The completion of the winter semester marks the end of more than five Holocaust and antisemitism education events held at the University of Toronto (U of T) in response to rising reports of antisemitic incidents on campus since 2021.
The university’s Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office held the most recent event, a workshop titled “A Shape-Shifting Hatred: Understanding and Addressing Antisemitism” on March 14. The workshop, hosted by U of T religion professor and researcher Shari Golberg, aimed to inform participants of modern and historical manifestations of antisemitism and teach them how to combat antisemitism.
Other events included a Holocaust survivor’s testimony, a book panel discussion and restorative circles hosted in January.
These initiatives responded to a heightened awareness of antisemitism on campus after U of T associate professor Ayelet Kuper authored an article in the Canadian Medical Education Journal in December denouncing antisemitism in the university’s faculty of medicine.
Kuper’s article attributed rising anti-Jewish sentiment to Nazi imagery used by some anti-vaccination movements, among other reasons. Jacqueline Dressler, advocacy manager at Jewish life group Hillel U of T, also suggested that Kanye West’s antisemitic statements and the rise of “Trump culture” underlie surging anti-Jewish discrimination.
“Antisemitism not being recognized as it should be,” Dressler said, calling it “an insidious form of discrimination.”
In December 2022, the university opted not to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s controversial working definition of antisemitism, which has been criticized for disallowing criticism of Israel. University president Meric Gertler wrote in a letter to governors that “no guideline or training program will eradicate antisemitism” and urged the university community to support Jewish students and faculty.
Maya Super, a 2021 political science graduate, described a rise in antisemitic sentiment in the U of T community online the spring before she graduated.
“It was very emotionally taxing,” she said.
Super said she saw her peers, many self-identifying progressives, engage in promoting antisemitic tropes like that of ‘Jewish power’ and minimizing the Holocaust.
“When [people are] criticizing the State of Israel specifically, they’ll fall into these antisemitic tropes,” Super said. She added some people incorrectly equate Jewish people with the State of Israel, or use criticism of Israel as a disguise for antisemitism.
For Maytal Lazarovic, a fourth-year student in U of T’s environmental studies program, a rise in discrimination on campus is a clear message that Jewish students are “unwelcome and unwanted” at the university.
“U of T’s Jewish community is very much treated as the ‘other’ on campus,” Lazarovic said.
In 2021, Lazarovic founded the Jewish Student Alliance to foster community between Jewish and non-Jewish students as the tensions of the war in Gaza resonated on campus, particularly as U of T’s student unions passed boycott, divestment, and sanctions motions against Israel in November 2021 and February 2022. Several Jewish organizations on campus deemed these actions discriminatory.
Now, both Jewish students and organizations on campus are calling on the university to take action against antisemitism in the U of T community.
In a show of solidarity, U of T collaborated with its Multi-Faith Centre and Hillel U of T to host exhibitions and workshops throughout the winter semester covering Holocaust education, the history of antisemitism and its manifestations today—topics some U of T departments will incorporate into their curricula.
The faculty of medicine, following its September 2022 apology for historic anti-Jewish discrimination, which included a cap on the number of Jewish students accepted, is instituting antisemitism and anti-racism training in its programming. The faculty of law is working on similar initiatives for its first-year and possibly upper-year students.
“When you show little by little the history [of Jewish people and antisemitism], and you show little by little what stands behind it, then people understand,” Amit Rozenblum, Hillel U of T’s senior director and Jewish educator, said. He emphasized the importance of education in deconstructing antisemitic perspectives.
Rozenblum attributed the rising number of antisemitic incident reports at U of T to a growing willingness to call out antisemitic behaviours.
“[Ten to 30] years ago … it wasn’t acceptable for somebody to stand up and speak after having an antisemitic incident,” he added.
Dressler added recent cultural shifts are empowering students to discuss discrimination and become “more comfortable talking about uncomfortable things.”
Despite these shows of support, Tyler Samuels, a 2021 history and political science graduate, remains critical. In his time at U of T Scarborough, antisemitic incidents were met with “hesitant” and “bare minimum” responses from administrators.
“We had to embarrass the school administration, at both Scarborough and St. George … to act,” he said.
Now, Samuels believes alumni should stop donating to the university until it is accountable to its Jewish community members.
According to Rozenblum, eliminating antisemitism from the university will take time. However, he also noted recent positive developments. Rozenblum said he has faith in the university community’s “humanity” and ability to create a safe space for Jewish people on campus.
Ultimately, Dressler said U of T will be safe and inclusive for the community when Jewish people have “a seat at the table” and are properly represented in discussions about equity, diversity and inclusion.
“It’s such a complicated situation,” Super said. She indicated that antisemitism is “deeply ingrained” in society, and often is not seen as a pertinent issue because many Jewish people experience aspects of white privilege.
Similarly, Lazarovic pointed out that many Jewish people are not believed when they report discrimination. She predicted the impact of the university’s response to antisemitism will be like a “Band-Aid to fix a gunshot wound.”
According to Lazarovic, the university should “constantly and consistently listen to Jewish students.” She said she believes that Jewish community members and their experiences should receive “more attention and more focus” from U of T beyond flashpoint moments of antisemitism.
“If students are fearing for their safety and are not feeling comfortable enough to be themselves unapologetically,” she said, “not enough is being done.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article featured a photo of the Dalla Lana school of Public Health. This photo was selected in error instead of a photo of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. The Dalla Lana School of Public Health was not addressed in the Charlatan’s investigation into antisemitism awareness efforts at U of T. The Charlatan regrets the error.
Featured image provided.
