Pro-Israel groups on campus are distancing themselves from a Jewish Defence League counter-protest at York University against a student-led rally that called on the school to divest from “weapons companies.”
On Feb. 4, the YUDivest Coalition, comprising groups such as Amnesty International at York and Students Against Israeli Apartheid, organized a protest to urge York to divest from arms manufacturers, such as Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, FLIR Systems, and Textron.
Hillel Ontario CEO Mark Newburgh said about 80 students gathered in York’s Vari Hall before marching to the student centre. He said the protest was peaceful, orderly, and relatively quiet, and there was no mention of Israel specifically.
READ: FOR PRO-ISRAEL STUDENTS AT YORK, FREE SPEECH DOESN’T EXIST
“They were chanting numerous slogans about the university divesting from weapons manufacturers. There were no chants about Israel, and there were no chants about Jewish students,” he said.
He said the only allusion to Israel or Jews came from one professor who addressed the gathering in the student centre and mentioned businessman Paul Bronfman and his decision to pull his financial support from York because of a pro-Palestinian mural that currently hangs at the school.
“Other than knowing who was behind the protest, which is an anti-Israel group on campus, there was no attention brought to it. So who brought the attention to it? The JDL,” Newburgh said.
According to the JDL’s Facebook page, the counter-protest was organized as part of a “campaign to stop incitement to murder Jews” on campus.
JDL national director Meir Weinstein said a group of about 20 JDL protesters gathered at York’s main entrance on Keele Street, waving Israeli and Canadian flags, and holding signs with messages such as “Your tax $$$ supports Jew hatred.” About 35 people made their way to the student centre, where they encountered campus security.
“They [security] were saying they didn’t want the JDL there,” Weinstein said.
And, it seems, neither did Jewish campus groups including Hillel and Hasbara Fellowships Canada.
“I met with one of the leaders of Hasbara, one of the students leaders, and they didn’t want to have any kind of protest of any sort. They weren’t interested in doing that,” Weinstein said, adding he didn’t bother approaching Hillel.
“In the past, with Hillel, we’ve never gotten anywhere with them.”
Newburgh confirmed Hillel has no affiliation or contact with the JDL. “When the JDL showed up [Feb. 4], they showed up on their own to campus, and they were not in any way supported or working with other students or organizations,” he said.
“We gathered in the Hillel lounge prior to the protest. Hillel staff gathered in Vari Hall and we worked with security to share information we were learning… We were all here in support of one thing: to ensure the safety of the students that were on campus,” Newburgh said, commending campus security and police for keeping things orderly and peaceful.
Robert Walker, director of Hasbara Fellowships Canada, said Hasbara Fellows were there to observe and take photos and videos, but were instructed to avoid “confrontation for the sake of confrontation… There was no profit to be gained from getting involved with that.”
Walker said it’s often counter-productive for non-student groups to get involved.
READ: UNIVERSITIES CANNOT THRIVE WHEN SOME STUDENTS FEEL UNWELCOME
“Campus matters are best managed by students. What we aim to do at Hasbara Fellowships is obviously to give them training and guidance and everything, but at the end of the day it has to be a student who is taking the lead. That’s what empowerment means,” Walker said.
He said “knee-jerk decisions” can undo successes that students have made.
“Much of what happens on campus happens behind the scenes… We need to play a long game when it comes to Israel activism on campus… We need to keep the big picture in mind and remember that advocating for Israel on campus isn’t about waving flags for a day, but about changing minds and doing it in a strategic way.”