Carleton University’s new pro-Palestine coalition is set to discuss divestment from companies linked to Israel with university administration tomorrow.
Nir Hagigi, Carleton’s Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) president, shared the development last night at a press conference held at the University of Ottawa encampment.
“This meeting is a critical opportunity to take actionable steps and present our demands,” Hagigi said at the conference. “We will push for immediate, meaningful change and seek firm commitments from the administration.”
The Carleton 4 Palestine coalition will be meeting with Carleton interim president Jerry Tomberlin, provost L. Pauline Rankin and vice-president finance and administration Lorraine Dyke, a press release from the new group stated.
The coalition has three key demands: Carleton’s disclosure of investments in companies linked to Israel, divestments from those companies and an academic boycott from institutions supporting the Israeli occupation in Palestine.
Benjamin Tessier, a member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), said the university is “likely already aware” of the coalition’s demands.
The coalition will issue a public update after the meeting, Tessier added.
Signatories for the new coalition include the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA), Ontario Public Interest Research Group Carleton and the Carleton branches of SJP and IJV.
It also includes CUPE 4600, the Carleton union representing contract instructors and teaching assistants.
Hagigi said the coalition’s calls to action are a “moral imperative.”
“As members of an academic institution that prides itself on fostering critical thinking and ethical behaviour, we have a responsibility to ensure our university’s [conduct] reflects those values,” Hagigi said.
“It’s our duty to speak out and demand change.”
The calls to action are reflective of many Carleton students’ views, Sarah El Fitori, CUSA president, said at the encampment.
“I see students struggling to attend their classes, to keep their focus, while they watch their family and friends be brutally massacred by the Israeli occupation.”
“Until there is change, I will be here,” El Fitori said.
Hagigi said IJV remains “fully committed” to the encampment at uOttawa, which has reached its third week in front of Tabaret Hall.
Following talks with sit-in organizers, uOttawa’s administration agreed to release an updated list of investments by June 1, the Fulcrum reported.
“We will continue showing up until all of [the uOttawa encampment] goals are met,” Hagigi said. “Their fight for justice resonates deeply with our own goals and values.”
“Carleton acknowledges the impact of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas and, like others, grieves the tremendous human suffering and loss of life resulting from the ongoing crisis,” Steven Reid, Carleton’s media relations officer, told the Charlatan in an email.
“The university is committed to responsible investment and, to that end, has established a Responsible Investing Policy. Carleton is also a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and Environmental and, when new investments are considered, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are utilized to judge financial returns as well as overall impact.”
Reid’s statement did not directly comment on the coalition’s goals or what administration hopes to accomplish in the May 22 meeting.
Featured image by Elissa Mendes.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a statement from the university, which was received after publication.
