York university demands student union boards resign following Palestine statement

York University is demanding executives of three student unions resign in response to their statement about the Israel-Hamas war.
Thestar.com
Oct. 23, 2023
Morgan Bocknek

York University is demanding the executive boards of three of its student unions resign in response to a joint statement the unions made about the Israel-Hamas war.

The university says noncompliance could result in sanctions, including the university no longer recognizing the unions, in an Friday community update posted to the YorkU website.

The university’s post asks the three student unions to retract their Oct. 12 statement titled “Statement of Solidarity with Palestine,” and issue new public statements “to confirm that they do not endorse or support antisemitism or any form of discrimination or violence.”

On Oct. 12, York Federation of Students, York University Graduate Student Association, and the Glendon College Student Union issued a statement in solidarity with Palestinian people.

“Recently, in a strong act of resistance, the Palestinian people tore down and crossed the illegitimate border fence erected by the settler-colonial apartheid state of so-called Israel,” reads the opening of the statement, which appears to be in reference to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, where militants stormed the blockaded Gaza-strip into nearby towns in Israel.

“These resistance efforts are a direct response to the ongoing and violent occupation of Palestine,” reads the joint union statement.

York University’s Friday update says this statement has been “widely interpreted as a justification for attacking civilians and a call to violence,” and notes the university first condemned the statement last week, and called upon the unions to clarify that they “reject any acts of violence or discrimination against Jewish students or other members of the community, and to reaffirm their commitment to non-violence and the safety of all of their members.”

The update says the unions have not taken the steps outlined by the university in its previous statement and says “the situation remains urgent.” The university says they have delivered written notices to union executives outlining their demands and has asked for compliance or proof that no breach of university regulations has occurred by 5 p.m. on Oct. 25.

York University and the three student unions have not replied to the Star’s requests for comment.