Anti-Semitic graffiti found at Ryerson University has spurred a Jewish organization to offer a $2,500 reward to anyone who can offer information leading to the arrest of the person responsible.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies received the money for the reward from individuals disgusted by such acts of racism occurring at Canadian universities, according to the group’s president Avi Benlolo.
Benlolo said anti-Semitism and the marginalization of Jewish students has been growing as the anti-Israel movement gains momentum on university campuses.
“I believe it is crucial that even the smallest acts of hate are addressed, as they are symptoms of the larger problem,” Benlolo explained. “Boycotting the Jews is a practice with a long and horrific history . . . Discrimination, whether against the Jewish minority or any other group on campus, must never be condoned or dismissed.”
The graffiti was left on a wall in a bathroom on Ryerson’s campus, featuring a drawing of the Star of David crossed out with a message saying Jews and anyone who supports them could “burn in hell.”
Departing Ryerson president Sheldon Levy issued a statement condemning the graffiti on Oct. 21.
According to Rabia Idrees, vice-president of equity at Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU), security was informed of the graffiti and cleaned it up shortly thereafter. However, Idrees said a photo taken of the graffiti was then spread, making it public knowledge on campus.
The graffiti came just a week after an election poster was found defaced with anti-Semitic remarks. Idrees said finding a second incident of racism so quickly after the first prompted RSU to start a petition calling for the university to do more to end discrimination on campus.
According to Idrees, the petition has been signed by both students and professors coming from a variety of faiths and faculties.
Amanda Hummel, a third-year nursing student at Ryerson, said while the school does its best to embrace diversity by offering a number of religious clubs, she still believes subliminal discrimination exists on campus.
She said while she has never heard someone say anything outwardly discriminating, she once felt attacked for her religion when a professor told the class that Christianity was made to keep people quiet.
“When I spoke up and tried to defend my beliefs, the professor just tried to move the topic on,” Hummel said.
She said she feels it would be helpful to have more training for professors and students on religious sensitivity.
Idrees said she would like to see students given more education on the resources they have available if they feel they have been discriminated against.
She also said she would like to see a more proactive response from the university to step in and condemn racist or discriminatory behaviour.
“When there isn’t enough people speaking out to say that these sorts of avenues to oppress students on campus are not okay, when it’s not explicitly out there, people will think, ‘Hey you know what, I’m going to do this and nothing’s going to happen to me,’” Idrees said. “There’s not really much accountability when these sorts of things happen.”
Islamophobic graffiti was also found on posters during RSU elections in February.
According to Idrees, RSU will meet with incoming interim president Mohamed Lachemi on Nov. 12 to discuss what the university can do to ensure a safe campus for all students, regardless of faith.
