The Liberation Zone at the University of Windsor has reached an agreement with the University’s administration. It is the most comprehensive and far-reaching agreement to come out of Canadian encampment negotiations, with seven sections addressing all of the Zone’s demands: Disclosure, Divestment, Academic Boycott, Support for Palestinian scholars and students, and anti-Palestinian racism.
Jamiel Nasser, a spokesperson for the Liberation Zone, told Spring Magazine, “Administrations, like the colonial systems they were built on, know repression and violent dismantlement. Every encampment has been clear from the start; we are here for Palestine, come what may. We stand in solidarity with those encampments that ended violently, and we know that we are all one movement. This win is not just U Windsor’s; it’s every encampment’s win. The fight is far from over.”
The genocide in Gaza perpetrated by Israeli forces has reached its 276th day and the fight for Palestinian liberation and Palestine’s right to exist is still ongoing. The human death toll is estimated at at least 186,000, as found and conducted by the Lancet studies. The Palestine Liberation Zone has been set up in front of Hinds Hall (renamed from Dillon Hall) since May 13 with an outpouring of support from the community and over 70 organizations endorsing their open letter. This agreement is a product of four weeks of intense negotiations.
Jana Alrifai, spokesperson, said, “The People of the Liberation Zone are proud of what this agreement means. This deal presents to the students, staff, faculty and community as a whole that the University is willing to take solid steps towards a more transparent and just investment system, and rebuilding Gaza. It is a recognition of its past shortcomings and a commitment to betterment. Most importantly, this would have never happened without the fight and steadfastness of the student movement.
“We fought tooth and nail for everything, even the signing of the deal,” added Alrifai.
The agreement forcefully declares that Israel is an occupying power and is in serious violation of international law and human rights in Palestine. It compels the University to expand its Responsible Investing (RI) Policy to include a Human Rights section incorporating human rights and international law in its operational procedures, particularly concerning weapons manufacturers. The University has also agreed to implement a method that will direct its investment managers to divest if some of its investments are inconsistent with its RI policy. Additionally, the University will annually disclose all its investments in indirect, direct, and paid funds from the University’s Pension, Working, and Endowment Funds.
The disclosure will also explicitly demonstrate that the RI Policy, including human rights factors, is applied to its investment decisions.
“Not a single university in Gaza is left standing. Academic institutions all over the world have a responsibility to rebuild Gaza and stand with Palestinian scholars and students, especially since our money is complicit in the ongoing genocide, scholasticide and urbicide,” said a student representative of the Liberation Zone.
The deal promises renewed relationships with Palestinian Universities and the boycott of Israeli Universities in the face of this scholasticide and apartheid, alongside increased funding and support for Palestinian scholars and students at the University of Windsor, especially those from Gaza. The University has further promised to combat anti-Palestinian racism that has become abundant in Windsor and implement additional support for Windsor students in light of the trauma caused by the ongoing 10-month genocide. The University affirms the right of Palestinian self-determination and promises to advocate for a ceasefire, “generous” humanitarian aid for Palestine, and the inclusion of anti-Palestinian racism in anti-racism policies at the governmental level while playing a leadership role within Universities Canada and the Council of Ontario Universities for other universities to do the same.
The Windsor encampment has been part of a national and global movement on the part of university students demanding universities’ divestment from the occupation and genocide occurring in Gaza, the West Bank, and all of Palestine. Over the past week, we have seen forced and violent dismantling of encampments across the country, including at McGill University today.
The agreement, reached after 45 days of the encampment, establishes a monumental precedent for student organizing everywhere. Bilal Nasser, a member of the negotiations team, said, “The Palestinian struggle against Israel is 75 years long, and disclosing, divesting, and sanctioning is a necessary step in the wider movement.”
You can read the full agreement here.
Photo courtesy of @sobiaezzelddinephotography on Instagram.
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