The idea that academia is the highest form of civilization, where students and professors are free to openly debate and advocate any philosophy of their choosing without consequence, is a hoax. Individuals deciding to act upon their philosophies, believing their free speech is protected and held sacred on college campuses, find otherwise in the documentary film Discordia: When Netanyahu Came to Town.

This is not a product of the post September 11th climate, where the government can ask libraries what books and websites you read, where reactionaries like Daniel Pipes and his Campus Watch try to blacklist academics who exhibit even the slightest criticism of Israel and U.S. policy in the Middle East, or with the countless talking heads of official society lecturing students about freedom and democracy (the type based upon brutal imperialism and white supremacy worldwide). And anyone who dares suggest their ideas are contradictory receives a dumbfounded look or stern rebuke. No, crackdowns on free speech on U.S. college campuses are nothing new; be they the termination of professors in the early 1950s for refusing to sign loyalty oaths against Soviet Communism, the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley in the 1960s, the numerous struggles for Black Studies programs, the murder of Vietnam War protestors at Kent State in 1970, or crackdowns on activists demanding divestment from Apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. We see, just in the last 50 years, a tradition of reactionary campus administration policies towards students and university staff who dare organize and challenge the powers that be in their attempt to build the new society.

Taking this history into account, one can realize the current hostility towards Palestine solidarity organizing on campuses throughout North America. The Canadian documentary film Discordia: When Netanyahu Came to Town captures this hostility against students acting collectively to hold their university accountable for its political orientation that is generally hostile towards Palestinian self-determination.

In the sandbox that is campus politics some valuable lessons can be learned. One key lesson is understanding the nature and presence of power. This is from the standpoint of collective organizing against the managers of academia; whether they are administrators, professors, or student government. This is a major theme underpinning Discordia. The documentary shows the fallout from events surrounding the September 9, 2002, Concordia University “riot” in Montreal. There, student activists with Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) successfully shut down a planned speaking engagement by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sponsored by the Concordia Hillel, Netanyahu was to speak on the campus but cancelled due to direct action staged by SPHR.

The film follows three Concordia students: Samer Elatrash, member of SPHR and the son of Palestinian refugees living in Ontario, Noah Sarna, co-president of the campus Hillel, and Aaron Mate, vice president of the Concordia Student Union and a supporter of Palestine solidarity. Mate is clearly cast as the most sympathetic character. His father is a holocaust survivor and is critical of Israeli policies towards Palestinians. Mate struggles to shape his Jewish identity and support of Palestinian liberation in a world that suggests a marriage of the two is impossible. This puts him at odds with campus Zionists like Sarna who question his Jewishness, while other Zionists call him a “self-hating Jew.” Mate's absolute philosophical support of the right of free speech on campus puts him at odds with Palestine solidarity activists as well. This is highlighted in a scene where he disagrees with Elatrash and other SPHR members over their decision to use direct action tactics to shut down Netanyahu. However the film shows Mate's participating with SPHR in the action, and being subsequently arrested and threatened with suspension by campus officials. As vice president of the Concordia Student Union, it is supposed he should act impartial to all student organizations, helping foster a tolerant and open culture on campus for all students to express their beliefs. This logic of multiculturalism and free expression is one of many claims universities make, casting themselves as the highest form of civilization in today’s brutish society. This logic is tested throughout the film when Mate is confronted with the power of administrators, Zionists, and the police, demonstrating the principles guiding academic life are a veneer.

The heart of Discordia focuses on the fallout from the Netanyahu event and traces actions taken by SPHR, Hillel, the Concordia Student Union (CSU), and Concordia University administration. It is the latter group, though physically absent from the film, which tries to trump all groups involved by controlling the rules of engagement. This is clear when administrators suspend all campus activism related to the Middle East for a period of two months after the Netanyahu incident. This “cooling off period” only stokes the flames. Other administration ground rules include targeting Samer Elatrash for his organizing activities. As part of bail conditions after his arrest during the events of September 9th, 2002, he is only allowed on campus to study. When he supposedly breaks these conditions, by standing outside a campus building during a Hillel rally, he is arrested. This is nothing new in administration tactics, that try to manage and deflate campus activists and organizations when they “go too far.” Just in the past few years, Palestine solidarity activists on American campuses have been harassed, arrested, and threatened with expulsion at Berkeley, Illinois, and Rutgers among others. Discordia does a decent job depicting the criminalization of Palestine solidarity activism by administration and police.

Another interesting aspect of the documentary concerns the role of the Concordia Student Union (CSU). Comprised primarily of individuals professing broadly leftist politics, the CSU is sympathetic with SPHR and the concerns of Arab and Muslim students. This is shown when the CSU suspends Hillel for disseminating literature calling for volunteers to join the Israeli “Defense” Forces (IDF). The ruling splits the CSU executive board. Mate feels the Hillel suspension was conducted without due process and sets a dangerous precedence in stifling free speech and association. The CSU feels the wrath of Zionists, students, and the Montreal media as they are labeled as extremists. Hillel sues, forcing the hand of the CSU and eventually leading to their reinstatement. Fallout also comes from student elections depicted near the film's conclusion, with Mate and others voted out in favor of a coalition supported by Sarna and other campus Zionists called “Evolution Not Revolution.” The lesson here for campus Palestine solidarity groups is not to rely heavily on student government, even when representatives are sympathetic. Like the student paper, it can be a useful vehicle but real power and victories must be created by the politics and activities of solidarity organizations themselves with their basis being in the streets.

The real value of Discordia is its depiction of campus political dynamics, both public and internal. Debates and discussions between SPHR members are shown. One concerns leadership, with one SPHR member claiming that Arabs and Muslims should solely lead Palestine solidarity work, with everyone following behind. Another concerns ego and “cult of personality” that Mate argues Elatrash fosters. This manifests when Elatrash, who acts as the group’s public spokesperson, agrees to be interviewed for a European television program. The program ends up depicting Elatrash and SPHR unfavorably. A final issue is tactics, especially the use of direct action demonstrated in the opening scene. Although the documentary does not show a formal SPHR meeting, we get a sense of the political and personal dynamics at play the organization. The same cannot be said for Hillel, as the film shows little internal debate among campus Zionists. The only “inside” look comes from a campus rally staged shortly after the CSU suspends Hillel. Active and developing Palestine solidarity campaigns can learn from these dynamics, realizing the potential strengths and limitations that issue-based coalition projects present. In this sense, Discordia compares favorably to the 1985 documentary From Soweto to Berkeley, a film depicting the dynamics of the UC Berkeley campus divestment campaign against the Apartheid regime in South Africa.

Discordia is marketed and couched by its filmmakers, both former Concordia students, as a reflection on the current state of Canadian student activism. They feel their film’s central message is to show students struggling to understand the enduring value of a tolerant and open mind. Viewers must look past these thoroughly liberal ideas, instead focusing on the issue of power, the role of the solidarity campaign, and the potential for students, professors, and all university workers to be self-managing against reactionary administrations who hold them in contempt. These administrators hide their contempt behind phony banners of multiculturalism, academic freedom, and tolerance. Experienced Palestine solidarity activists on North American campuses know better, for they have and will continue to be labeled as marginal, uncivil, and even criminal by campus administrations mimicking the current stance of the U.S. state and official society.

Discordia: When Netanyahu Came to Town. Dir. Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal. 2004.  DVD; VHS. Montreal; New York: National Film Board of Canada, 2004. 69min.