An announcement blares through the intercom in the middle of a lecture. You have to evacuate immediately because one of your peers has scribbled bomb threats in the bathroom. This was the reality for students at the Glendon campus of York University earlier this year.
The bomb threats were treated like any other hateful incident—except these particular threats were expressed through anti-Semitic graffiti in a campus bathroom, as a threat to Jewish students who are a tiny percentage of the Canadian population. Glendon is not alone in facing anti-Semitic threats, yet there is no universal system in place to deal with anti-Semitic incidents on campus. Universities, including Carleton, need to develop a proper system to look into acts of anti-Semitism and punish the perpetrators appropriately.
According to Statistics Canada, the number of attacks on Jewish targets nearly doubled from 2007 to 2016. The latest data shows that Jewish people were targeted for hate crimes more than any other religious group, making up 13 per cent of all hate crimes in 2015. Police reports show the number of incidents are rising, with a 28 per cent increase in the last five years.
B’nai Brith Canada is an advocacy group for Canadian Jewry, which documents incidents of anti-Semitism. Such incidents are defined as any act of hostility, prejudice or discrimination against Jewish people. At the end of April, the organization released its annual audit of anti-Semitic hate crimes reported in Canada. The audit displays 1,752 recorded incidents in Canada over the last year. In particular, the report shows a spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes over the last decade on university campuses. According to the audit, Jewish students are facing more anti-Semitism on Canadian university campuses, without perpetrators always facing accountability.
The audit details several disturbing incidents on campuses, including a student representative at McGill University instructing his Twitter followers to “punch a Zionist.” In this case, the student representative was not immediately held accountable. As well, an Israeli applicant was denied admission to a B.C. woodworking school last year on account of his nationality. Additionally, a professor at Concordia showed his students the infamous “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Sets You Free”) sign from Auschwitz, calling it an “encouraging message.”
Some of the documented incidents show that some university administrations are allowing lines to be blurred between anti-Semitism and anti-Israel opinions. The audit cites an incident at McMaster University where the president of a campus group called Solidarity with Palestinian Human Rights expressed her agreement with a Hamas cleric through a tweet that labelled Jews “the most despicable nation on the face of the Earth.” Furthermore, the audit says that the university administration refused to identify if any disciplinary actions were implemented. This is not just an unpopular political opinion, but also one that is grossly anti-Semitic.
What sort of message does this send to Jewish and pro-Israel students on campus? Why should they be subject to discrimination because of their religion and beliefs? University is a place for the exploration of ideas and personal growth. It should not be fertile soil for the seeds of hateful behaviour to grow.
In B’nai Brith’s plan to tackle anti-Semitism at the tail end of the audit, the organization calls for universities to be held accountable. Similar to other policies that have been at the forefront of university administrations in recent years, there needs to be an effective universal system established to deal with anti-Semitism beyond simply reporting it to equity services.
Carleton needs to develop a proper system to investigate incidents of anti-Semitism and condemn this behaviour. Faculty and professors need training on how to define and spot anti-Semitism. This is crucial because Jewish and pro-Israel students who seek to be active in campus groups need to feel safe doing so. Anti-Semitic behaviour must be dealt with properly on campus before it is too late.
