One expects academic events to be intellectually stimulating,
but rarely is a gathering of scholars in Canada
cause for investigation
by high-ranking government officials.
.
In this case,
the conference touched upon the new third rail of political and academic conversation in the country.
Israel/Palestine : Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace
was the theme of one conference sponsored as part of York University’s fiftieth anniversary celebration (U50).
What the conference proposed to accomplish was a critical reading of Israel’s history,
with the aim of working towards viable political resolutions to more than fifty years of occupation and war.
Very quickly,
the conference became an international target of lobby groups
that aimed to have the event stopped.
.