Tadamon is an anti-authoritarian, grassroots collective based in Montreal which struggles in solidarity with social movements for justice in the Middle East. Since 2006, we have been working on the campaign for Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid.
Research Description: We are looking for a student or a group of students to do research on links between the 4 universities in Montreal (Mcgill, Concordia, UQAM, and UdM) and Israeli academic, corporate, military, or government institutions. Specifically, this research would focus on links to Israeli institutions who are complicit in human rights abuses in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the Middle East region. Particular attention should be paid to Boards of Governors, inter-university research exchanges, and repression against Palestine solidarity organizing on campuses. The reseach should detail both the links between the universities in Montreal and Israel, and also the impacts of those links on the ground in Israel/Palestine.
The context for this project is within the framework of the global BDS movement against Israeli apartheid, modeled on the similar campaign that helped to defeat apartheid in South Africa. In 2005, a coalition of over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations put a call out to the international community for a BDS campaign, which included a call to boycott Israeli academic institutions based on their ideological, logistical, and military support for apartheid structures and occupation in the region. For more information on the academic boycott, see http://www.pacbi.org/.
Description of Final Product: The final product of this research project would be a pamphlet or a document that clearly relates the research findings to students and community members. It would be used by Tadamon and other Palestine solidarity organizations as a popular education tool. This is a short-term project that would ideally be completed by the end of a semester.
Skills/attributes required: A moderate amount of background knowledge on Israel/Palestine issues and history, some knowledge on the BDS campaign and its aims and objectives, good writing and layout skills.
For more background information, see:
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