The University is failing its Palestinian students and their allies.
When you look on the homepage for Queen’s University’s website, you’ll find a statement declaring the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect for all. According to the website, Queen’s is a place to participate, thrive, and build lasting connections.
The page describes a so-called welcoming space —a supportive environment where students can count on assistance during tribulations.
However, there’s an undeniable lack of support for Palestinian students across the institution, from both administration and student leaders. Palestinian students are facing widespread racial and ethnic discrimination, and there’s gross negligence on the part of University administration and student governments towards providing support for Palestinian students and their allies.
Despite countless open letters, petitions, and statements urging the University to show solidarity with the Palestinian community and denounce genocide, the institution remains silent, placing it within the parameters of complacency.
An email from the Queen’s Health Sciences Dean Jane Philpott has gone as far as to say that “unknown numbers of civilians in Gaza have also lost their lives as the Israeli government responds in defence.” This level of disregard has left Palestinian students feeling degraded and dehumanized. It’s the University’s responsibility to ensure Palestinian students are heard and treated with the same respect as their peers.
For an institution that prides itself on its efforts to achieve diversity, it appears Queen’s only values diversity on the front page of their website. The response from Queen’s and other administrators who are in positions to create change has been shameful.
Individuals standing up for Palestinian human rights shouldn’t have to convince you that killing children and innocent civilians is wrong. An environment that forces them to do so is demoralizing and fuels alienation within the student community.
Posters put up around campus raising awareness for murdered children have been ripped down, desecrating the victims and their memory.
Due to the over-intellectualization of this issue, the humanitarian crisis is receiving less attention as the world has become more preoccupied with the politicization of the matter. Every conversation is derailed by debates about the past which, while important, shouldn’t overshadow current atrocities.
It’s unacceptable to allow the thousands of martyrs, the forced displacement of millions, and the healthcare catastrophe in Palestine to be overlooked. It’s crucial to recognize the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing affecting Palestinians, perpetrated by the state of Israel.
Calling for the cessation of the murder of children shouldn’t be conflated with accusations of antisemitism, as it is within our right to critique the state of Israel for its war crimes. Judaism is a beautiful religion which can’t be equated with the racist Zionist ideology that has kept Palestinians oppressed for over 75 years.
There’s no room for racism or ethnic discrimination on our campus. The University must be critical of how its biases control the narratives being spread within academic walls. We opposeantisemitism, and our concern is ensuring the safety of all students on campus. Discrimination towards one group won’t liberate another.
As Marwaan Kabour once said, being pro-Palestine and against antisemitism go hand-in-hand, because all systems of oppression reinforce one another, and cannot be fought in isolation. This mindset, one that should be held by all, is what the Palestinian community is rallying for.
Students have been continuously censored or accused of antisemitism by their clubs, committees, and faculties in their attempts to advocate for the Palestinian cause.
Though Principal Patrick Deane encourages “the free debate of ideas and political positions,” Palestinian students and their allies are facing criticism for their persistence in fighting for the cause across campus.
Clubs and student groups have discouraged students from speaking on the illegal occupation due to a desire to remain nonpolitical. One student was told not to release informational posts about the crisis in Gaza, while others have been “politely” asked not to publicize their solidarity statements.
In the wake of a humanitarian catastrophe, it’s unfair to request individuals remain politically neutral. Doing so would be an acceptance of the status quo.
We shouldn’t feel intimidated for speaking out against genocide and ethnic cleansing. There have been numerous instances within the last few weeks of students being photographed or recorded on campus without consent for their advocacy efforts, or for simply wearing Palestinian keffiyehs.
Students fundraising for humanitarian aid in Gaza were harassed for displaying a sign that read “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This is a slogan that calls for the end of the illegal Israeli occupation in Palestine and calls for equality for all walks of life between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea.
Despite complaints being forwarded to the University, no action has been taken to hold perpetrators accountable for their xenophobic acts.
Silence from the University administration and the student government speaks to their acceptance of Palestinian suffering. Abstaining from condemning genocide under the guise of being nonpartisan or avoiding involvement in geopolitics only further amplifies the injustice.
The current events aren’t a political matter, but a humanitarian one. The death toll in Gaza has now surpassed that of the 1948 Nakba or “catastrophe.” Students are hurting, but are expected to continue their studies within an institution that deliberately chooses to brush over the atrocities affecting their families in Palestine.
As a community at Queen’s University, we must acknowledge the privilege we have to be able to disconnect from what is happening, and that many within our shared community can’t do so.
Despite the absence of active support from University administration, students are resilient in their support of Palestine. From mobilization through petitions and protests, to showing solidarity and resistance by wearing Palestinian pins and keffiyehs on campus, advocates won’t stop their efforts. This embodies an unwavering commitment to justice and a display of humanity by Queen’s students.
With that said, it’s imperative for the University to listen to the voices of its students. This is a call to action, urging administration and the student government to acknowledge the pressing need for appropriate resources to be provided to the student body—such as implementing measures to ensure the safety of Palestinian students on campus.
We call on the University to recognize the ongoing ethnic discrimination, to recognize its students are in pain, and to openly denounce the long-standing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by the state of Israel.
We call for the inclusion of cultural literacy and diverse perspectives in curriculums across all faculties. We call for accountability and consequences for anyone who commits acts of hatred toward any of our peers.
To all our Palestinian peers who are hurting by the loss of their land, culture, and people, we are standing by you. And for those who have been let down and are feeling isolated from the Queen’s community, we are here for you, even if our leaders aren’t.
Uyanda is a third-year global development student, and Joud is a third-year political studies student.
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