Kenneth Seigneurie
Overview
Kenneth Seigneurie is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. He had defended anti-Zionism on campus, demonized Israel and opposed the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He also defended disgraced anti-Israel Professor Steven SalaitaIn 2017-2018, Seigneurie was the Edward Said Chair in American Studies at the American University in Beirut (AUB).
As of September 2019, Seigneurie was a Professor in the World Literature Program at Simon Fraser University in Canada (SFU).
Supporting BDS
As of September 2019, Seigneurie is a signatory to a list of endorsers of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI).In 2016, Seigneurie signed an open letter to the Modern Language Association (MLA): “calling on the association to pass a resolution endorsing the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.”
In January 2017, the MLA Delegate Assembly approved a resolution (2017-1), acknowledging “the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel contradicts the MLA’s purpose” and conflicted with another resolution (2002-1), that condemned boycotts against scholars.”
Therefore, the Assembly “resolved that the MLA refrain from endorsing the boycott.”
In March 2015, Seigneurie signed an open letter calling for the adoption of BDS by the MLA.
The letter, signed by members of the MLA, accused Israel of “Detentions without trial, torture and war crimes, and use of deadly force by the Israeli military against non-violent protesters” and called upon Israel to “Honor the right of Palestinian refugees to return.”
Defending Anti-Zionism on Campus
In March 2015, Seigneurie signed a letter, authored by the group Sydney Staff for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, to then-Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Dr Michael Spence, condemning his decision to fire several professors and penalize students who led an anti-Israel disruption of a lecture on the university’s campus.
On March 11, 2015, a presentation by British Colonel Richard Kemp at the University of Sydney was interrupted by a group of students and faculty in a protest “that began with heckling and descended into students being dragged out of the hall by security guards.”
Among the faculty members protesting the event was professor Jake Lynch, who was accussed of anti-Semitism for waving money “in the face of more than one Jewish person” at the event.
Following the event, a petition called for Lynch’s dismissal. The petition also claimed that Lynch “shouted in the face of students, obstructed campus security, filmed students without their consent and waved money in the faces of Jewish students and guests.”
The letter, which accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and claimed that “Unarmed civilian protesters are regularly shot dead by the IDF,” expressed support for Lynch and his fellow protesters.
Signatories of the letter said: “We call on you, Dr Spence, not to allow yourself to be made the agent of the Israel lobby” and “it would be deeply shameful, to say nothing of ironic, if you took any action against Palestine activists on your campus.”
The letter stated that he and the other signatories were “profoundly perturbed by the unbalanced and partisan position adopted by the Canadian Government and federal political parties” which had “focused exclusively on denouncing Hamas’s rocket strikes (responsible for three fatalities) and uncritically proclaiming Israel’s right to self-defence.”
The letter also said that: “reports indicate that Israel’s attacks on United Nations schools, medical facilties, civilian areas, and the Gaza’s only power plant likely constitute war crimes.
During OPE, the U.N. also reported that its inspectors found rockets at U.N. schools in Gaza and later reported that a “projectile” that was launched from a U.N. school on July 14, 2014 “was highly likely” launched by “an unidentified Palestinian armed group [that] could have used the school premises to launch attacks.”
The letter concluded by stating: “Rather than maintaining a studious silence in the face of these documented violations of international humanitarian law, a true friend would act responsibly and call Israel to account for those violations.”
Signatories of the petition called the recognition an “egregious violation of fundamental principles of international law” andm “reckless, illegitimate, and immoral.”
The petition also called the recognition “merely another manifestation of the US’s long-lasting commitment to settler-colonialism and the belief that ‘might makes right.’”
University Website:https://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/casar/Pages/People.aspx
On March 11, 2015, a presentation by British Colonel Richard Kemp at the University of Sydney was interrupted by a group of students and faculty in a protest “that began with heckling and descended into students being dragged out of the hall by security guards.”
Among the faculty members protesting the event was professor Jake Lynch, who was accussed of anti-Semitism for waving money “in the face of more than one Jewish person” at the event.
Following the event, a petition called for Lynch’s dismissal. The petition also claimed that Lynch “shouted in the face of students, obstructed campus security, filmed students without their consent and waved money in the faces of Jewish students and guests.”
The letter, which accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and claimed that “Unarmed civilian protesters are regularly shot dead by the IDF,” expressed support for Lynch and his fellow protesters.
Signatories of the letter said: “We call on you, Dr Spence, not to allow yourself to be made the agent of the Israel lobby” and “it would be deeply shameful, to say nothing of ironic, if you took any action against Palestine activists on your campus.”
Demonizing Israel
In August 2014, Seigneurie signed an open letter to Canada’s then-Prime Minister and members of the Canadian Parliament, in response to the military operation, commenced by the Israeli military in 2014, Operation Protective Edge (OPE).Israel commenced Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
The letter stated that he and the other signatories were “profoundly perturbed by the unbalanced and partisan position adopted by the Canadian Government and federal political parties” which had “focused exclusively on denouncing Hamas’s rocket strikes (responsible for three fatalities) and uncritically proclaiming Israel’s right to self-defence.”
The letter also said that: “reports indicate that Israel’s attacks on United Nations schools, medical facilties, civilian areas, and the Gaza’s only power plant likely constitute war crimes.
During OPE, the U.N. also reported that its inspectors found rockets at U.N. schools in Gaza and later reported that a “projectile” that was launched from a U.N. school on July 14, 2014 “was highly likely” launched by “an unidentified Palestinian armed group [that] could have used the school premises to launch attacks.”
Hamas fired rockets from Shifa Hospital (Shifa) at Israeli population centers during Operation Protective Edge. Hamas misfires also struck Shifa and the nearby al-Shati refugee camp. Hamas cleanup crews then concealed the evidence of the misfires, as was confirmed by Amnesty International and an independent Italian journalist.
The letter concluded by stating: “Rather than maintaining a studious silence in the face of these documented violations of international humanitarian law, a true friend would act responsibly and call Israel to account for those violations.”
Opposing Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital
In December 2017, Seigneurie signed a statement by “AUB faculty,” condemning the U.S. government’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.Signatories of the petition called the recognition an “egregious violation of fundamental principles of international law” andm “reckless, illegitimate, and immoral.”
The petition also called the recognition “merely another manifestation of the US’s long-lasting commitment to settler-colonialism and the belief that ‘might makes right.’”
Defending Steven Salaita
Sharpe signed a petition published on August 21, 2014 by the BDS movement titled: “A Call to People of Conscience Not to Speak at the University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Until Chancellor Wise Honor [sic] the Contract to Hire Professor Steven Salaita.”In 2014, The University of Illinois withdrew an offer of employment to Salaita after becoming aware of his anti-Semitic tweets. One tweet, posted shortly after Hamas kidnapped three teenage Israeli high school students, read: "You may be too refined to say it, but I’m not: I wish all the f**king West Bank settlers would go missing.” In 2017, Salaita posted to Facebook: “People ask if I would go back in time and change anything. I would not…I will die unapologetic.” In February 2019, Salaita stated that he had become a school bus driver in the Washington, D.C., area.
Social Media and Weblinks
University Website:https://www.sfu.ca/worldlit/people/meetus.htmlUniversity Website:https://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/casar/Pages/People.aspx
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kseigneurie
