Two months ago, Carleton’s Commission on Inter-Cultural, Inter-Religious and Inter-Racial Relations on Campus released a report two years in the making. This report, commissioned by Carleton president Roseann Runte, is both a milestone for the Carleton community and a call to action for those of us who study and work here.
The commission (which included students, faculty and staff) conducted an in-depth examination and campus survey to determine the perceptions of various communities at Carleton. It noted, among other trends, that members of minority groups were more likely to have been treated negatively in the past year on the basis of their background. Among all respondents the rate was 13 per cent, compared to 23 per cent among those who are Aboriginal, 23 per cent among those who are Muslim, and 46 per cent among those who are Jewish.
In the case of the Jewish community, of which I’m a member, the report recognized that negative treatment often stemmed directly from anti-Israel activism that devolved into behaviour that has nothing to do with legitimate debate. It noted that public spaces, including the atrium, have been the site of intimidation and some Jewish students even reported experiencing “verbal harassment, including anti-Semitic comments that often stem from anti-Israel sentiments.” An example of this occured just recently during the Jewish holiday of Succot. Several students were passing out treats in front of a Sukkah, when they were bombarded by students accusing Israel of world domination. Their source? The anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an early 20th century text.
It happens in the lecture hall, too. On this point, the report describes occasional tensions “when faculty members involve themselves in student activities which align them with a particular student position and/or when faculty members use their privileged platform to present students with only one side of a complex issue . . . students felt at risk if their viewpoint differed from that of the faculty members or teaching assistants.” This occurred most recently when a professor of Human Rights brought in a member of the United Church of Canada (UCC) who is in favour of their recent boycott of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank. The balanced approach would be to invite an additional member of the UCC who was against the boycott, to ignite debate.
Let me be clear. Most Jewish students who come to Carleton have a great university experience here. We enthusiastically take part in the many activities and opportunities this campus has to offer. But it is important for my non-Jewish friends on campus to understand that, in many ways, this report explains exactly how we feel when the issue of Israel comes up.
For us, it’s not about criticism of Israel (since when has there ever been a shortage of that?). It’s about the aggressiveness and anger with which that criticism plays out in the atrium. It’s about the open harassment of pro-Israel tables. Harassment (including the occasional anti-Jewish slur) is not debate. In fact, in attempting to drown out one side of a contentious issue, harassment is the exact opposite of debate.
And sadly, from time-to-time, it’s about the classroom being used as a platform by a few faculty members for an entirely one-sided anti-Israel opinion presented as academic fact. Complex issues should never be reduced to black-and-white, right-and-wrong formulas in the classroom, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be no exception.
And so to my non-Jewish friend who sits next to me in class and cares far more about preparing for exams than the thorny issues surrounding the Middle East, please understand this: The reason why I seem sensitive when Israel is brought up is because, on too many occasions, I have seen criticism of Israel spiral into a venting of bizarre and outrageous feelings, including anti-Jewish feelings. If I seem sensitive, it’s because I take it seriously when this goes a step further into harassment and intimidation, infringing on my own right to voice an opinion, set up a table, or even display an Israeli flag.
Debate the issues with me. Challenge my ideas. That’s what we’re at university for. But the toxic behaviour I’ve described above, as the commission’s report confirms, has got to end once and for all.
– Zane Colt,
Citywide President, Israel Awareness Committee
Undergraduate student to the Carleton Board of Governors
