Changing school policy to reflect Palestinian solidarity is an uphill battle at most universities in Canada! Fortunately, there have been many successful BDS and Palestinian solidarity resolutions in the past few years. Should your group decide to push for policy change on campus, CJPME is here to help you strategize.
Templates:
- BDS Resolution (download as Word document)
- Palestine Solidarity Resolution template (coming soon)
- Anti-Palestinian Racism Resolution template (coming soon)
Listen:
Here are a few resolutions that have been passed in the last few years:
McGill University - Student Society of McGill University - SPHR McGill's Google Doc | PDF
University of Toronto - University of Toronto Student Union - The Palestine Forum's resolution | PDF
University of British Columbia - Alma Mater Society - Alma Mater Society's Tweet | PDF
Simon Fraser University - Simon Fraser Student Society - Free Palestine Working Group's Google Doc | PDF
Simon Fraser University - Simon Fraser Student Society - Action Toolkit - SFSS Palestine Liberation Issues Policy | PDF
BDS Resolution Template
Whereas in 1948, the state of Israel was established through the expulsion of the majority of the indigenous Palestinian population, turning them into refugees whom decades later still cannot exercise their fundamental right to return as stipulated in UN General Assembly resolution 194;
Whereas since 1967, Israel has occupied and colonized the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, building illegal Jewish-only settlements – which the UN has called a “flagrant” violation of international law – as well as an 8-metre segregation wall – condemned by the International Court of Justice;
Whereas Israel’s entrenched system of racial discrimination against its own Arab-Palestinian citizens remains intact;
Whereas Israel systematically obstructs Palestinians students’ right to education through military checkpoints and roadblocks, its 8-metre segregation wall, and the frequent closure of cities, routinely preventing thousands of student and teachers from reaching their schools and universities;
Whereas on July 9, 2005, 171 Palestinian civil society organizations called upon people of conscience around the world to implement a global campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era;
Be it resolved, that we demand that our students’ union, XXXX join student organizations around the globe by endorsing the 2005 Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, recognizing that the right to education is a fundamental human right;
Ensuring that the XXXX administration also commit to identifying and divesting from companies that support or profit from the Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian land, whilst refusing to enter into formal collaborations with Israeli academic institutions until Israel ceases to violate human rights and international law.
Referendum Question template
- Do you think XXXX should endorse the 2005 call for Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions of the Israeli state due to their complicity in violations of the human rights of the Palestinians people?
- Do you as a XXXX student support calling upon the XXXX to boycott and divest from all institutions, companies, and products that are complicit in the Israeli occupation, based on principles of human rights and international law?
- Do you think the XXXX should sever ties with the following institutions due to their complicity in violations of the human rights of Palestinians: XXXX