Posters featuring images prominent Israeli politicians were taken down after being put up on the designated wall space for Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) elections material.
The posters, put up on Jan. 25, displayed figures such as the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of Justice Aleyet Shaked, as well as four others, above controversial statements made by each individual. The group Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) claimed responsibility via Facebook.
Simon Hunt, Deputy Electoral Officer of the (CUSA) election, said only approved campaign material can be posted in the executive postering area.
“The SAIA posters that were found in CUSA elections space were taken down because they were unrelated to CUSA elections. Posters in those spaces must be approved campaign posters, and they were not,” he said.
According to Hunt, no other groups have attempted to promote themselves using CUSA election space.
“We asked SAIA to not poster in elections spaces” he said “We believe that we can rely on other groups to not poster in elections areas.”
SAIA, according to their website, is an activist group involved in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) movement against Israeli presence in Palestine.
Their website lists demands for Israel, among other things, “Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands, dismantling the Wall and freeing all Palestinian and Arab political prisoners.”
The BDS movement, which has a network website, has enumerated similar objectives publicly, stating “Israel is occupying and colonizing Palestinian land, discriminating against Palestinian citizens of Israel and denying Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the BDS call urges action to pressure Israel to comply with international law.”
Carleton’s chapter of SAIA did not respond to requests for comment.
Critics, including prominent Jewish media such as the Forward, have accused the BDS of attempting to undermine Israel’s democratic process and promote anti-semitism.
