An instructor at University of Toronto released a graduate course syllabus that excluded Zionism from the classroom—and called it a form of social violence—at one point during the 2023-24 academic year.
As seen in a screenshot, this syllabus was for a course titled “Rethinking Diaspora: Culture, Futures, Homes.” It said, “this classroom is a space free of sexism, racism, Zionism, homophobia, and all other forms of social violence.”
UofT told The Canadian Jewish News it had received complaints about the controversial syllabus.
“The chair of the (anthropology) department became aware of the reference to Zionism in a syllabus through our complaints process,” said a spokesperson for the university in an email statement.
The spokesperson added that the word “Zionism” was removed shortly after the university received complaints last winter.
“We want to be as forthright as possible, but for reasons of confidentiality and people’s privacy, we are not sharing more details regarding personnel matters,” the statement concluded.
Sumayya Kassamali, the UofT instructor who released the graduate course syllabus, did not respond to The Canadian Jewish News’ request for comment. An assistant professor in anthropology, diaspora and transnational studies at the downtown Toronto campus, Kassamali’s current research focuses on migrant domestic work in Lebanon and migrant labour in the Middle East, according to her bio page on the university’s website.
UofT’s president Meric Gertler delivered remarks at the Conference on Historical and Contemporary Antisemitism last month, saying that the university has an “obligation to uphold the Ontario Human Rights Code, which prohibits discrimination based on national origin.
“This means that nobody—not departments, not faculty members, not student groups—is entitled to exclude Israelis or attach conditions to their participation in any aspect of university life,” Gertler said during the conference, which was hosted by the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies.
“The Human Rights Code also prohibits religious discrimination. Discrimination based on creed or place of origin does not cease to be prohibited simply because the word ‘Jewish’ or ‘Israeli’ is replaced with the word ‘Zionist.’”
Gertler also referenced Article 5 of the Memorandum of Agreement between the university and the faculty association, which holds that academic freedom does not “preclude commitment on the part of the individual.”
“Support for Israel can be considered such a commitment, and as such cannot be prohibited by academic units or individual instructors,” Gertler said.
David Jacobs, a member of the UofT Governing Council and president of the Ontario Association of Radiologists, posted a screenshot of the syllabus on X on Oct. 14, saying, “How are we supposed to combat hate when we teach it at our universities?”
Jacobs also wrote that the word “Zionist was ultimately removed, but the professor was not,” referring to Kassamali, who is still employed by the university.
The incident follows a larger trend of abuse of podium infractions at multiple Canadian universities since Oct. 7, 2023.
Throughout the past year, numerous faculty members at Canadian universities have altered course curricula to include anti-Israel content, according to students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), University of Guelph, University of British Columbia (UBC) and Wilfrid Laurier University, The Canadian Jewish News reported last month.
While some universities, such as McGill University, have emphasized clear boundaries when it comes to anti-Israel statements in the classroom, schools such as UofT have remained ambiguous about faculty limitations under the guise of freedom of speech.
In a statement emailed to The CJN on Sept. 9, a media relations representative said that faculty members at UofT “have academic freedom, which is the freedom to investigate, speculate and comment without reference to prescribed doctrine, and to criticize the university and society at large.”
The statement added that faculty members enjoy this freedom within the context of their professional obligations, “including the responsibility to deal fairly and ethically with students and colleagues.”
Sarah Gould, a former anthropology instructor at University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus, told The Canadian Jewish News that many professors in the anthropology department have adopted anti-Israel sentiment, often twisting the definition of Zionism.
“Anyone who dares acknowledge that Israel should exist faces real wrath,” she said, adding that many professors in the department participated in the downtown campus’s pro-Palestine encampment, which was dismantled in July after an Ontario Superior Court ruling.
“People are using their academic positions to further an (anti-Israel) narrative that has become acceptable,” Gould said.
“It puts students in a place of being, at the very least, intimidated in their own classrooms.”
