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More About: Antisemitism on Campus

University administrators face complex bureaucracies, overreaching collective agreements, and limited governmental protections that make addressing the Jewish community’s concerns on campus challenging. Many view our campuses as breeding grounds for extremist ideologies, un-nuanced thinking, and rhetoric that is incompatible with Canadian democratic values.  

The academic freedom granted to educators at our universities through collective bargaining is exploited to rationalize prejudice and acts of discrimination that undermine the institution’s academic integrity. Professors have overtly endorsed terrorism, disseminated misleading information to their students, and advocated for discriminatory practices on campus – all under the guise and protection of “academic freedom,” which is not limitless.  

Student unions and clubs are vital to university life; however, many have become infiltrated by bad actors who shift the focus from matters relevant to the student body to a conflict that is completely unrelated to their mandate. Non-ratified student groups are also exerting undue influence on elected student representatives, setting up a presence on campus where harmful information is shared and contributing significantly to a toxic environment.  

Despite student fees collected by the institution benefiting campus unions and clubs, universities have little control over them. This has resulted in Jewish students being ostracized from club participation, in persistent harassment, and, due to the ongoing spread of misinformation about Jews and Israel, in Jewish students feeling unsafe participating in campus and club events. 

The BDS movement also continues to plague our campus classrooms and administrative boardrooms. The BDS movement unfairly demonizes Israel and rejects both nuance and documented facts, including that Arab Israeli citizens enjoy the same rights and freedoms as any other citizens of Israel. Foundational to the BDS movement is the aim to end the Jewish people’s right to self-determination; it encourages antisemitism as it seeks to delegitimize Israel – the only Jewish state – from the global academic community and to create a hostile environment for Jews around the world.