Photo by Declan Snowden.
On Jan. 5, 2025, the UVSS held both their course unions and clubs council meetings. All clubs and course unions that filled out their paperwork and attended their respective meetings were ratified, with one exception — Students Supporting Israel UVic (SSI UVic).
The Martlet previously wrote an article on “UVic SSI,” which was ratified for the Winter session in September 2025.
Artem Kuklev — who also serves on UVic Senate — spoke for SSI UVic at the clubs council meeting, and told the Martlet on behalf of the club that it was a “new club” that “has nothing to do with any previously existing club.” However, the Martlet was told by the UVSS that “SSI UVic” and “UVic SSI” were the same club, and were seeking re-ratification.
Kuklev told the Martlet in a statement that he spoke for the club at the clubs council meeting “solely [in] a messenger’s role,” and that the messages were jointly written.
UVic SSI came under controversy last term after a comment was posted on the club Instagram, saying “I’ll have my buddy in the IDF write your name on the next mortar he drops on HMS.”
According to a UVSS document previously obtained by the Martlet, this social media comment led to 29 complaints being filed against the club. The document lists Kuklev as communicating with Katie King, director of student affairs, over the complaints on behalf of the UVic SSI executive.
Kuklev told the Martlet his email was used “simply as a means of communication,” and that everything communicated to King was based on a collective consensus.
According to the UVSS report, UVic SSI said the poster of the comment made it without approval or consent of the executive.
The document states King asked how the individual who made the post was able to post on the club’s social media despite being a “member of the greater community,” asked for their name, and informed the club executive that they are responsible for the actions of their members. However, according to the document, UVic SSI’s executive did not provide the individual’s name, despite repeated requests from King.
King proposed several disciplinary actions for the club, including revoking the club’s room booking privileges, only posting on social media pre-approved posts, and being restricted to posting religious and cultural posts, as well as increased oversight for 2025–2026 events.
The Martlet reached out to the UVSS and asked if they could share any of the disciplinary measures taken. Griffin Foster, director of outreach and university relations, told the Martlet that the disciplinary actions were communicated to the club, but did not elaborate on what actions were taken.
During the clubs council meeting, when King asked if anyone would like to make an amendment to the agenda, an attendee voiced their disapproval of SSI UVic, saying the club “supports the genocide of the Palestinian people.”
King then suggested voting on SSI UVic’s ratification separately, and introduced a motion to do so, which passed.
The clubs council then voted on the ratification of SSI UVic. At the time of the vote, the clubs council meeting had 121 attendees. Only three attendees voted in favor of ratifying SSI UVic.
The Martlet reached out to the club twice directly via the email listed on the clubs list. On both occasions, the email was undeliverable “because the address couldn’t be found or is unable to receive email.”
In the meeting, Kuklev asked why the club was “singled out,” and said that SSI UVic being an Israeli club is “not enough reason.”
King responded, saying students had raised concerns over SSI UVic, and that clubs council moved to vote on SSI UVic separately so as to not affect the other clubs. King also said that the decision wasn’t up to her, and is up to the clubs council as a whole.
Kuklev then asked if splitting a ratification motion for one club to be voted on separately was standard. King responded that she had not done it prior in her term, and she could not speak for past directors experiences. According to King, this is an option that was listed in her training manual. She also said that the council can separate votes.
Kuklev spoke a third time during the clubs council meeting, saying “this whole notion that a club can be separated merely for its identity or its ethnicity or nationality … is a very bad precedent.”
One attendee chimed in via the chat function, saying “Nobody is against your nationality or culture. We have nothing against the citizens of Israel. We are against students supporting a literal genocide and acting as if they are the victims in this whole thing.”
Another attendee pointed out that UVic Hillel on Campus — a Jewish cultural group — was ratified, and SSI UVic was the only club that did not receive ratification.
Despite receiving this answer, Kuklev joined the UVSS board of directors meeting later that day and asked during the question period why SSI UVic was “singled out.”
Both King and Foster provided similar answers, with Foster responding that the club was voted on separately due to complaints lodged against it. King also said the club was separated due to complaints from those in the clubs council meeting, and that this step was taken so that the other clubs could be ratified.
The Martlet’s previous article on UVic SSI detailed screenshots from an internal club group chat associated with the club. The screenshots included one member of the chat saying “Pure authenticity would be ‘death to Hamas and Palestinians’” in response to another group chat member, who said, “I think authenticity is the most important thing we want to give off.”
Another screenshot detailed a conversation, which regarded a potential response to statements requested by the Martlet. One member of the chat said “Ideally we don’t want to use manipulation tactics,” to which another member of the group chat said “manipulating people is why propaganda exists? It’s why political campaigns exist.”
The screenshots received included the Martlet’s email, which was only sent to the club’s then-official email.
During the clubs council meeting, Kuklev, speaking as a messenger for SSI UVic, said “the article [written] by the Martlet is pure fabrication and lies.” All articles published by the Martlet undergo multiple rounds of editing, including fact-checking, prior to publication.
Kuklev did not directly answer a question about this allegation, and the Martlet was unable to reach SSI UVic for comment, either. Additionally, The Martlet did not receive concerns from the UVic SSI executive about the content of the article following publication.
