Please sign and distribute this letter initiated by York University allies and Faculty for Palestine in solidarity with eleven comrades who were arrested for allegedly postering a Toronto Indigo bookstore. The letter condemns Toronto Police Services for arresting and laying criminal charges against the eleven and calls for the charges to be dropped. It also denounces York University’s suspension of three York employees, who were among the charged, and calls for their immediate reinstatement.
Toronto police carried out the arrests in pre-dawn raids of their homes. As reported in Breach Media, “Front doors were broken, computers and cell phones were confiscated, and anyone present was placed in handcuffs, including the elderly, leaving disturbed and distressed families in their wake.” The letter calls out the actions of the Toronto Police as a strategy to attack the growing Palestine solidarity movement by creating a climate of fear.
The letter condemns the characterization of Palestine solidarity as anti-semitic and provides context for the targeting of Indigo: “Indigo has long been subject to civil society protests based on the fact that its founder and CEO also co-founded a charity that directly supports the Israeli military. The HESEG foundation, and its Lone Soldier program, provide direct financial support to foreign volunteers to the Israeli Defense Forces.”
The 600+ signers to date demand that the charges “be dropped immediately and call for the police to publicly apologize for these acts of intimidation and harassment.” The signatories also call on York University to honour its “core value ‘to advance social justice and equity through critical insight.. and socially responsible action’ and stand behind workers and alumni fighting these political charges.”
Please sign and share this letter even if you do not have a York affiliation.