UPDATE (2/29/24): UBC student union has voted against posing a referendum question about whether Hillel House should be evicted from campus

Vancouver’s Jewish community is concerned that the University of British Columbia’s student union could decide at their Feb. 28 meeting to place a referendum question calling for the termination of the Hillel House lease on the ballot.

The UBC Alma Mater Society (AMS/Student Union) will discuss and consult Wednesday evening on whether a referendum question calling for the termination of the Hillel House lease, the adoption of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement commitments, and the removal of Israel from the university’s exchange program roster should be placed on a university-wide ballot.

Voting on a number of matters, including electing officers for next year, will be held March 1 to March 8.

The three-page referendum puts forward a lengthy list of other demands it would like UBC to follow, including the acknowledgment that Israel is committing genocide in its war against Hamas, a public condemnation by the university’s administration of the bombing in Gaza and cessation of ties with entities the petitioners deem “complicit in genocide.”

The petitioners also call for the university to divest itself from and make no new investments in 14 companies it, too, says are complicit in genocide – among them are General Mills, Motorola and Caterpillar, along with several Israel-based firms.

The referendum question would ask, “Do you support the following demands of the AMS to promote systemic change at the AMS and representation of students’ priorities, as expressed in mobilisation efforts for Palestinian human rights, food security, worker solidarity, climate justice, and Indigenous solidarity?”

Regarding Hillel, the petitioners demand that the university end the organization’s lease “for promoting an Israeli Defence Force soldier to speak in an event on campus.”

In response, Rob Philipp, the executive director of Hillel BC, put out an action alert that has been widely circulating within the British Columbia Jewish community through Jewish federations and other organizations.  The alert urges Ben Du, the interim president of AMS, and other members of the council, to reject the referendum as it poses a threat to inclusivity, diversity and fairness on the campus.

“By allowing this referendum onto the ballot, the AMS risks sanctioning an environment where antisemitism can flourish under the guise of political discourse. This is not the legacy that UBC should aspire to. Our university must remain a beacon of safety and support for all its students, including its Jewish population,” Philipp wrote.

He added that the referendum “clearly aims to exclude certain voices, particularly those of Jewish students, from our community’s dialogue. This is not merely a departure from UBC’s commitment to equity and inclusivity; it is a step towards a divisive and exclusionary governance model.”

Jewish clergy in British Columbia have also decried the referendum. In a social media post, Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Vancouver’s Temple Sholom wrote, “At a time of unprecedented antisemitism in Canada, British Columbia and on the UBC campus, eviction of Hillel, the only safe gathering space for Jews on campus, would do unimaginable harm to students and their families.”

A letter from the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver also urged the council not to place the referendum on the ballot, citing the interfaith and intercultural programming that Hillel House contributes.

As well, many of the Vancouver rabbis studied in Israel where they met and befriended students and professors from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, they wrote.

“Shutting down academic exchanges does the opposite of what is vital and needed in this divided world,” the association wrote. “The stakes of endorsing these referendums are high, with long-lasting implications for the AMS’s reputation (as well as UBC’s reputation) and the cohesive fabric of our UBC community.”

Aside from inviting an IDF speaker, the petitioners blame Hillel for stickers one of its contractors distributed around the UBC campus in November 2023 which read, in large letters, “I (heart) Hamas.”  The stickers were falsely attributed to the UBC’s Social Justice Centre. Earlier this month, the centre announced it would take legal action against Hillel BC.

On Feb. 8, Hillel BC posted on Facebook that when it “learned that an independent contractor had engaged in the activity which occurred without Hillel BC’s knowledge, it immediately terminated its relationship with that contractor and publicly announced that decision.”

When reached by The CJN, a spokesperson for Hillel BC said the organization would not comment further on the referendum until the results of the AMS council discussion are known. Other organizations, such as the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, are taking a similar approach.

AMS has shown its support for the Palestinian movement in the past. In a 2022 release, it expressed its “solidarity” with Palestinian students and condemned the “Israeli State’s system of apartheid and its occupation of Palestine.”

In a report on antisemitism at Canadian universities released earlier this month, the Abraham Global Peace Initiative assigned UBC an overall grade of D in its efforts to combat antisemitism on campus, stating that this is not a new issue at the school.

“UBC faces a $15 million proposed class-action lawsuit for alleged failure to address ‘antisemitic sentiments’ over decades. The lawsuit, representing Jewish students since 1998, cites specific incidents, including an attack on a Jewish student in residence and controversial speaker invitations,” the report says.

Established in 1915, AMS represents more than 58,000 undergraduate and graduate students at UBC’s Vancouver campus and affiliated colleges.  A non-profit organization, its purported goals are to advocate for student viewpoints and ensure the needs of students are met by the university administration, as well as the provincial and federal governments.

Its mission statement is “to improve the quality of the educational, social and personal lives of the students of UBC Vancouver.”