The accusations made in this petition are baseless and serve only to further discredit those powers which oppose dialouge on BDS. This petition is no true call for equal representation in discussion on this topic, it is an attempt to silence any discourse whatsoever. Your reference to the "extensive debate" at the October GA is laughable, as the debate you are referring to never occured. Debate at that venue was silenced before it could even take place just as these petitioners look to silence the upcoming event. You make the implicit statement that the SSMU hosting this discussion is a show of support for the cause of BDS and serves to isolate members of the student community but that certainly isn't the case. What this event is aimed to do is allow exactly that discussion which was silenced to take place, to inform students about the implications of BDS, and to stop the isolation of an historically oppressed group who hold views contrary to the status-quo at McGill. It is significant that an expert on South African apartheid will speak at this event, and that leads me to question if you would have liked for any discussion on BDS South Africa to have included the racist supporters of the South African regime. Of course, such an idea is ludicrous. The oppressed and the oppressor do not hold equal power, and to claim that giving the oppressed a venue to express their opinions without the interference of the oppressor is unfair in any way, as if the forces are symmetrical in a situation where the power dynamics at play are certainly not at equilibrium, is to usurp the language of social justice only to further marginalize and silence the victims of power abuses. The people of the McGill community are intelligent, and I am certain they will see through your misleading use of language to recognize the fascist historical precedent of such a petition.  

#1: Sean Nossek - The Fallacy of Symmetry 

 It is incredible how so many university-educated individuals hold the extremely simplistic idea that the underdog is always right in any conflict.

There is so much complexity to the story, that the passion behind this particular BDS movement - of ONLY Israel, the world's only Jewish state - strikes me as nothing more than pure anti-semitism, or oversimplified "underdogma" - the belief in the perpetual correctness and moral superiority of the underdog in every struggle.

#1: Sean Nossek - The Fallacy of Symmetry 

 Your vast array of words are penned quite nicely, but ultimately, this is going to come down to justice! This petition is about abolishing an injustice. Demonizing Israel and categorizing her as an apartheid state just shows that you know (believe to know) very little about Israel's history and current policy. I've lived there and shared my home with both Jews & Muslims. Jewish Israelis as well as Muslim Palestinians. You my friend are a brain washed / wanna be intellect who thinks he knows so much better than what reality is. Palestinians love Israel and love Jewish people. They hate their tyrant leaders!! Israel does not discriminate against anyone. It is the only democracy in the entire Middle East. And yes, it was founded via violence and bloodshed, like almost every other democracy on god's green earth. So with that being said, go open up a book and study for whatever exam you have coming up and leave the important issues to the adults. 

#1: Sean Nossek - The Fallacy of Symmetry 

Here's an old idea, the Palestinians ARE oppressed... Here's an old idea (you reject because it doesn't fit your narrative)... they are oppressed by Hamas and their Arab brethren who treat them like sh*t and perpetrate ACTUAL APARTHEID on them. And here's a new idea... Israel is also oppressed- by the same groups; oppressed, terrorized and bullied daily. Can you wrap your head around any new ideas, or are you just programed to blow out your perverted version of justice? And as for your accusation that this petition looks to silence debate, that is a patent lie. time and again, BDS supporters on campus either boo, walk out, or bully and harass pro-Israeli students. Pull your head out Sean, you've been deceived.