December 6, 2014
An Open Letter to Concordia Students about their Student Union
Dear Concordia Students,
My name is Abigail Hirsch, and I served as a dedicated volunteer at Community University Television (CUTV) for two years under its previous management. I am writing to express my concerns about the current state of CUTV and its potential impact on our student community.
As you may know, CUTV is funded by your student association fees, which are included in your Concordia tuition. It is crucial that this organization, which represents the entire student body, adheres to principles of fairness and honesty while avoiding divisive or discriminatory practices.
Unfortunately, I have observed a troubling shift in CUTV’s approach since September 2010, coinciding with the appointment of Laith Marouf as the new programming manager. I want to bring a few critical issues to your attention.
- When I signed up to volunteer, Laith Marouf banned me from CUTV’s learning lab due to my pro-Israel posts.
- When I sought assistance from Concordia’s administration and the ombudsman, I discovered that the Concordia Student Union operates as a legal workers’ union under Quebec union law. This status places it outside the authority of Concordia’s academic administration, allowing the Student Union to operate independently and manage a substantial budget funded by student fees.
During my research into CUTV and Laith Marouf, I uncovered the following:
- Unethical Reporting: Marouf has a history of dishonest reporting. For example, he was found guilty of misconduct by McGill’s radio station, The Olive Tree, for making baseless claims about Israel’s involvement in the Abu Ghraib scandal. His subsequent retraction lacked sincerity and accountability.
- Controversial Content: Under Marouf’s leadership, CUTV published a news piece labelling Elie Wiesel—a Holocaust survivor, writer, and Nobel Prize laureate—as a “war crimes apologist.” Such content is not only inflammatory but also deeply disrespectful.
Now is the time for all of us to reflect on the future of news reporting at Concordia. Do you support biased and malicious reporting? Is Laith Marouf the right person to lead media at our university? Does CUTV deserve your financial support?
Sincerely,
Abigail Hirsch
Former Volunteer at CUTV
Concordia Student
Updated Post-October 7, 2024
Summary of Recent Developments
Regrettably, Laith Marouf and the student councils continue to function without consequence despite their bias and defamatory statements about Israel. Marouf’s blatant antisemitism only came to public attention in July 2023 when it was revealed that the Canadian government had awarded him a grant of CAD 122,000 under the guise of “antiracism.” For details on the government’s efforts to retract this grant, you can find the CBC’s review here.
Context Leading to the Current Situation
Since 2011, I have closely monitored instances of antisemitism on Montreal campuses and globally, mainly linked to “BDS,” “Israel apartheid,” and the claim that “Zionism is racism.” These narratives originated from a UN resolution that first appeared in 1975, was retracted in 1991, and reintroduced and accepted in 2001 at the UN World Conference against Racial Discrimination in Durban, South Africa.
Investigative journalists and academics have frequently raised concerns regarding the influence of foreign entities in sponsoring Palestinian students who are involved in university student unions. It is evident that these “student unions” have served as a platform for misleading propaganda about Israel and have been allowed to operate on campuses even though the leaders of these organizations often suppress freedom of expression at their events. This situation calls for responsible and immediate action.
In the wake of the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, there has been renewed discussion in U.S. congressional hearings regarding the role of student unions at universities. These unions have increasingly served as platforms for promoting the Palestinian cause. Unfortunately, the Hamas attack has further strengthened their resolve, resulting in violent protests in support of this cause. A recent incident at Concordia University highlighted this issue, where police and ambulances were called after pro-Palestinian students attacked pro-Israel students who were peacefully distributing pamphlets in the lobby of the Hall building.
At McGill, an ongoing contested vote within the Student Union proposing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel is another indication of the power these student unions feel they can continue to wield.
Discussions that lead to attacks on students cannot be permitted on any campus or, indeed, anywhere in Canada. Threatening any group in this way affects the safety of all groups and effectively erodes Canadian values of tolerance and freedom of expression for all.
It is crucial to approach these matters with sensitivity and respect for diverse perspectives, acknowledging their impact on university communities.
It would be a public service for the CBC and all media to address this issue with the clarity and integrity it deserves.
Addendum: December 19, 2024
The NGO Monitor has posted the following expose regarding the NGO Network Orchestrating Antisemitic Incitement on American Campuses
- Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) – founded 1993 at UC Berkeley
- SJP in different forms is the campus organization most directly responsible for creating a hostile campus environment saturated with anti-Israel propaganda agendas and events, BDS initiatives, and intimidation. Each SJP chapter claims to operate independently although the evidence demonstrates close coordination and shared resources, apparently coordinated through the amorphous National SJP framework.
- 2. JVP refers to itself as the “Jewish wing” of the Palestinian solidarity movement and as “Jews against Zionism,” notwithstanding the fact that many of its activists are not Jewish.
- JVP’s declared agenda is to create “a wedge” within the American Jewish community, while working toward the goal of eliminating U.S. economic, military, and political aid to Israel.
- A major component of JVP’s strategy is exploiting the “Jewish” label to deflect evidence of blatant antisemitism within anti-Israel campaigns.
3. Within Our Lifetime (WOL) – known as Students for Justice in Palestine, NYC until 2019
- Headed by Nerdeen Kiswani, co-founder and former chair of SJP-NYC.
- Abdullah Akl, a WOL organizer, also serves as the Director of Advocacy & Civic Engagement for the Muslim American Society.
- According to a legal brief from federal prosecutors, MAS “was founded as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America.”
- Fatima Mohammed, a WOL activist, led CUNY law school’s SJP chapter…
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Non-transparent funding: WESPAC Foundation, a Westchester, New York-based organization registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, serves as the fiscal sponsor for Within Our Lifetime. According to its website, WOL used a funding platform called Donorbox; however, the link to donate does not work
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4. US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) – founded 2001
- USCPR claims to be a “national coalition of hundreds of groups working to advocate for Palestinian rights and a shift in US policy,” and lists JVP, AMP, and WESPAC among its “partners.”
- Advocacy rhetoric includes accusations of “apartheid,” “ethnic cleansing,” “genocide,” “war crimes,” and “colonialism.”
- Exploits the US civil rights struggle by accusing Israel of maintaining a “matrix of control” over the Palestinian population and enacting “laws that discriminate against [Palestinians], much as Black Americans had been treated during the Jim Crow era.”
- Non-transparent funding: USCPR is a registered 501(c)(3) and claims to receive “the vast majority of its funding from relatively small individual donations throughout the country…;” total reported 2021 income $1.5 million; received $225,000 (as Education for Just Peace in the Middle East) in 2023-2025 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
- USCPR is also the “fiscal sponsor” of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC). According to the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs, the BNC includes the Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine – members of this group reportedly include US designated terror organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
- 4.
5. WESPAC (Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation) – founded 1974
- WESPAC serves as fiscal sponsor for some of the NGOs responsible for antisemitism on campuses, including Students for Justice in Palestine and Within Our Lifetime. WESPAC also fulfills this role for U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Adalah-NY, and the Palestinian Youth Movement USA.
- WESPAC’s sources of income are mostly unknown. Public records reveal a handful of foundational donors, including from large donor-advised charities that further obscure the original donors.
- WESPAC uses “apartheid” and other demonizing rhetoric, campaigned for convicted PFLP terrorists, and contextualized the October 7th atrocities.
- 6.Samidoun
As documented in detail, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is closely linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group. A common theme of Samidoun demonstrations and rhetoric is the legitimacy and importance of “armed resistance.” For instance, at an April 30, 2023 event in Ottawa, Samidoun founder and head, Khaled Barakat, called on participants to “salute” the military wings of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the PFLP, as well as Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed terror groups.
- 7.
- The Tides Center, part of the Tides Network, serves as the fiscal sponsor and passthrough – ,allowing groups without IRS 501(c)(3) status to receive anonymous tax-deductible donations in the United States – and provides administrative and fundraising support to “historically excluded groups who face systemic barriers.” The various Tides entities reported a combined total income of nearly $1 billion in 2022.
- Palestine Legal and the Adalah Justice Project are among the NGOs that receive funds through Tides.
- WESPAC (see above) also receives funding through the Tides Network. In 2022, WESPAC received $97,000 from the Tides Foundation.
- In June 2021, the Tides Center published an article accusing Israel of “pursuing a form of apartheid,” “ethnic cleansing, and “settler colonialism.”
- 7.
Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
- Active in politicized “lawfare” cases against Israeli and American officials, including a lawsuit – filed in conjunction with PFLP-linked NGOs – accusing President Biden and the US government of supporting “genocide” in Gaza.
- In FY 2022-2023, total income was $9.9 million; total expenses were $10.9 million.
- 8. Palestine Legal
- Palestine Legal works to provide legal cover for those advancing the BDS agenda on college campuses.
- In April 2024, Palestine Legal filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on behalf of four Columbia University students and Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) after students were arrested. In March 2024, Palestine Legal, together with NYCLU, sued Columbia over its suspension of SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace.
- Palestine Legal does not publish financial information, reflecting a lack of transparency and accountability. Lists Tides Center, a San Francisco-based organization that funds a number of highly biased and politicized NGOs, as its fiscal sponsor.
- In 2016-2023, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, via the Tides Center, granted $425,000 to Palestine Legal.
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Other NGOs
- Since October 7th, IfNotNow has been highly active and visible with anti-Israel activities including protests and other disruptions. Its main target has been the mainstream US Jewish community.
- IfNotNow has shown “solidarity” and “support” for student protesters, including in Los Angeles, New York City, and Boston. For instance, on May 1, IfNotNow posted a statement standing “With Columbia, CCNY Student Activists” writing, ““Brutalizing student activists doesn’t make Jewish students, or any students in NYC, safer. It only serves to protect U.S. financial and political support for an unending, brutal assault on Gaza.”
- According to its website, donations to IfNotNow are processed through ActBlue Charities, “a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.” In FY 2021-2022, total income was $514,447; total expenses were $460,014. IfNotNow also operates the 501(c)(4) organization “IfNotNow Movement.” In FY 2021-2022, total income was $170,142; total expenses were $138,258.
- IfNotNow does not report any donor information or sources of funding on its website, reflecting a complete lack of transparency and accountability. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund website lists a grant of Independent research shows that IfNotNow received $100,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund “for general support” in 2020-2023.
Adalah Justice Project
- Adalah Justice Project is very active in anti-Israel campaigns, and these increased following October 7.
- In social media posts, Adalah Justice Project expressed its “full solidarity with students who are setting up encampments across the country until their Universities fully divest from the Israel-US genocide machine” and “firm solidarity with Students for Justice in Palestine chapters…as they hold their complicit universities accountable for aiding and abetting Israeli genocide.”
- Funding is received through Tides; the donors are hidden.
Policy Recommendations:
- Congressional action requiring IRS tax exempt NGOs to report on foreign donors (DAWN, HRW, etc)
- Requirement for registered campus organizations (SJP etc) to submit audited financial reports including all donors and expenditures (salaries, rent, travel)
- Investigations of relevant NGOs and funders for possible material support for terrorism (Samidoun, SJP/AMP, etc.)
Related Articles
PFLP and Samidoun on American College Campuses
May 09, 2024
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – which participated in the October 7th atrocities and is designated as a terrorist group by the US, Canada, the EU, and Israel – has had a strong presence at encampments, demonstrations, and riots on American college campuses. In addition, Samidoun, an NGO designated by Israel as a terrorist group and a “subsidiary” of the PFLP, can be seen on posters promoting the PFLP, and its officials have preached “resistance” (code for terrorism) at campus events
nice that Concordia gave Lath Marouf – small time terrorist from the sounds of it a budget, a voice and legitimacy to spew his anti-semitic propaganda. Student governments and unions are a sham, and need to be de-funded and de-legitimized by law. Most of them are not voted in with a majority and they dont represent students. At York University too, they got highjacked by pro Palistinians.