As a boycott, divestment and sanctions conference was convened in Montreal last week, activists launched a boycott campaign at two city universities. A group of students, professors and staff from Concordia and McGill universities are calling on the schools cut ties with the Israeli Institute of Technology, more commonly referred to as Technion University.
A report compiled by the group says that the links between Concordia, McGill and Technion universities "serve to normalize the Israeli state's policies of institutionalized oppression and should be of serious concern to students, faculty and all members of McGill and Concordia's campus community."
The 13-page report, entitled "Structures of Oppression: Why McGill and Concordia's campus community must sever their links with the Technion University" [PDF], examines Technion's links to military technologies and manufacturers and the militarization and repression of political dissent on the Israeli university's campus. The report also details the nature of Concordia and McGill universities' relationships with the Israeli institution.
Based primarily on news articles, websites of Israeli weapons and military technology manufacturers, Technion press releases and reports written by human rights organizations, the report highlights "Technion University's involvement in the development of deadly military technologies and the intense militarization of an academic institution which directly and indirectly denies Palestinian citizens of Israel the same access to education as other students."
"Technion is complicit in the violations of international law and human rights abuses committed by the Israeli military against Palestinians by providing new military technologies to defense manufacturers," the report stated.
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