Suspension of nursing student Arij Al Khafagi
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On Monday, Nov. 21, 2023, Arij Al Khafagi, a fourth-year nursing student at the University of Manitoba was suspended due to social media posts she made expressing opposition to Israel’s violence against the Palestinians in Gaza. In addition to her suspension, Al Khafagi received a five-year reprimand on her academic transcript, despite being an exemplary student, and president of the Nursing Students’ Association.
Read moreIndigenous Artist’s Forced Resignation from AGO
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Wanda Nanibush left the Art Gallery of Ontario AGO in what was described as a mutual decision. However, insiders indicates that her resignation came against the backdrop of her long-standing public support for Palestinian rights, which had become a point of contention within the gallery and its wider community. This tension was exacerbated by the Israel’s violent response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Nanibush's prior advocacy had included drawing parallels between the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada and Palestinians, particularly in a 2016 feature for Canadian Art magazine[1]. Stephan Jost, AGO’s CEO, acknowledged Nanibush's honesty and her role in elevating Indigenous art and artists at the museum, despite these causing "difficult conversations."[2]
Read moreRemoval of Muslim chaplain Aarij Anwer
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On October 26, 2023, Western University announced that Muslim chaplain Aarij Anwer, who worked on a volunteer basis would be removed from his position due to a comment he made on X. Anwer’s tweet was a response to former senator Linda Frum who criticized a Toronto vigil for Palestinians who died in Gaza, characterizing it as “an orgy of celebration for the beheading of babies and the rape and execution of little girls.”[1] Anwer’s tweet read, “Stop spreading lies of beheading babies or rape of little girls. It’s been debunked. No one is celebrating the murder of Israeli babies. Palestinians are mourning the death of their babies. It’s incredible how Israel sympathizers simultaneously are the oppressor and the victim.”[2]
Read moreSanctioning pro-Palestine law students at TMU
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On October 20, 2023, more than 70 students from Lincoln Alexander School of Law (LASL) at the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) published an open letter declaring support for “all forms of Palestinian resistance” and emphasized the role of Israeli oppression and apartheid in culminating the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.[1] Among other things, the letter demanded that TMU reverse its neutral position on Israel-Palestine which “implicitly denies colonialism and upholds racism and Islamophobia.”[2]
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