Canada’s estimated 9,000 Jewish post-secondary students have been back at school for barely more than a month—and while things are quieter so far, the culture of rising antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment has not gone away.
Just this summer, a student living in a residence dorm at the University of British Columbia had her mezuzah damaged twice, resulting in the police getting called in. A Muslim students’ club at the University of Western Ontario demanded the school ban all pro-Israel clubs and Zionist rhetoric from campus. And just last week, members of York University’s student union arranged for a training workshop on antisemitism—but scheduled it on a Jewish holiday, conducted by a pro-BDS organization.
So what kind of reality are Jewish students facing these days? To understand what life is like on the ground, we’re joined by two graduate students and activists, Chaim Katz of Calgary and Rachel Dadouch of Toronto, who are organizing events and fighting for Jewish pride on campus.
What we talked about:
- Read: “York University’s student union had a pro-BDS group talk to them about antisemitism” (thecjn.ca)
- Read: “Pavilions of Promise: Israel and the Zionist Movement at World’s Fairs—watch it Wednesday” (thecjn.ca)
- Find Hillel Ontario’s “Joint Statement of Solidarity with Jewish Students“
Credits
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.