TORONTO — Jewish student groups are calling on university administrations to respond to the rise of anti-Semitic incidents on Canadian campuses by what they describe as “racist thugs who seek to intimidate other students into silence.”
Noah Kochman, left, the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students’ Israel affairs chair, and Daniel Ferman, Hillel at York’s president, held a press conference last Thursday to call attention to the hostility that Jewish students face on Canadian campuses. [Sheri Shefa photo]
Last week, Noah Kochman, the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students’ (CFJS) Israel affairs chair, and Daniel Ferman, president of Hillel at York University, held a press conference at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto to call attention to the hostility and anti-Semitism that Jewish students regularly face on campus.
Although they referred to a number of incidents that have taken place at universities across the country, they singled out York for failing to protect students.
A joint statement by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Hillel at York and Hasbara Fellowships said the Jewish community has been deeply concerned about York’s inaction since a mob of anti-Israel protesters barricaded Jewish students in the Hillel lounge while shouting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic slurs on Feb. 11.
“It appears that York is waiting for students to go through the bureaucratic process of filing formal complaints, even though York security was on hand to witness the incident and they have video footage of the incident. The university’s non-response is completely unacceptable,” said Rafi Yablonsky, president of Hasbara Fellowships.
But Rob Tiffin, York’s vice-president of equity, said that the university is actively investigating and wants to “have a resolution of this fairly soon, but it does have to go through a process whereby… there is a fairness applied and a perception of justice.”
He said that an adjudicator has footage of the confrontation and has been using it to identify the individuals involved.
“There are also individuals we have identified who are not members of the York community, and we will be taking further legal action on that front,” Tiffin said. “Part of the process is for the adjudicator to meet with
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the individuals identified and give them an opportunity to present their perspective.”
Tiffin added that students involved in the confrontation with Jewish students could receive penalties ranging from fines to suspensions.
At the CFJS press conference last week, Ferman said he was disappointed with York’s response so far.
“It’s been more than two weeks since this [Feb. 11 incident] occurred, and the only response we’ve heard from them is that they’re investigating. After two weeks, we’d hoped that actions would be taken to protect Jewish students and all students.”
York president Mamdouh Shoukri also spoke out against the climate at York when he addressed the university’s senate on Feb. 26. He said that when students returned to school following a 12-week strike by teaching assistants and contract teachers, they were faced with “disruption, hostility and even intimidation from their fellow students.
“This state of affairs is unacceptable to me, and it should be unacceptable to you. Intimidation, bullying, and discrimination will not be tolerated here, and we are taking action to protect the rights and the safety of all students and staff,” Shoukri said.
Although York hasn’t finished investigating the Feb. 11 incident, the administration has issued proposed sanctions to student groups involved in a rally and counter-rally in York’s Vari Hall rotunda on Feb. 12 for using sound amplification devices that disrupted classes.
Hasbara and Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) were sent letters of intent stating that they will each receive a 30-day suspension and fines totalling $1,250 for the Feb. 12 rallies. The sanctions against Hillel would be a 15-day suspension and fines totalling $650.
Tiffin said he is waiting to finalize the penalties after hearing from all the groups this week.
“To take action against rally participants and not against members of a mob who deliberately threatened Jewish students reflects York’s lack of credibility,” Yablonsky said in the statement.
Kochman referred to a number of anti-Semitic incidents by “racist thugs” who voice “the most vile expressions of race hatred. They can enjoy no conceivable protection of academic discourse. They are expressly intended to silence debate, to shut down discussion, to intimidate those who disagree. And they are becoming shockingly frequent on Canadian campuses.”
For example, he said, posters at the University of Manitoba “have ranged from offensive to blatantly racist,” and they include “the same type of anti-Semitic caricatures that you would see in the 1930s Nazi Germany.”
The posters include images such as an Israeli fighter jet dropping missiles on a baby carriage, and a hook-nosed, bearded Jewish man pointing a rocket at a Palestinian defending himself with a slingshot.
Ferman said York students wearing items that identify them as Jewish, such as a kippah or a Star of David necklace, have had anti-Semitic slurs directed at them while walking to class.
“We need people urging the administrations on campus to uphold their own codes of conduct, to start protecting these students,” Kochman said.
“Enough is enough. Our students are calling out for further help and they’re doing the best they can and we’re doing the best we can, but we need more support.”