Professor Jan Grabowski expresses concern about historical precision

uOttawa called itself "Canada's university" under Allan Rock, and "Canada's university" showed itself to be very concerned about Israel's image, via many notable events. 

"Jan Grabowski is Professor of History at the University of Ottawa and Senior Invitational Scholar at the Advanced Holocaust Studies Center at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He received the 2014 Yad Vashem International Book Prize for Holocaust Research for his book Judenjagd."

Here (September 11, 2016 -- Haaretz), professor Grabowski suggests that a country would use the "powerful machinery of state" to shape history to its advantage and to make laws to facilitate such. He's referring to Poland of course:

Opinion // Challenge Poland's Attempts to Whitewash Its WWII anti-Jewish Hostility 

The students need to organize an academic debate between professor Jan Grabowski and doctor Norman Finkelstein, author of the authoritatively documented book The Holocaust Industry. The topic of state interference on historical precision is too important to leave to opinion media articles.

Professor Yoni Freedhoff writes about Palestinian terrorism, on his nutrition and healthy diet blog

University of Ottawa's professor Yoni Freedhoff (Faculty of Medicine) has a popular blog about nutrition and body weight (link on image). Every Saturday he draws his readers' attention to a few articles of broad societal interest.

Last Saturday (July 2) he recommended this article about "Palestinian terrorists in Israel".

I look forward to his upcoming recommendation about US-funded "Israeli terrorism perpetrated by Israel". I wonder if he will make that reading suggestion, since he usual recommends a balanced diet?

U of O linked to a benefactor with neo-Nazi ties

In 2009, following a series of show panels personally organized and hosted by university president Allan Rock, there was to be a comprehensive "donor recognition" policy at the University of Ottawa. The President's promise went like this:

"Diane Davidson, our Vice-President, Governance, will be preparing a draft policy and sending it out for consultation and reactions in the weeks to come. We will be looking for your opinion and suggestions, so that we can develop and adopt a policy that is in the best interests of the University."(LINK)

To our knowledge, no such policy was ever brought to the university community for "consultation and reactions". Instead, the President's entire originally public web-site (http://www.president.uottawa.ca) is now locked and only accessible via a password.

Here it was, as reported on October 14, 2009, by the student newspaper The Fulcrum:

U of O President Allan Rock mentioned that a committee will be created to address the issue. It will be in charge of coming up with guidelines on how to deal with recognition and encouraging transparency through student and community involvement. [really?]

According to Rock, a donation needs to be extremely generous for the amount of time a name is kept on a building. [umm humm, and how generous does it need to be to be an anonymous donation...?]

In an email to the Fulcrum, Beaulière [elected graduate student executive member] reinforced his thoughts on donor recognition.

“One thing was clear at the end of the panel discussion: it is high time the University of Ottawa adopts a policy that will render the naming process transparent, truly collegial, as well as representative of the values of its community.” [Comments by UofOWatch]

Not only was a proper policy for donors and benefactors not transparently developed and adopted, but, instead, all this was followed, in 2010, by a "U of O anonymous research chair for ethical management", no less.

Now, recently, it has come to light in a CBC media report that the University of Ottawa, under President Allan Rock's watch, has a benefactor who allegedly had intimate ties with a large US neo-Nazi organization:

American neo-Nazi group to get part of Ottawa exhibit (link)
CBCNews, June 29, 2013

Indeed, the benefactor willed a $1 million collection housed in the University of Ottawa classical antiquity museum to the said neo-Nazi organization, which theorizes about creating an all-white society without Jews and non-whites.

Following the media disclosure, according to the CBC video, the University stated that "the collection can be packed up and removed whenever [the lawyer executing the will] wants".

President Rock had a good initiative back in 2009, to create a donor policy with ethical guidelines and transparency, then he suddenly abandoned this important consultation, and then his president's web site and his personal "Rock Talk" blog went into hiding, it would seem? (The contents of these sites can no longer be accessed by the public.)

The end result for U of O is no policy and no transparency. More and more it looks like any money will do, with any degree of secrecy wanted.

Would it not be time for a thorough independent and transparent review of donors, benefactors, and partners of the University of Ottawa? The public, alumni, staff, and students are entitled to know all the contracts, terms of reference, and deals that tie the publicly funded institution to outside money. No?

Along those lines, what is the "University of Ottawa Foundation" and what does it do? How is its mission linked to the University's statutory obligations? Where are its annual audit reports on the U of O web site?

Why did Mr. Rock decide in 2009 to change his course and instead to gamble with the institution's reputation by not transparently developing an ethical donor and benefactor policy, which the entire University community (including himself?) wanted? What's up with that?

L'Apartheid et Allan Rock, une grande histoire d'amour -- La Rotonde (in French)

"Le conflit israelo-palestinien aux portes de l'U d'O"

Editorial -- La Rotonde

Faculty for Palestine (Canada) calls for action to redress the Allan Rock administration

Today Faculty for Palestine put out this call:


*URGENT CALL FOR SOLIDARITY: UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA TRIES TO SILENCE SOLIDARITY FOR PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS (SPHR) AND WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!*

Defend the right to critical discussion around Israeli apartheid on our campuses! Call on the University of Ottawa Administration to uphold free expression and follow clear and transparent procedures.

On March 5th, Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) 2012 opened at the University of Ottawa to a packed room, as students, faculty, and community members were treated to an informative lecture entitled “Arab Spring, Apartheid Falls? The Egyptian Uprising and Possibilities for Palestinian Resistance.” It featured an Egyptian activist who played an important role in the revolution that overthrew the Egyptian dictatorship, as well as a community activist from Montreal (for full schedule, see: http://ottawa.apartheidweek.org/).

Moreover, two students from the organizing committee were harassed by unidentified individuals, who on several occasions attempted to intimidate SPHR and Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) just outside the lecture hall during the event.

On March 6th, a member of SPHR received an email from Conventions and Reservations Services at the University of Ottawa telling her that their room booking for Thursday’s Keynote IAW event is now “on hold”, that SPHR “may not continue with this event for now”, and that SPHR's contract was being forwarded to “Protection Service for evaluation.” These heavy-handed measures are because of an unnamed “incident” that supposedly occurred at Monday’s event. When members of SPHR met with the University administration, they were not told what this “incident” was (see below for full email from U of O). The very fact that the organizers were put in a situation, where their event was threatened with cancellation, is a form of intimidation from the University of Ottawa administration.

In 2009, the Administrations at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University banned the international-used IAW poster, gaining national and international headlines. SPHR and SAIA see today's email as another attempt to silence the voices of students who advocate for Palestinian human rights. When the IAW poster was banned in 2009, we stood up and fought back with all of your support.


In response to this email:

Email sent to SPHR from University of Ottawa:

Hello [SPHR member],

Following the incident that occurred during your event in Fauteux 147A on March 5th 2012, your event scheduled for March 8th in Hagen 302 from 18:00 to 23:00 is on hold therefore in ``Pending`` mode. You may not continue with this event for now. Also, I urgently need you to provide the name of the speaker(s) who spoke on the 5th of March as well as the ones that are scheduled to speak on the 8th of March 2012 in Hagen 302. This information needs to be provided to me no later than today. Also, I am forwarding your contract to Protection Services for evaluation. Again, you may not proceed with your event in Hagen 302 on the 8th of March until I confirm.

Please respond to this email promptly

Martin Bergeron
Agent de coordination, Coordination agent
Service de congrès et réservations / Conventions and Reservations Service

UofOWatch Note: The last time this happened the CCLA wrote THIS stern letter of reprimand to Allan Rock. This time, the CCLA boss is Nathalie Des Rosiers, whose salary is paid by the University of Ottawa.

Former USA Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney at University of Ottawa

Former USA Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney led a Black History Month workshop in the Rotunda of Tabaret Hall at the University of Ottawa on February 27, 2012, 7pm to 10pm.

The event was sponsored by PSAC. Co-organizers Hazel Gashoka and Jean-Marie Vianney were highly pleased with the depth and quality of the event. McKinney stressed a multicultural mosaic of allies to fight racism at the University of Ottawa. She showed awareness of local issues and brought her vast experience into play in catalyzing a search for answers.

Shamefully, university president Allan Rock was "out of the country" and left the organizers with the impression that he supported the event while his chief of staff was not even able to provide chairs. The university did provide security, following some Jewish Student Association attempts to intimidate Gashoka away from the event. McKinney is a known critic of Israeli policy against Palestinian rights.

The entire event has been posted in nine parts on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/gLkeghEDMBo

Canadian university presidents concerned about human rights choose their battles

At a time when Israel, backed by the US and Canada's power elite, is calling for all-out war to destroy Iran; even having a US Zionist pundit call-out in the media for US president Obama to be assassinated by Israel if he won’t attack Iran (Globe and Mail LINK)...

At a time when a major regional war is threatened to satisfy Israeli regime ambitions...

What better time for two university presidents, two champions of Canadian-government-sanctioned human rights advocacy, Allan Rock and Lloyd Axworthy, to point out (LINK, LINK) Iran's human rights violations against Iranian Baha'i educators who had their University of Ottawa degrees stripped from them by the Iranian government?

It is heartening to see these men of principle call out for the protection of human rights irrespective of the political circumstances.

In their own words: "Those who support human rights, who believe in access to education and who deplore repressive governments are increasingly speaking out ..."

Does this mean that we can soon expect our two academic champions of human rights to jointly and publicly denounce the lack of access to higher education for the occupied Palestinians of Gaza, mainly due to Israel bombing the schools, hospitals, and public health infrastructure...?

I hope so. But somehow I fear this will not occur soon.

[Note: This author does not minimize the human rights abuses of Iran or of any state, Canada included. But it seems to this author that influential citizens should be first concerned with the human rights abuses of their own nation and nation's allies, since that is where these concerned actors have the greatest potential influence and responsibility.]

Global News Reporter's File::: State of academic freedom in Canada's capital -- video

The Press-TV Global News report of September 8, 2011 (4:30pm GMT) contained this segment about the state academic freedom in Canada, and in Canada's capital Ottawa in particular.

The Press TV video report features:

• James Turk (Executive Director, Canadian Association of University Teachers),
• Yavar Hameed (human rights lawyer),
• Joseph Hickey (student representative on the Senate, University of Ottawa),
• Ian Bron (Managing Director, Canadians for Accountability),
• Denis Rancourt (wrongfully dismissed Full Professor with tenure, University of Ottawa), and
• activist students being wrongfully arrested for free expression on the campus of Carleton University (Ottawa).

Labour law tribunal hearings into the wrongful dismissal of Denis Rancourt are on-going and can be followed HERE.

Original Link:
Press TV Global News Reporter's File of September 8, 2011

Related posts:
Israel lobby influence at the University of Ottawa (all UofOWatch posts)

Related analysis:
The Canadian Zionism Question
All "Israel" posts at Activist Teacher blog

Rock attempt to manipulate senate minutes on Israel fails

University of Ottawa president Allan Rock tried to have the university Senate minutes changed via an unusual machination that in the end did not fly -- thanks to student senate member Joseph Hickey.

Hickey has reported the entire unfortunate episode on his blog about Senate: HERE.

The university videos of Senate also document Rock's incredible attempt to remove from the record the large numbers of abstentions in votes on motions questioning the University's academic involvement with the apartheid state of Israel, given the international call for an academic boycott of Israel.

It is remarkable the extent to which the Rock administration will go to participate-in and facilitate Israel's overt and explicit image war that has been termed "Brand Israel" -- an attempt to mask Israel's on-going war crimes (Geneva Conventions in occupied Gaza, etc.) using public opinion devices and cultural and academic collaborations.

University president douchebag contest::: Rock's lead is challenged by Woolf

University of Ottawa president Allan Rock once tried to intimidate the president of the student union into publicly denouncing an Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) principled position on Israel. The young student president reported that the behind-closed-door meeting was the most intense and humiliating intimidation session that he had ever been subjected to.

At least president Daniel Woolf of Queen's University does it openly: HERE. But that, in itself, does not make it less despicable.

HERE is an unelected university president (Woolf) publicly scolding and defaming the highest elected student representative on campus and incorrectly instructing the student rector regarding what can and cannot be stated from the position of Rector.

In addition, Woolf calls for the mobbing of the student rector, knowing that any such impeachment exercise would be contrary to foundational democratic principles, not to mention academic freedom which Woolf is bound to defend.

It does not get any uglier than that (except at U of O).

I would urge the student Rector to immediately serve Woolf with a Notice of Libel pursuant to the Libel and Slander Act, RSO 1990, requesting a retraction and an unqualified apology.

Only outside institutions can get these thugs to behave. Enough is enough.

RELATED POSTS:
Original letter to Ignatieff by Nick Day - rabble.ca
The Canadian Zionism Question
Comparing two red-tie Liberals on Israel war crimes

Academic boycott of Israel debated at University of Ottawa Senate -- PRESS RELEASE

U of O Watch obtained this media release earlier this week.

(OTTAWA, March 2, 2011) – The University of Ottawa will discuss a motion to freeze a new scholarship-endowed joint law degree venture with the University of Haifa, Israel, at its March 7, 2011, meeting (3pm, Tabaret Hall Senate Room, 550 Cumberland Ave.).

The motion was put forth by student senator Joseph Hickey. It is the only motion on the Monday agenda and is expected to be duly discussed in view of a vote.

Senate meetings are open to the public. Hickey has invited three groups to speak to the motion:

(1) Members of the Jewish student group Hillel-Ottawa.
(2) Members of Students for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), Ottawa.
(3) The donors of the scholarship program, Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman.

The motion is posted on Hickey’s senate blog here:
http://studentseyeview.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/march-7-motion-on-ottawa-haifa-exchange-program/

Hickey is concerned that the program was not duly approved by university Senate and will not be available without discrimination against Arab students of the University of Haifa.

Hickey wants clarification regarding Senate powers to approve all new academic programs, an affirmative action guarantee to disallow any discrimination, and for the donor agreement with Schwartz-Reisman to be made public.

In 2008 the media reported that Allan Rock participated in a trip to Israel at the start of his mandate as U of O president that “yielded immediate results” including this exchange law program. The trip was reported to have been “partially financed by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) and private donors.”

- 30 -

For more information please contact:

Joseph Hickey
B.Sc. (Hon., Co-op, Suma Cum Laude), University of Ottawa
M.Sc. candidate, University of Ottawa
Graduate student representative to university Senate, Sciences section

Jewish Tribune goes ballistic over U of O Senate motion -- and update

The Jewish Tribune (JT) is the "Largest Jewish Weekly in Canada" with a "Circulation 60,410".

It went ballistic over a duly submitted and received motion (LINK, LINK) to the University of Ottawa Senate here:

"University of Ottawa exchange with University of Haifa under attack"

The JT article talks about being "under attack", an "assault", an "anti-Israeli motion", and "Insulting Jews and Muslims".

Such is the response to a considered attempt to have a democratic, open and balanced discussion about an obviously political matter in which there is evidence for influence peddling in the highest circles of the university administration and possible sidestepping of the Senate's statutory authority.

U of O Watch has learned that senator Hickey (who is spearheading the motion) met with president Allan Rock on Friday and that Rock vehemently stated to Hickey that "I wasn't in Israel in 2008" [to negotiate the Haifa exchange] no less than four times; in contradiction to the media report of an Israel-Lobby-paid-for relations trip. Rock could not explain why he did not correct the media report which harms the image and reputation of the institution by showing that the president would have participated in such a scheme.

Hickey has also ensured that his senator colleagues would, in preparation for the Monday vote on the motion, be informed about the evidence of discrimination against Palestinian students at Haifa university HERE. And he has obtained support for his motion from the national Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) organization: HERE, HERE.

The JT's over-the-top reaction to a university senator wanting transparency and accountability on these questions confirms the legitimacy of Hickey's concerns. For example (from the JT article):

"Only Dr. Michael Dan, president of the board of directors of the Canadian Friends of Haifa University, reluctantly agreed to say a few words.

Observing that the motion does not call for fairness, but rather that Arab students be over-represented in the exchange, Dr. Dan said, “I’d be delighted if Arab students were over-represented, but only if the selection process is based on merit. Anything else would be an insult to those same Arab students.

“I believe that they’re every bit as smart as Jewish students and since the university (of Haifa) has the highest proportion of Arab students of any Israeli university, I expect 20 per cent of the participants to be Arabs.”

Steven Plaut, professor of economics at University of Haifa, said, “The hypocrisy of the boycotters is mind-numbing. The University of Haifa has not only the largest number of Arab students in Israel – both in absolute number and as a percentage of the student body – but it has the largest number of Arab students receiving a Western academic education in the entire Middle East. The University of Haifa also grants affirmative action preferences to Arabs in admissions, hiring, scholarships and dorm space…. Arab students face lowered barriers, dumbed down under double standards, in getting accepted and admitted under affirmative action.... In other words, the University of Haifa discriminates against Jews.”

Plaut added that while he didn’t know the precise number of Arab professors where he works, he is very sure it’s significantly higher than the percentage of First Nations teachers at U of O.

“The University of Haifa has an Arab dean. How many Arab deans does the University of Ottawa have?”"

UofOWatch concludes that such comments are evidence that maybe U of O would do well to not associate itself with Haifa. There is a reason that a large international civil movement is calling for an academic boycott of Israel...

Motion for March 7th U of O Senate meeting::: Transparency on Israel

[See updates at senator Joseph Hickey's blog HERE.]

The following motion to Senate was made public today.

From: Joseph Hickey <>
Date: Sat, Feb 19, 2011
Subject: Motion on uOttawa-uHaifa exchange program
To: Diane Davidson
Cc: allan.rock@uottawa.ca, all Senate members, university community, concerned parties

Dear Diane Davidson and Members of the Senate,

I hereby submit the following motion for the March 7, 2011 meeting of the Senate. I hope to work with other Members of Senate in the upcoming weeks before the March 7 meeting in order to develop any amendments that may be necessary. Please contact me if you are you interested.

Motion submitted on February 19, 2011:

WHEREAS the operation of the University of Ottawa Senate is premised on the democratic principles of transparency and accountability and bound by the University of Ottawa Act, 1965 to follow Christian principles of fairness and equity, and;

WHEREAS the Executive Committee of the Senate approved a Joint Masters in Laws (LL.M) exchange program in partnership with the University of Haifa, Israel, on May 12, 2008, and the Faculty of Common Law is currently accepting applications to the program, and;

WHEREAS it has not been determined that the Senate has granted the power to its Executive Committee to approve new programs categorized as reciprocity agreements, and;

WHEREAS it has not been determined if Palestinian students from the University of Ottawa or the University of Haifa shall have full and equitable access to the program in question, and;

WHEREAS new academic initiatives that have targeted donor support are potentially subject to donor influence and whereas the Haifa project agreement between the University of Ottawa and the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation has not been disclosed to Senate or made public, and;

WHEREAS there is presently local and international expressed concern about Israel’s domestic and foreign policy and a broad international call for an academic boycott of Israel,


THEREFORE the Senate requires that the date and circumstances surrounding the delegation of its power to approve new exchange programs and reciprocity agreements to its Executive Committee be provided to it, and;

THEREFORE the Senate requires that the agreement between the University of Ottawa and the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation be entirely disclosed to it and made public, and;

THEREFORE in order to ensure fair and equitable access of all persons to the program in question without discrimination, the Senate requires the affirmative action guarantee that applications be selected in such a way that the percentage of Palestinian students accepted into the program at the University of Haifa be equal to or greater than the percentage of Palestinian people living in Israel, and;

THEREFORE the Senate will hear the community concerns regarding institutional academic exchanges with Israel, from representatives of all concerned parties from the university community, in view of (re)considering its approval of the Haifa project, and;

THEREFORE the Joint Masters in Laws (LL.M) exchange program shall be frozen and the application process put on hold until the above actions have been carried out by the Senate.

Sincerely,

Joseph Hickey
Representative to the University of Ottawa Senate for graduate students in the Sciences.

Cc: Concerned parties, community members, media

[Photos: Gerald Schwartz, Heather Reisman; donors to Haifa exchange program.]

RELATED POSTS:
http://uofowatch.blogspot.com/2011/02/u-of-o-hijacked-by-israel-senator-hot.html
http://uofowatch.blogspot.com/2011/02/u-of-o-2-for-1-law-degrees-scam-was-not.html

U of O hijacked by Israel::: Senator hot on the trail of administrative malfeasance?

• Why does the University of Ottawa need a law school exchange program with Israel?

• And why does it need it in the middle of an international civil society call for an academic boycott of Israel?

• How does this relate to the Canadian Zionism Question?

• Is this an effort to help Israel into needed compliance with international law and the Geneva Conventions?

• Or is it an Israel Lobby contribution to Brand Israel (and HERE)?

These are the kinds of questions that the Allan Rock administration did not want raised at university Senate.

But university Senate is where all new academic programs are democratically discussed and approved. It is the highest governing body on academic matters at the university.

How can this dilemma be solved? (SEE BACKGROUND REPORT HERE)

The Allan Rock answer is simple (and certainly inspired from federal politics):

Don't call it a program!

It's just an "exchange"... (A procedural improvement that the administration can approve without consulting Senate.)

It looks and smells like an academic program (with specific academic requirements, applications, deadlines, unique characteristics, entrance requirements, its own scholarship "program", etc.) but IT'S NOT AN ACADEMIC PROGRAM.

Graduate school dean Gary Slater explained it this way: "It's not an academic program. It's an exchange program." (HERE)

But physics student Senator Joseph Hickey is not letting go. He wants to understand how this "Senate is the highest governing body" thing works... HERE.

Another problem is that the Rock administration wants to please its donor (the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation) and publicly call it a wonderful "New Joint Masters in Laws Program", also in an effort to recruit candidates.

So the Rock administration first puts out this press release (below) then four days later changes the press release (also below) after Hickey starts to noisily inquire...

Note the changes: SIX occurrences of the word "program", including in the title, are removed and craftily replaced, without any mention that the public document has been altered.

OK but two of those changes are in quotes of statements made by law dean Bruce Feldthusen and research chair Michael Geist...?!

So what did they really say? Are they automaton puppets? These are fair questions.



Epilogue: Compare this to former professor Denis Rancourt who in 2005 was disciplined for using the word "bilingual" to describe one of his courses (on his own unofficial web page) that was actually bilingual in practice and approved as such because this could mislead some students to believe that the course was "officially bilingual". Remarkably, this discipline was upheld by a professional arbitrator: HERE.

U of O "2 for 1 law degrees" scam was not approved by university Senate

THIS press release was posted today by the University of Ottawa.

Highlights are as follows:

"... students will receive two Masters in Laws degrees ... This exciting dual degree program provides students with the rare opportunity to obtain two distinct LL.M. degrees after only one year of studies ... The University Ottawa - University of Haifa program is generously supported by the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation ... Additionally, the program affords students unfamiliar with Israel an opportunity to experience the country first-hand ..." (emphasis added)

As historic background, readers of UofOWatch will recall:

"In July 2008 the media reported that Allan Rock participated in a trip to Israel “partly financed by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA)”, along with five other Canadian university presidents. The media reported that Mr. Rock’s visit “yielded immediate results” as “the University of Ottawa agreed to launch an exchange program in law.” After a few months in office, President Allan Rock announced his plan in October 2008 for the University of Ottawa. This plan included what he calls putting “Canada’s University in the service of the World”. In explaining it to students on October 24, 2008, he talked about exchange programs. When one student asked if Palestinian students would be allowed to participate in the exchange programs with Israel, Mr. Rock stated that he could not answer that." [see Endnote-3 HERE]

Today's U of O press release is entitled "U of O - U of Haifa New Joint Masters in Law Program".

All new academic programs and all changes to existing academic programs are required by law (University of Ottawa Act, 1965) to be approved by the university Senate, the highest university governing body on all academic matters.

Today at university Senate, student Senate member Joseph Hickey pointed out that this new 2 for 1 masters in law program has never been discussed or approved by Senate.

Senators refused to second his motion to add this urgent matter to the agenda, despite Hickey's explanation that the authority of Senate in academic matters was being circumvented and that the public was being misinformed.

[Student applications for the funded 2 for 1 deal ($10 thousand bursary per student) are only being received until March 1st (before the next Senate meeting), to start in September 2011.]

President Allan Rock stated "No one knows what you are talking about Mr. Hickey."

Later in the Senate meeting, dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Gary Slater clarified that the new joint venture announced in the press release was "not an [academic] program".

In addition, the reported Schwartz-Reisman Foundation "generous support" is the second significant private donation disclosed by the university since in 2009 Allan Rock promised a university policy of "donor recognition" before any more donations were accepted and then never produced a policy... [see HERE and HERE]

On Ann Coulter [see background HERE], Rock "clarified" today at Senate that his statements were "not a commitment".

I guess this means that his show panels on corporatization and his 2009 statements that a donor policy would be immediately developed were also "not a commitment". Fluff? Noise? Smoke and mirrors?

Most importantly, the authority of the university Senate to approve and legally certify academic programs has been at best circumvented in this special case and at worst rendered meaningless.

Like the proverbial boiling frog, only one Senator noticed.

This raises many unanswered questions:

• Who will be the first students to benefit from this unprecedented "2 for 1" degrees deal, and get paid doing it?

• Will they view Israel in a positive light? [HERE, HERE, HERE] Will their required research papers address Israel's ongoing Geneva Conventions violations?
  

• If university Senate doesn't need to approve such scams, then who guarantees academic standards?

• Did Haifa's university Senate discuss and approve this venture?

• Will Ontario's Ministry of Education allow this?

• Will Senator Joseph Hickey seek a judicial review?

UPDATES

Feb.8-2011:

• The university has changed the application deadline from March 1st to May 1st: HERE.
• The university has removed the media release from its list: HERE.
• yayaCanada reports: "U of O hijacked by Israel"

Feb.11-2011:

• University changes its posted press release to remove the word "program" in the title and in six places including in quoted statements by dean Bruce Feldthusen and by research chair Michael Geist. No mention is made of the change.
  

Israel Lobby losing U of O - Rock standing down

.


On Tuesday September 21, 2010, renowned Israeli journalist, author, and unapologetic critic of Israel's brutal and illegal (as in Geneva Conventions) occupation of Palestine Gideon Levy will speak in the University of Ottawa's Alumni Auditorium, the university's flagship events auditorium.

The event is hosted by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and is described HERE.

How did this happen?

Where are the Israel Lobby newspaper editorials screaming for "balance"?

Where are the strong arm tactics of Allan Rock who is known to intimidate student politicians and student groups away from criticisms of Israel? (see background links below)

Has the Jewish Student Association lost its leverage?

Where is Hillel?

Allan Rock not so long ago (see background links below) banned a student poster announcing Israeli Apartheid Week and now he sits on his hands as one of Israel's most acidic critics speaks at the Alumni Auditorium.

UofOWatch thinks that Allan Rock is learning about academic freedom (a la Coulter) and about the liabilities of being an ideologue president who projects the image of spearheading human rights while supporting the genocidal policies of the state of Israel.

UofOWatch thinks that Allan Rock would not have changed on his own and celebrates all those who have expected Mr. Rock to behave and all those who have continued to be critical of the criminal policies of Israel.

RELATED POSTS AND BACKGROUND:

• Comparing two red-tie Liberals on Israel war crimes

• Israel Apartheid Week coming - Will Mr. Rock behave?

• U of O protects the campus visual environment from inflammatory material capable of inciting confrontation

Rock-a-baby response from thepeoplesvoice.org

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2010/06/24/who-is-allan-rock-and-why-was-denis-ranc

Related post:
Who is Allan Rock and why was Denis Rancourt fired? -Analysis of a temper tantrum gone viral

Comparing two red-tie Liberals on Israel war crimes

The apartheid state of Israel, with its disregard for civilian lives and international law, needs to be sternly pressured to follow the Geneva Conventions and to abandon its genocidal strangulation of Gaza.

This is a needed debate in Canada to save lives and to stop war crimes by the state of Israel. This is particularly true in Canada because of its strong ties with the United States.

Influential Canadians who attempt to stifle expressions of the needed criticisms of Israel's practices in Palestine are guilty of condoning war crimes and in that measure have blood on their hands.

Allan Rock, now President of the University of Ottawa, is the man who in 2004 under the Liberal Martin government, as Canada’s ambassador to the UN, abruptly changed Canada’s longstanding policy on Israel to vote against UN resolutions for Palestinian human rights, along with the US and Israel and contrary to virtually all other member states. (E.g., THIS LINK.)

Once on campus at the University of Ottawa, HERE (backup link) is an example of his work where he had to be reprimanded by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association for banning a student poster about Israeli Apartheid Week.

Allan Rock also strong-armed a student union president into distancing the student union from the student-run Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) which had expressed a principled stance towards Israel. Rock then publicly announced that he would look for administrative ways to deny OPIRG its student funding... For this and more such examples see Endnote-3 in THIS document.

Well, here is another Liberal supporter of Israel war crimes, present Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff with his approach to student censorship:



This commentator is beginning to think that the Liberal red tie is meant to represent a flow of Palestinian blood.

BACKGROUND READING:

Israeli Apartheid Week is coming - Will Mr. Rock behave?

Israeli Apartheid Week 2010 is coming to the U of O campus March 1st.

Last year U of O president Mr. Allan Rock behaved very badly... The Canadian Civil Liberties Association had to reprimand him in a stern public letter [LINK]. His actions were rather surprising for a former federal Minister of Justice [LINK] and as a self-proclaimed defender of human rights [LINK].

This year we hope his behaviour will be considerably more in line with the concepts of academic freedom and freedom of expression? Maybe Norman Finkelstein could help Mr. Rock see clearly in this maze of Zionist sentiment surrounding the ongoing genocidal actions of the State of Israel? Let's give it a try:



This new blog hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace may also help: The Only Democracy?

Then if Mr. Rock becomes truly inspired by the struggle for justice, he might facilitate something like THIS (pension divestment) at the U of O, drop his corporate "donor recognition" plans, and actually stand for human rights? We expect nothing less from "Canada's university".

It's a test Mr. Rock. You will be graded.

U of O protects the campus visual environment from inflammatory material capable of inciting confrontation

In the interest of creating a sterile zone where students are free to develop and grow…?
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(Don’t miss President Allan Rock’s upcoming March 5th lecture entitled “Canadian Perspectives”.)
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From the media office of the University of Ottawa:
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"News Releases & Announcements
Statement regarding Posting Regulations"
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"OTTAWA, February 23, 2009 — Under University of Ottawa policies, the administration has the right and the responsibility to ensure that all posters comply with the Posting Regulations before they are displayed on a bulletin board owned by the University. The regulations set out principles to be applied in considering such requests.
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One of the posters in relation to Israeli Apartheid Week was found to be inconsistent with our posting regulations for reasons that included the use of an image that was inflammatory and capable of inciting confrontation."