CLAF Supports CAUT’s Censure of the University of Toronto

Recently, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has asked its members to censure the University of Toronto (U of T). An offer to Dr. Valentina Azarova for the job of the director of the International Human Rights Program was extended and then rescinded following pressure from a doner who is, apparently, an uncritical and credulous supporter of Israel.
 
Dr. Azarova is a renowned scholar and a human-rights lawyer based in Germany. Some of her academic work focused on the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Specifically, she targeted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and the legal responsibilities of Israel’s partners.
 
This story shows the meddling of private doners with academic institutes, jeopardising academic freedom, and the relentless campaign against pro-Palestinian academics and supporters in North American universities. We at CLAF denounce the U of T, support CAUT’s sanction call, and call on U of T to offer Dr. Azarova the position.

What does censure mean in practice and its implications?
The following is from the Canadian Association of University Teachers website:
Censure is an extremely important sanction that must be used carefully. Censure means asking CAUT members:

• not to accept appointments at a censured institution;
• not to accept invitations to speak or participate in academic conferences there;
• not to accept any distinction or honour that may be offered by that institution.

It also means that CAUT will:

• refuse to accept advertisements for positions vacant at an institution under censure in the CAUT Bulletin or on the CAUT website;
• widely publicize the dispute in the media and in the CAUT Bulletin and other publications;
• bring the censure to the attention of associations of academic staff in other countries, request that they publish an account of the dispute in their journals and ask their members to respect the censure;
• bring the censure motion to the attention of post-secondary student organizations, the Canadian Labour Congress, and other appropriate groups;
• encourage academic disciplinary associations to refuse to carry advertisements for or hold events at censured institutions.

The full explanation can be found on the CAUT website.