opposition to BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions).”
However, Concordia’s current position isn’t stopping SPHR. According to an SPHR member, who was granted anonymity for safety reasons, the 2023-2024 academic year was a build-up towards BDS being a central topic of the discussion.
“[Now] you can't go a few days or a few articles without Graham Carr or Deep Saini mentioning BDS,” they said. “That's something that's very important,” they said.
Zeyad Abbisab, SPHR’s general coordinator, expressed that Concordia’s pushback on BDS and SPHR is more complex than just keeping the campus safe.
“[Institutions try] to suppress our voices because we are a threat to Zionism,” Abisaab said. “This is, yes, orientalism, but also economic incentives.”
Although Concordia’s investments are not shared publicly, the university has affiliations with companies that have been accused of being complicit in genocide. One of these companies is the Bank of Montreal, which in 2021 loaned an estimated US$90 million to a company that makes weapons and surveillance equipment used by the Israeli military.
Concordia also has academic connections to universities in Israel. The Azrieli Institute offered a field trip program in the summer of 2023 that allowed Concordia students to explore Israel in collaboration with Bar-Ilan University. Bar-Ilan is an institution that has allegedly been involved in “work with the Israeli military to develop unmanned combat vehicles and heavy machinery used to commit war crimes like home demolitions.”
SPHR is not alone in fighting against genocide and for BDS on campus. In the past year, the Arts and Science Federation of Associations and the Fine Arts Student Alliance passed a BDS motion. Additionally, the Quebec Public Interest Research Group, The People’s Potato, the Muslim Student Association, Solidarity Economy Incubation for Zero Emissions as well as hundreds of students across campus have all been demanding that Concordia divest from companies complicit in genocide.
Although SPHR is continuing its activism work, it is also going through structural changes. Effective Sept. 3, SPHR will become an independent club, funding itself solely through community donations. SPHR has accused the university of not allowing them to sign up to become an official club this year.
In June, the club received an email from the current acting dean of students, Katie Broad, as well as the director of the Office of Rights and Responsibilities (ORR), Aisha Topsakal. The university explained that SPHR will not be signed up as a student club anymore due to violations of the Code of Rights and Responsibilities. In the email, Concordia asked SPHR to remove three posts from its Instagram page as a condition for allowing the club to sign up once again. SPHR says that their independence won’t deter them from continuing their advocacy.
Tension between the university administration and SPHR is nothing new. According to Abisaab, March and April were intense months for him and the club.
On March 12, pro-Palestinian students picketed a talk by a professor from Tel Aviv University. The Israeli university was accused of offering special benefits and scholarships to student soldiers who participated in a 2014 military assault on Gaza.
Although SPHR claims they did not organize the picket, the student group did participate in the strike.
A month later, on April 10, Abisaab received two ORR complaints. One of the complaints was filed by the director of Campus Safety and Prevention Services because of SPHR’s involvement in the March 12 demonstration. The complaint alleged that Abisaab broke eight articles of the Code of Rights and Responsibilities.
The second complaint was filed by a professor in the university, whose name The Link has not included for safety reasons. The complaint accused Abisaab of targeting the Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies. At the time of publication, the complaints are still ongoing.
According to Abisaab, the complaints were targeted towards him mainly due to his status as general coordinator of SPHR.
“It's also an instance of profiling and discrimination,” Abisaab said. “Instead of actually looking at people who were there, or actually doing an investigation, or actually finding out what was said [...], they just pin things to me.”
According to Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci, over the past year, the administration has tried to keep the university safe by implementing changes across campus. Changes include increased personnel and monitoring of events and demonstrations; meeting with student groups to discuss de-escalation during events and taking disciplinary actions against students who have violated university rules; increased workshops on anti-discrimination and the establishment on April 3 of the Standing Together against Racism and Identity-based Violence Task Force.
Although the university is making changes, the anonymous SPHR member still has concerns with the escalating number of Concordia Safety and Prevention Service officers during pro-Palestine events.
“We've definitely seen throughout the semester security watching us specifically when you walk [with] your keffiyeh on your shoulder,” the member said.
Additionally, they believe that Palestine solidarity and the divestment movement are now much bigger than SPHR itself.
“Concordia should understand that all of these efforts [with security] do not help with reducing unrest on campus because it's simply not just SPHR anymore,” the member said. “[Students] passed BDS motions.”
Abisaab is hopeful that the movement will stay strong and continue to fight for Palestine.
“We cannot be deterred by administrations, nor the courts, nor the SPVM, nor the city, nor the province, nor the country. No one can deter us, especially not the Zionists. Concordia and McGill and all administrations will be forced to adhere to our demands,” he said. “And the only thing between us and them are days.”
This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 1, published September 3, 2024.
