Michel Antoun
Overview
Michel Antoun demonized Israel and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on Facebook.As of May 2018, Antoun was a member of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) at the University of Ottawa (UOttawa)’ Facebook group: “SPHR Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights uOttawa 2018-2019.” SPHR is an alternative name for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
As of May 2018, Antoun was a 2017-2018 Faculty of Science representative on the Board of Administration (BOA) of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO). As of February 9, 2018 Antoun was campaigning for a student seat on UOttawa’s Board of Governors.
As of May 9, 2018, Antoun’s LinkedIn page said that he was the SFUO Service Coordinator. Antoun’s LinkedIn also said he was an undergraduate student at UOttawa, studying Biomedical Sciences.
Demonizing Israel
In March 2017, the Economic and Social Commision for Western Africa (ESCWA), a Middle East UN office comprised of 18 Arab states, produced a report claiming that Israel established an “apartheid regime.” Richard Falk, a professor with a history of anti-Israel biases, co-authored the report.On March 16, 2017, Antoun posted to Facebook an article referencing the ESCWA report, commenting: “But friends Israel is the beacon of democracy in the middle east.... how could this be true ?
.”Soon after the ESCWA report’s release, UN Secretary General Antonió Guterres ordered it withdrawn. His spokesman said the report was published without prior consultations with Guterres’ office and it did not reflect the UN secretariat’s views.
On March 21, 2017, Antoun posted a video of Rima Khalif, Executive Secretary of ESCWA, condemning the UN’s rejection of the report and resigning from her position. Antoun commented: “So sad.”
On November 5, 2017, during an SFUO Board of Administration (SFUO BOA) meeting discussing a proposed BDS resolution, Antoun cited [01:02:05] the discredited ESCWA report to claim that Israel is committing “apartheid.”
Pushing BDS on Campus
On November 5, 2017, Leila Moumouni-Tchouassi — a member of SPHR UOttawa’s Facebook group and Vice-President of Equity (VP Equity) for the SFUO — proposed [00:02:45] a BDS resolution during a SFUO BOA meeting.
The resolution sought to amend the SFUO policy handbook to explicitly adopt and promote BDS.
During the debate, Antoun argued [01:01:51] in favor of the resolution.
Following pushback, Moumouni-Tchouassi amended [01:14:00] the resolution to remove all references to BDS. The amended resolution committed the SFUO to do “all in its power to peacefully resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
On March 13, 2018, SPHR, IJV and RSM at UOttawa jointly proposed a divestment initiative, during the SFUO General Assembly (SFOU GA)’s winter session.
This divestment proposal called on the SFUO to revise its policy manual and mandate that the SFUO “support this [BDS] movement as well as take a Pro-Palestine stance.” The proposal also called for the SFOU to “put pressure on the Board of Governors of UOttowa to support BDS campaigns.”
On March 12, 2018, Antoun wrote a post on Facebook thanking IJV, SPHR and RSM “for bringing this motion to the GA. COME OUT AND SUPPORT !!”
Antoun attached to his post a link to the “Say Yes to BDS!” event co-hosted by SPHR Uottawa, calling on undergraduate students to pass the divestment resolution at SFUO GA’s winter session.
That day, the divestment proposal failed to garner the two-thirds majority required to pass, with 241 votes for and 231 votes against.
SPHR/IJV/RSM UOttawa - Pushing BDS
On November 5, 2017, Moumouni-Tchouassi — a member of SPHR UOttawa’s Facebook group and SFUO Vice-President of Equity — proposed [00:02:45] a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) resolution during a SFUO Board of Administration (SFUO BOA) meeting.Students were notified of the upcoming resolution vote only two days prior, on a Friday, hours before the onset of the Jewish Sabbath.
The resolution sought to amend the SFUO policy handbook to explicitly adopt and promote BDS. The initial BDS motion read, “The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa will support [the BDS] movement as well as take a Pro-Palestine stance.”
However, before the vote took place, Moumouni-Tchouassi proposed an amendment, changing the wording of the resolution to read “the SFUO will divest from industries and companies who actively support war and occupation including the apartheid regime of the State of Israel against the Palestinian population.”
The BOA rejected the amendment. Following pushback, Moumouni-Tchouassi amended [01:14:00] the resolution to remove all references to BDS. The amended resolution committed the SFUO to do “all in its power to peacefully resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
On March 13, 2018, SPHR, IJV and RSM at UOttawa jointly proposed a divestment initiative, during the SFUO General Assembly (SFOU GA)’s winter session.
The proposal called for the SFUO to divest from companies “complicit in violation of Palestinian human rights,” to boycott Israeli artists and to “work for the cancellation of all forms of cooperation with Israeli academic institutions.”
The divestment proposal failed to garner the required two-thirds majority to pass, with 241 votes for and 231 votes against.
After the vote, SPHR posted on Facebook ”... this moment remains a victory for all students who stand in solidarity with Palestinian human rights.”
On March 25, 2018, SPHR UOttawa attempted to push the failed BDS motion at another SFUO BOA meeting. Once more, it failed to reach the two-thirds majority necessary to pass the resolution.
The following day, UOttawa President and Vice-Chancellor, Jacques Frémont, released a statement strongly denouncing the SFUO BDS campaign:
“This issue is divisive and a detriment to an open and welcoming campus environment,” said Frémont. “The University of Ottawa will have no part of the BDS movement nor any movement that boycotts academic institutions.”
BDS
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.
One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”
Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”
In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”
The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.
Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.
BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/711096340Facebook 2:https://www.facebook.com/2008176606123495
- Status:
- Student
- University:
- Ottawa
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- SPHR (SJP)
- Related Profiles:
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
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