All 27 of Canada’s largest universities say that “a call for genocide” is a violation of their codes of conduct. But far fewer agree that a call for the eradication of the State of Israel is a violation—according to a survey of university presidents.

Anthony Housefather, the Liberal MP for Mount Royal, and four colleagues sent a letter last month to university presidents at Canada’s largest schools, asking them about their policies on antisemitism on campus and what they are doing to ensure that Jewish faculty, staff and students feel safe. The letter, which posed five questions including asking whether universities would commit to prevent student associations and newspapers from making schools “hostile environments” for Jewish students, was sent Dec. 18 and had a deadline of Jan. 20.

“I was surprised and incredibly pleased that all 27 answered… and they’ve taken it seriously. The majority of universities provided complete and concrete answers about actions they are now taking,” Housefather told The CJN.

All of the universities said that a call for the genocide of Jews was a violation of their codes of conduct, regardless of context. Only eight of the universities answered the question of whether a call for the eradication of Israel would violate codes of conduct, Housefather said.

The letter was prompted by hearings in the United States Congress where university presidents from Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT testified that it would depend on the “context” if calls for genocide against Jews would violate their schools’ codes of conduct.

The presidents of Harvard and University of Pennsylvania have since resigned from their positions after a storm of negative public reaction to their testimony.

Since the terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis, and the subsequent war with Hamas, university campuses have been the site of numerous pro-Palestinian protests and disruptions. In December, a clash at Montreal’s Concordia University at a booth sponsored by a pro-Israel group on campus to raise awareness of hostages being held in Gaza, saw one person arrested and three others slightly injured.

Housefather said he has heard from parents, students and university faculty and staff who were “voicing real concerns and examples of conduct that seemed to be egregious, that administration seemed to be ignoring. I saw the frustration that nothing was being done.

“There’s been a conditioning on many university campuses to not take antisemitism as seriously as they’ve taken other forms of hate and I think this has been a wake-up call that that cannot continue any longer,” he said.

The letter sent by MPs Ben Carr, Marco Mendicino, David Lametti, Anna Gainey and Housefather states, “We have heard from students who say they are being harassed by fellow students, are being subjected to hostile environments in some classrooms and are being forced to walk through protesters on campus who are calling for the elimination of the world’s only majority state.”

Housefather said he wants to have a national forum on antisemitism that would not just focus on universities, but examine the problem globally.

“I believe there should be hearings on antisemitism in Parliament. It doesn’t have to be the framework you have in the United States where you bring (university) presidents and try to embarrass them. It can be to hear what’s going on and get the best solutions… and encourage others to follow suit.”  

While the majority of universities have updated their polices since Oct. 7, the challenge is to ensure they are enforced.

“Now that we have these commitments on paper, and I’ve made them public, students and others can hold universities to the words they put on paper,” Housefather said.

“The production of these letters is a step that allows the entire university community to see what has been publicly promised and if they’re not following what they say in the letter, well then, it’s black and white—they’re either doing it or they’re not doing it.”