The International Criminal Court (ICC) recently issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif for war crimes and crimes against humanity. A pre-trial chamber of the ICC found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant intentionally “deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.” This is not the first attempt to seek legal accountability for Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. In December 2023, South Africa brought a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of committing genocide. In January of this year, the ICJ found there was a “ real and imminent risk ” that Israel was committing — or would commit — acts of genocide in Gaza. Nine months later, a United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry reported : “Israel has implemented a concerted policy to destroy the health-care system of Gaza. Israeli security forces have deliberately killed, wounded, arrested, detained, mistreated and tortured medical personnel and targeted medical vehicles, constituting the war crimes of willful killing and mistreatment and the crime against humanity of extermination.” As the world witnesses the ongoing destruction of Gaza, universities in the West have become critical sites of examination, debate and protest. They have also become sites of suppression that shrink, rather than facilitate, the open exchange and analysis of ideas. Universities are indispensable to supporting the free inquiry needed to do the work of addressing atrocity crimes. However, Western universities are increasingly prioritizing ideas of neutrality over a principled commitment to free speech and the pursuit of truth. The indispensible role of the university In an essay on education and neoliberalism, Canadian-American cultural studies scholar Henry Giroux emphasized the importance of the university’s role in leading social change. He said the university is: “one of the few public spaces left where students can learn the power of questioning authority, recover the ideals of engaged citizenship, reaffirm the importance of the public good, and expand their capacities to make a difference.” Understanding — and ultimately preventing — genocide and other atrocity crimes requires an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates insights from a multitude of areas of expertise including law, history, politics, hard and applied sciences, psychology, journalism and others. Universities are crucial to supporting the evidence-based research needed to do this essential work. “The chances for truth to prevail in public,” as Hannah Arendt argued , are “greatly improved by the mere existence” of universities and “by the organization of independent, supposedly disinterested scholars associated with them.” Academic freedom should always be highly valued and steadfastly protected. As the Canadian Association of University Teachers stated in November 2023 , “academic freedom, like all expressive freedoms, is particularly vulnerable during periods of war, conflict, and social unrest.” Unfortunately, many have responded to political and donor pressure by repressing discussions of Palestine in the classroom and on campus grounds. These moves curtail the academic freedom of scholars working on Palestine. When universities become less free, the health of our democracies declines . The importance of student protest Over the past year, students across North America, Europe and elsewhere established encampments on campuses to bring attention to Israel’s crimes and to call on their institutions to divest from companies and industries associated with Israel’s assault on Gaza and occupation of Palestinian land . Read more: A different way to address student encampments However, many encampments were violently dismantled, with universities collaborating with authorities to shut down dissent and protest on campus. Some universities have targeted students and faculty who support Palestinian freedom with surveillance, reprisals and expulsions . They have enacted a range of new policies designed to discourage or otherwise police speech on campus, which disproportionately target speech on Palestine. Such actions violate the expressive and assembly rights of students and faculty and transform the university into places where people are fearful of speaking out. In October, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Gina Romero, criticized these policies and practices, urging universities to change course . Romero observed that the “brutal repression of the university-based protest movement is posing a profound threat to democratic systems and institutions.” Erasure of Palestinian history and culture Teaching Palestinian history on campuses is essential work , especially as schools and universities in Gaza are facing scholasticide . Scholasticide refers to the “systemic obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students and staff and the destruction of educational infrastructure.” Histories of the Nakba — the violent displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians during the founding of Israel — have been actively denied in Israel and in Western education and public discourse. The destruction of education is a method of genocide, as education is essential to the continuation of the Palestinian people as a distinct national and cultural group . This destructive erasure is underscored in a recent report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese. Read more: The war in Gaza is wiping out Palestine's education and knowledge systems A false neutrality Instead of providing spaces for knowledge and discussion related to Palestine, Western universities are increasingly asserting that they have a responsibility to remain “neutral” regarding so-called controversial geopolitical issues. However, such commitments to neutrality are, in practice, often false . Institutional neutrality serves to flatten politics and silence scholarly debate. It obscures the fact that virtually every activity conducted in universities is political , from decisions regarding who is permitted to enrol to which research gets funding to policies on holding events and putting up posters. Small and large decisions by university administrators inevitably involve political choices. Claiming to remain apolitical in effect relieves universities of their responsibility to support the freedom of scholars to document, discuss and educate about political violence. Individual faculty members and students wishing to do so must navigate a bureaucracy of political suppression on campus. Activism is a form of education and argumentation . Campus activism has long been central to both instigating and consolidating social progress. Restricting dissent on campus is a classic authoritarian tactic . Universities should be places were we oppose unlawful killing, maiming and destruction, wherever this violence occurs. Universities should be spaces where Palestine is no longer treated as an exception . They should be places that actively support displaced students and faculty and work with Palestinian colleagues to rebuild institutions of learning in Gaza. Finally, universities should be places where students and scholars can freely examine and debate the political, legal and social dimensions of Israel’s actions in Gaza and throughout the Palestinian territory, Lebanon and the broader region.Stocks End Higher as Tech Fuels Pre-Holiday Rally
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Trump selects longtime adviser Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and RussiaThe Henan provincial government has recently announced a new policy proposal to exempt ordinary residential properties from the payment of land value added tax (VAT) upon sale. This initiative is part of the government’s efforts to stimulate the real estate market, promote home ownership, and ease the financial burden on property owners.
Kejriwal: Delhi turned into extortion capital under Shah’s watchWHIPPANY, N.J. , Nov. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH), today announced that it has filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended September 28, 2024 with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). A link to the fiscal 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the SEC, is available on the Partnership's website at www.suburbanpropane.com . Upon written request, the Partnership will provide to any unitholder or noteholder, without charge, a hard copy of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 28, 2024 . Requests should be directed to: Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., Investor Relations, P.O. Box 206, Whippany, New Jersey 07981-0206. About Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. ("Suburban Propane") is a publicly traded master limited partnership listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey , Suburban Propane has been in the customer service business since 1928 and is a nationwide distributor of propane, renewable propane, renewable natural gas ("RNG"), fuel oil and related products and services, as well as a marketer of natural gas and electricity and producer of and investor in low carbon fuel alternatives, servicing the energy needs of approximately 1 million residential, commercial, governmental, industrial and agricultural customers through approximately 700 locations across 42 states. Suburban Propane is supported by three core pillars: (1) Suburban Commitment – showcasing Suburban Propane's over 95-year legacy, and ongoing commitment to the highest standards for dependability, flexibility, and reliability that underscores Suburban Propane's commitment to excellence in customer service; (2) SuburbanCares – highlighting continued dedication to giving back to local communities across Suburban Propane's national footprint; and (3) Go Green with Suburban Propane – promoting the clean burning and versatile nature of propane and renewable propane as a bridge to a green energy future and investing in the next generation of innovative, renewable energy alternatives. For additional information on Suburban Propane, please visit www.suburbanpropane.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/suburban-propane-partners-lp-annual-report-available-online-302317708.html SOURCE Suburban Propane Partners, L.P.Toronto Sceptres open PWHL season with 3-1 comeback win over Boston Fleet