Justice for Palestine Caucus
Established: 2024
2026-2027 Caucus members:
Sonia D’Angelo, York University - Co-chair and member of the CSA Executive Committee
Alla Konnikov, Concordia University of Edmonton - Co-chair and member of the CSA Executive Committee
Contact the Caucus Co-chairs through the CSA Office.
In 2024, the Executive Committee and membership approved this subcommittee to serve as a dedicated platform for comprehensive research, dialogue, and advocacy, focusing on acts of scholasticide, genocide, and systemic violence in Palestine.
Newly defined as a Caucus in June 2026, they will continue to address the systematic destruction of educational institutions and cultural heritage, which undermines the intellectual and cultural foundations of Palestinian society. The caucus will work to prevent atrocities and support affected Palestinian scholars and students. The caucus will also explore the complexities of Palestinian liberation and Israel’s ongoing settler-colonial practices, aiming to promote justice, peace, and human rights. Through these efforts, the caucus will enhance the Canadian sociological community's role in global human rights advocacy, informed policy-making, and educational initiatives, thereby fostering social justice and the protection of cultural heritage in Palestine.
The mandate of the Caucus includes:
• Mobilizing knowledge and resources for the membership to address scholasticide, settler-colonialism, and Zionist occupation in Palestine
• Fostering collaboration and partnerships with academic institutions, organizations, and community groups dedicated to addressing scholasticide in Palestine, including, but not limited to, reporting on initiatives aimed at strengthening the scholastic and pedagogical rights and opportunities for Palestinian scholars and students
• Strengthening links with and supporting Palestinian scholars and students
• Advancing support for the academic freedom of all sociologists and sociology students targeted for their scholarship and activism in support of the Palestinian struggle
• Reporting on the state of educational initiatives in Canadian universities on anti-Palestinian racism, genocide, and de-colonization
• Bringing current and emerging issues of concern dealing with anti-Palestinian racism and scholasticide to the attention of the Association
• Working in ways that complement and connect with other anti-racist struggles, including (but not limited to) struggles against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Black racism, and Canadian settler colonialism
Caucus News
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Caucus Activities
Members of the Subcommittee:
Katie MacDonald, Athabasca University - Co-chair
Malak El-Outa, Carleton University - Co-chair
Sonia D’Angelo, York University
Alla Konnikov, Concordia University of Edmonton
Azar Masoumi, Carleton University
Shirin Shakroni, Glendon College, York University
This year, the Justice for Palestine Subcommittee continued its advocacy and policy work within CSA. One major area of work involved supporting CSA’s engagement with the International Sociological Association’s (ISA) recent vote for upholding the suspension of the Israeli Sociological Society (ISS). At the Executive Council meeting prior to the vote, members of the subcommittee drafted and presented detailed reports advocating for the CSA to vote in favour of upholding the ISA’s suspension. The motion passed, with CSA directing its representative to vote in favour of the suspension. The subcommittee continues to work on developing ethical, BDS-aligned investment strategies and related policy guidance, building on the disclosure measures previously adopted by the CSA membership.
We have also organized and collaborated on two sessions related to Palestine for the 2026 conference, including:
- Contesting Colonial Power over Palestine
- Solidarities, Co-Resistance and Complicities: From Turtle Island to Palestine and Across Territories I, organized in collaboration with colleagues involved in the Indigenous-Settler Relations and Decolonization Cluster
Similar to last year, the subcommittee hosted an open Justice for Palestine meeting at the conference. This meeting is open to all CSA members interested in opposing anti-Palestinian racism and supporting Palestine-related scholarship, dialogue and advocacy within and beyond academic spaces.
The Caucus proposed a motion at the June 2026 CSA Annual General Meeting to join Sociologists for Palestine in their motion to boycott the 2026 American Sociological Association Conference. Due to the CSA By-laws regulation motions raised at the AGM and the Executive Committee's inability to meet and discuss the motion, the Caucus instead posted the message below for the membership which was later endorsed by the Student Concerns Subcommittee. Note that the CSA Executive Committee did not take a position on this motion nor officially support this message as an official statement.
The Justice for Palestine Caucus is sharing information with CSA members regarding the 2026 Resolution for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions within the American Sociological Association (ASA), and the subsequent call by Sociologists for Palestine (S4P) to boycott the 2026 ASA Annual Meeting.
Background: The 2026 Resolution for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions was signed by 428 ASA members, far exceeding the 3% of the membership required by the bylaws to put a resolution to a membership vote. Despite this, ASA President Shelley Correll and Executive Director Heather Washington decided not to honour the democratic membership vote on the resolution and refused to put the resolution on the ballot. In response, Sociologists for Palestine (S4P) have rightly called for a boycott of the 2026 Annual Meeting. Since the boycott was announced, more than 700 ASA members have pledged to participate, and Jewish Voice for Peace has publicly endorsed the call.
The Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement is a non-violent form of resistance to the Israeli state’s persistent denial of Palestinian freedom and equality. It is supported with near unanimity by Palestinian civil society: over 170 organizations, including academic associations, launched the call for BDS in 2005. The boycott of complicit Israeli academic institutions holds them responsible for their failure to resist and cease collaboration with Israeli state policies of apartheid, occupation, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. It demands accountability for their multifaceted involvement in Israel’s violations of human rights and crimes against humanity. In its Code of Ethics, the ASA professes to uphold values such as “Respect for People’s Rights, Dignity, and Diversity”; “Social Responsibility”; and “Human Rights.” As a member-driven organization, ASA should allow its members to debate and vote in accordance with those noble values by joining the global BDS movement.
Israeli universities play a central role in furthering Israeli occupation, apartheid, and genocide.They do so by placing expertise in the service of the Israeli state, producing military and surveillance technologies, tightening linkages with weapons manufacturers and the Israeli army, weaponizing academic research to legitimize Palestinian dispossession, and creating legal frameworks to justify war crimes. Far from being bastions of free speech, they systematically suppress and punish critical voices, including student protests. In addition, Israeli universities discriminate against their own students and faculty who are Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, limiting or prohibiting rights of speech and assembly on campus.
The 2026 Resolution for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions, signed by over 700 sociologists, follows the traditions of scholars and academics, and sociologists in particular, standing against injustice. This tradition includes many examples from the history of the American Sociological Association, which now calls into question its long-standing principles. In 1987, the ASA Council voted to divest from South African companies during apartheid and as well as to divest from companies that were primarily defense-related, discriminatory towards women and minorities, and/or anti-labor. In 2003, ASA members voted on a resolution calling for an immediate end to the invasion of Iraq. In 2013, the ASA filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage. In 2022, the ASA condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Justice for Palestine Caucus concurs with S4P’s assessment that the ASA Executive Council’s repression of the vote on the proposed resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli institutions is hypocritical and emblematic of the “Palestine exception,” and the subcommittee supports the call to boycott the 2026 Annual Meeting.
If ASA is to rise to this challenge to act in accord with principles of justice and equality, then it is clear that the members will have to push their organization to live up to its own ideals.
As a result, Sociologists for Palestine (S4P) is asking sociologists to support the boycotting of the 2026 conference in the following ways: (1) boycott the American Sociological Association’s Annual Meeting in New York; (2) refuse to reserve hotel rooms in the official ASA hotel block (3) develop alternative forms of meeting, support junior scholars with networking and professionalization opportunities.
Members:
Katie MacDonald, Athabasca University - Co-chair and member of the CSA Executive Committee
Christopher Powell, Toronto Metropolitan University - Co-chair and member of the CSA Executive Committee
This was our first year operating as a subcommittee and it was a busy one! We first worked with the CSA office to achieve the disclosure voted on by membership. We are now in the process of forming a working group on Ethical, BDS-Aligned Investment Strategies. This committee will continue work both on providing guidance on investments as well as developing a policy for investment strategies. We also developed and approved bylaws for our sub-committee.
We were also a co-sponsor on a webinar with the Sociology of Childhood and Youth Research Cluster
on April 17th, 2025 entitled “Children’s experiences and voices in Palestine” with Dr. Fadel Alsawayfa and Dr. Rehab Tamish from Bethlehem University.
We prepared internal by-laws for ratification in the fall and our continued work includes the
following:
- Developing a resource for people teaching in Sociology to include Palestine in their courses in relation to core sociological concepts
- Developing a report on the IHRA Definition of Anti-semitism and the Jerusalem Declaration to support resistance to their adoptions on campuses.
We will also be hosting a session at Congress for folks to gather and discuss. This meeting of the Justice for Palestine Subcommittee is open to all CSA members interested in opposing anti-Palestinian racism. Anti-Palestinian racism (APR) is a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives. APR is a particular concern for us as sociologists given the ongoing educide and epistemicide against Palestinians, and the ongoing harassment and discrimination against scholars who speak in support of Palestinian self-determination or criticize anti-Palestinian violence. At this meeting we will discuss our experiences in different academic environments and discuss what we can do to resist silencing and make space for Palestinian scholars and Palestine-related discussion.
Justice for Palestine Resolutions - 2024
The following motions were submitted by members of the Canadian Sociological Association for inclusion in the Annual General Meeting Agenda on June 25, 2024. All motions were approved by a majority of members in attendance at the meeting.
1. On behalf of its members, shall issue a call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and condemning scholasticide, including the total annihilation of educational systems in Gaza, and the systematic destruction of educational life in the rest of Palestine.
2. Unequivocally support the academic freedom of its members and our students. This freedom includes the pursuit of knowledge and education free from harm, censorship, intimidation, and silencing. It also includes defending scholars' right to speak out against Zionist occupation and settler-colonialism, and supporting students’ Charter rights to engage in protest actions such as the ongoing encampments on university campuses.
3. Establish a subcommittee called the Subcommittee For Justice in Palestine.
This subcommittee will serve as a dedicated platform for comprehensive research, dialogue, and advocacy, focusing on acts of scholasticide, genocide, and systemic violence in Palestine. The subcommittee will address the systematic destruction of educational institutions and cultural heritage, which undermines the intellectual and cultural foundations of Palestinian society. The subcommittee will work to prevent atrocities and support affected Palestinian scholars and students. The subcommittee will also explore the complexities of Palestinian liberation and Israel’s ongoing settler-colonial practices, aiming to promote justice, peace, and human rights. Through these efforts, the subcommittee will enhance the Canadian sociological community's role in global human rights advocacy, informed policy-making, and educational initiatives, thereby fostering social justice and the protection of cultural heritage in Palestine.
Anti-Palestinian Racism Motions - 2025
A Motion for the Adoption of the Definition of Anti-Palestinian Racism by the Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) was proposed but according to meeting practices and Bylaws, a vote on the motion could not be conducted at the AGM. The motion was deferred for a remote ballot of the membership.
The membership was invited to cast their votes from July 7 through August 6, 2025.
The following motions were approved with a majority of votes cast;
Motion 1: BE IT RESOLVED that the Canadian Sociological Association recognizes and opposes anti-Palestinian racism as described below, and as sociologists, we commit to by applying and expanding this framework to address the complexity and intersections of anti-Palestinian racism.
Motion 2: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Canadian Sociological Association promotes and encourages other academic associations to adopt policies recognizing and opposing anti-Palestinian racism.
Full Motion on Anti Palestinian Racism for the Canadian Sociological Association (CSA):
WHEREAS Palestinians have been subject to ongoing dispossession, occupation, apartheid and genocide since the inception of the state of Israel;
WHEREAS the assaults on Palestinians and their right to existence and self- determination have reached unprecedented and unspeakable levels of atrocity since October 2023;
WHEREAS the ongoing genocide of Palestinians is a key issue for our time and discipline;
WHEREAS academics, scholars, students, including children, and others who publicly support and advocate for Palestinians in their struggle against oppression, apartheid, occupation, and violence have been defamed, disciplined, bullied, subject to intimidation, removed from employment, and subject to various material consequences;
WHEREAS the Canadian Sociological Association has a long-standing commitment to anti- racism and social justice;
WHEREAS the urgency for sociologists to name and frame anti-Palestinian racism is rooted in longstanding Palestinian critiques of the phenomenon known as “Progressive Except for Palestine,” wherein, anti-Palestinian racism is systematically expelled from academia and anti racist discourses through the framing of Palestinian critiques as toxic and toxifying to anti-racist struggles (see Ayyash, 2022; Elia,2017; Hill & Plitnick, 2021);
WHEREAS the erasure and silencing of anti-Palestinian racism has contributed to its remaining unnamed, and its incorporation into anti racist frameworks which inadequately account for the specific and intersectional forms of violence, marginalization, and racialization experienced by Palestinians and their allies, including its decoupling from settler-colonialism (see Bakan & Abu-Laban, 2024);
WHEREAS the experiences of racism faced by Palestinians and their allies are increasingly named as “anti-Palestinian racism,” a framing emergent from the Palestinian solidarity movement founded on principles of anti-racism (see Majid, 2022; The Canadian Guide to Understanding and Combatting Islamophobia, produced by the Office of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia);
WHEREAS sociologists, scholars, and social justice activists have been, and continue to actively work to name and frame anti Palestinian racism as a distinct, yet structurally interconnected, form of racism (see Abu Laban & Bakan 2021, 2022; Ayyash 2022; Bakan & Abu Laban 2024; Davis, 2016; Erakat & Hill, 2019; Majid, 2022; The Canadian Guide to Understanding and Combatting Islamophobia, produced by the Office of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia);
WHEREAS a useful starting point for naming and framing anti-Palestinian racism is to understand it as a form of racism that “silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives” and which manifests in various forms, including but not limited to:
• “denying the Nakba and justifying violence against Palestinians;
• failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity, belonging and rights in relation to occupied and historic Palestine;
• erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians;
• excluding or pressuring others to exclude Palestinian perspectives, Palestinians and their allies;
• defaming Palestinians and their allies with slander such as being inherently antisemitic, a terrorist threat/sympathizer or opposed to democratic values.” (Majid, 2022, p.14);
WHEREAS anti-Palestinian racism is not reducible to anti-Arab racism alone, but intersects with anti-Arab racism, Orientalism, Islamophobia, and anti Black racism, including the specific forms of racism faced by Afro-Palestinians. Afro Palestinians have struggled against anti Blackness to be recognized as Palestinians living under settler- colonialism. They have been fundamental to the Palestinian struggle for liberation, yet have also faced intensified surveillance and punishment due to the confounding of racisms and settler-colonialism (see Mihatsch, 2024). Thus, anti-Palestinian racism manifests in diverse, intersectional, yet distinct ways, including implicit, overt, institutional, and systemic forms. It must therefore be named and recognized as a distinct form of racism.
BE IT RESOLVED that the Canadian Sociological Association recognizes and opposes anti-Palestinian racism as described above, and as sociologists, we commit to by applying and expanding this framework to address the complexity and intersections of anti-Palestinian racism.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Canadian Sociological Association promotes and encourages other academic associations to adopt policies recognizing and opposing anti-Palestinian racism.
References
Ayyash, M. M. (2022). The Toxic Other: The Palestinian Critique and Debates About Race and Racism. Critical Sociology, 49(6), 953-966. Abu-Laban, Y. and Bakan, A.B. (2022). Anti-Palestinian Racism and Racial Gaslighting.
The Political Quarterly, 93: 508-516. Abu-Laban, Y. and Bakan, A.B. (2021).
Anti-Palestinian Racism: Analyzing theUnnamed and Suppressed Reality. The Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS), 44, 143-149.
Bakan, A. B., & Abu-Laban, Y. (2024). Anti-Palestinian racism, antisemitism, and solidarity: considerations towards an analytic of praxis. Studies in Political Economy / Recherches En Économie Politique, 105(1), 107–122.
Davis, A.Y. (2016). Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement (ed. Barat F). Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.
Elia, N. (2017) Justice is indivisible: Palestine as a feminist issue. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 6, 1, 45-63.
Hill, M. L., & Plitnick, M. (2021). Except for Palestine : the limits of progressive politics (1st ed.). The New Press.
Majid D (2022) Naming & framing anti-Palestinian racism. Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, 25 April. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/61db30d12e169a5c45950345/t/627dcf83fa17ad41ff217964/1652412292220/Anti-Palestinian+Racism+Naming%2C+Framing+and+Manifestations.pdf
Mihatsch, M.A. (2024). The Afro-Palestinians of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Nation.
In: Tasis Moratinos, E., Chang, Th., Moreno Giménez, A. (eds) A Transdisciplinary Study of Global Mobilities. Palgrave Macmillan.
Noura Erakat, Marc Lamont Hill; Black-Palestinian Transnational Solidarity: Renewals, Returns, and Practice. Journal of Palestine Studies 1 August 2019; 48 (4): 7–16.
The Office of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia. (2025). The Canadian Guide to Understanding and Combatting Islamophobia. Available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/combatting-islamophobia-canada/resources/guide-combatting-islamophobia.html