BDS rhetoric leaves McGill University’s Jewish students feeling “marginalized, alienated and/or discriminated.”

By Dion J. Pierre, The Algemeiner

A new report issued by McGill University in Montreal has described the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting the State of Israel as a significant contributor to the “polarizing” of debate on campus.

The report, published on Wednesday by the Canadian university’s Initiative Against Islamophobia and Antisemitism (IAIAS), asserted that in the wake of the motion passed in March by the university Students’ Society describing Israel as an apartheid state, both Jewish and Muslim students had been exposed to “experiences that have led them to feel marginalized, alienated, and/or discriminated within our university context.”

“Unquestionably, the most fraught question that emerged within the consultations was whether expressions in support of BDS amounted to discrimination,” the report said. “For many members of the Jewish community, some BDS-related activism — while permissible political expression at the outset — descended into anti-Zionist rhetoric and claims that, for them, were tantamount to antisemitism.”

The report went on to recommend enhancing student knowledge of Judaism and Islam, improving “existing” sensitivity training, and hosting scholarly discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

After its release, Hillel Montreal, which serves Jewish students attending McGill University, expressed hope that “this is the start to a better campus life for all McGill students.”

Asaf Romirowsky — Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), an academic NGO — criticized IAIAS for not acknowledging that BDS was objectively antisemitic rather than, as the report said, something “some members of the Jewish community will experience as antisemitism.”

“Positively, the report acknowledges that BDS is indeed a polarizing factor on campus. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go as far as to identify BDS as antisemitism,” Romirowsky told The Algemeiner. “Consequently, the recommendations do not include the adaptation of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which includes anti-Zionism and would tackle BDS in all its forms.”

In March, B’nai B’rith Canada, a Jewish advocacy organization, called on the university to defund the Students’ Society for endorsing a boycott of Israel over the objections of its judicial board.

B’nai Brith Canada called the resolution “extreme,” warning that “the document’s language is so broad that it may compel the Students’ Society to boycott virtually all Jewish clubs and associations on campus.”

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“No university should stand for antisemitism or votes contrary to the rule of law,” B’nai Brith Canada stated.

By World Israel News Staff

The president of McGill University has come out strongly against a recent student referendum that has dangerous implications for Jewish students, B’nai Brith Canada said in a press release Thursday afternoon.

On Monday, the Students’ Society at McGill University (SSMU) announced the endorsement via referendum of a document that accuses Israel of engaging in “settler-colonial apartheid against Palestinians” and committing SSMU to boycotting all entities allegedly “complicit” in this activity, among other measures, the Jewish human rights organization explained.

SSMU proceeded with the referendum despite an interim order from its own Judicial Board on March 13 stating that the question should be removed from the ballot until a full ruling on its legality could be made.

Immediately after the referendum concluded, B’nai Brith reached out to the McGill Administration and insisted they withhold fees from SSMU in order to protect Jewish students.

On Wednesday, McGill Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier, in an email to B’nai Brith, stated that the university considers the referendum “to be inconsistent with the SSMU constitution as well as previous decisions by its internal governance bodies.

“We are also concerned about alleged irregularities in the referendum process. These views have been communicated to the SSMU leadership, and we advised them to take prompt and appropriate remedial action consistent with SSMU’s obligations under its Memorandum of Agreement with the University, failing which the University will take action,” Fortier said.

Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada, said he was “encouraged by this early and principled statement of intent by the McGill Administration.

“No university should stand for antisemitism or votes contrary to the rule of law, and funds should not be provided to student organizations that are guilty of this conduct,” he said.

“B’nai Brith will remain actively engaged in this issue until justice is done and SSMU rescinds its extreme attacks against Jewish life on campus,” Mostyn vowed.

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“They take issue not with the fact that I have other involvements, but that these other involvements are associated with a political view that they personally disagree with,” the Jewish student said.

By Karys Rhea, Algemeiner

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) in Montreal, Canada has attempted to remove a Jewish student from her position on the Legislative Council over her decision to partake in a sponsored trip to Israel and the West Bank.

Second-year science student Jordyn Wright accepted an offer by the Jewish campus organization Hillel to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories, and meet with politicians, journalists and locals offering multiple perspectives. According to Wright, she was hoping to “better understand a very nuanced geopolitical conflict.”

“As a Jew, my connection to Israel is a core aspect of my identity, and I hoped that this trip would help me to experience Israel through a new lens,” Wright wrote on Friday in a widely circulated Facebook Post.

Under pressure from members of the student government who support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, SSMU called for Wright’s resignation on “Conflict of Interest” grounds.

Interrogation without warning

According to Wright, she was also interrogated by the Science Executive Committee for almost two hours with no prior warning about her decision to participate in the trip.

“Not only were the questions designed to target and intimidate me, but I was purposefully prevented from having sufficient time to find the information they wanted,” Wright said.

Despite the fact that a fellow non-Jewish student representative would be joining Wright on the trip, only the latter was targeted for censure.

“By scrutinizing only me for participating in a trip to Israel, SSMU is engaging in this kind of anti-Semitism,” claimed Wright.

She was eventually given an ultimatum to withdraw from the trip or resign from student leadership with the threat of impeachment if she refused. “I am Jordyn Wright, and I will not resign,” she assured supporters on Facebook.

Wright also questioned the “Conflict of Interest” motive, asking why she was held to a different standard for supporting Israel than student leaders who take part in anti-Israel activism.

“Every member of student government holds a multiplicity of personal political opinions, yet we constantly and necessarily separate these from our roles as student representatives,” Wright commented. “They take issue not with the fact that I have other involvements, but that these other involvements are associated with a political view that they personally disagree with.”

Wright was initially hesitant about joining student politics due to what she called “the toxic environment, countless scandals, prohibitive anti-Israel sentiment, and anti-Semitism” that have garnered a “tainted image of an unfriendly campus for Jews.”

According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, which the SSMU has adopted, holding Israel to a double standard or holding Jews accountable for the actions of the Jewish state constitutes anti-Semitism.

“There is a double standard for anything that involves Israel at McGill,” stressed Wright.

It is unclear at this point whether the university will take action, but a spokesperson for McGill told the Algemeiner: “When our students do not feel safe on our campus because of their identity and/or political beliefs, this becomes problematic and unacceptable.”

The spokesperson added: “McGill will unequivocally remain vigilant and steadfast in providing a safe and respectful learning environment, and we will take any proper measure deemed necessary to ensure that all members of our community feel safe, welcomed and respected on our campuses.”

History of marginalizing

This is not the first time McGill’s student body has been accused of marginalizing and alienating Jewish students, particularly those who feel connected to the Jewish homeland.

In 2017, student government removed Noah Lew and two of his Jewish peers who were politically active in support of Jewish causes from the Board of Directors, before reinstating him after a university investigation. When he initially applied to the board, Lew said an older Jewish student advised him to remove anything related to Judaism or Jewish organizations from his resume or else he wouldn’t be considered for the position.

“The idea that I needed to hide my Jewish identity and affiliations, in order to have a chance of being accepted into McGill’s student government, was deeply upsetting to me,” wrote Lew in an op-ed for the Canadian Jewish News.

The pro-BDS members of the student society are part of a campaign called Democratize SSMU at McGill, which, according to Lew, singles out Jewish members on the board who support Israel, makes their Jewish identity public, and puts them on trial with the intention of removing any Jewish and pro-Israel students from leadership roles.

Democratize SSMU and other student government members have been accused of using anti-Semitic language, including a tweet in 2017 by elected student representative Igor Sadikov that advocated twitter users “punch a Zionist today.”

In 2016, then freshman Molly Harris wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post claiming a student publication refused to write about antisemitism on campus because the issue was already covered in “mainstream Zionist media.” Harris expressed how she was regularly called a “Zionist b***”, told “that Jews haven’t suffered” and often heard from social justice clubs that “Zionism underpins many of the world’s problems,” a classic antisemitic conspiracy theory about Jews controlling the world.

Despite the fact that Harris believed in a two-state solution and social justice issues such as gender inequality, homophobia, and the racial opportunity gap, Harris says that she, along with her Jewish peers, were excluded from social-justice clubs merely because support for Israel played an integral role in her identity.

In 2017, Algemeiner named McGill University as the ninth worst North American college campus for Jewish students.

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The McGill administration has responded and is taking disciplinary action, according to a statement.

“The University strongly condemns expressions of hatred or incitement to violence against any individual or group,” a statement read on behalf of Provost and Vice-Principal Christopher Manfredi.

“Such statements do not represent the views or the values of the University and we believe they violate a number of our policies, including the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures,” the statement continued.  “While individual disciplinary proceedings are confidential, appropriate offices are taking action as required. McGill remains steadfast in its support of freedom of expression and respectful discourse.”

By: World Israel News Staff

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