Jewish students at Canadian universities are being subjected to intimidation, abuse and assaults, with two feeling so unsafe they hired private security for protection, MPs on the Commons justice committee heard on Thursday at the start of a probe into antisemitism on campuses.
Students gave examples of a litany of antisemitic abuse and harassment experienced at Canadian universities – including a female student who held a Jewish event and had a rock thrown through her window.
University of Alberta student Rachel Cook said the scale of antisemitism had made her question for the first time whether she belonged in Canada. She said it had become so bad, “I physically dread walking onto campus every day.”
MPs heard there had been a surge in antisemitism on campuses since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the beginning of the war with Hamas, with some male students wearing baseball caps instead of kippahs to conceal their Jewish identity.
The MPs were told that some university authorities were failing to adequately protect the students and deal with antisemitic abuse – in some cases passing their complaints from department to department.
Pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up at Canadian universities, including the University of Toronto and McGill University, to protest the bombing of Gaza, which has been under intense bombardment from Israel for months.
Jewish students say they don’t feel safe, as MPs probe antisemitism at universities
Nearly seven months after the attacks on Israel by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that killed about 1,200 people, Israeli air strikes and ground operations in Gaza have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to estimates by the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
The MPs were told that Jewish students felt intimidated by some chants by pro-Palestinian protesters, as well as signs about Zionists.
McGill law student Nicole Nashen said the intimidation of Zionists was “effectively the intimidation of Jews.”
“When I see a sign on my campus saying no Zionists allowed, that means no Jews allowed,” she said. “That’s terrifying.”
Michael Eshayek, an Israeli business student at Concordia University, told MPs he had been accosted and threatened and told he had better leave campus or “you will not get to see tomorrow.” He said he had also been called an offensive antisemitic term and a video of him had been posted on Instagram. He said people were told to file complaints about him to the immigration authorities so they would not renew his study permit.
He said at the end of November his mother had called him and asked him to return to Israel because it was safer than Canada. He and a friend had to hire private security to protect themselves.
Yos Tarshish, director of the Jewish student organization Hillel at Queen’s University, said there had been a surge of antisemitism on campuses and assaults of Jewish students since Oct 7.
“I’m proud to live in Canada, and it pains me to witness this trend in a country that is known for its inclusivity and diversity,” he said. “While antisemitism is indeed an ancient hatred, its current resurgence on Canadian campuses is not merely a recurrence but an intensification threatening the safety and well being of Jewish students and by extension, the integrity of our educational institutions.”
Students expressed concern they were not being protected by equity and diversity and inclusion policies on campus, which are designed to protect minorities. Ms. Nashen said Jews deserved to be included.
She said there were also varying views within the Jewish community about the Israeli government, adding that last summer before Oct. 7 “one of my proudest moments ever to be Jewish, was going with my cousins to the protests in Tel Aviv.” Israelis had taken to the streets to protest government plans to overhaul the judiciary.
“Jewish people always like to argue and have lots of different opinions on the actions of the Israeli government and that does not make us any less Zionist or any less proud of our homeland. You can criticize the actions and the policies of the Israeli government without saying that Jews don’t have the right to live there,” she said.
Judy Zelikovitz, vice-president, university and local partner services, at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said after the hearing that the increasing antisemitism on campuses since Oct. 7 was alarming and unacceptable.
“There are already many laws and policies, both in Canada’s Criminal Code and at universities, to deal with the current situation. The university leadership, premiers and Canada’s Justice Minister must give clear direction that laws that are already on the books be enforced,” she said.