Students support BDS on campus (Wiki Commons Photo)
TORONTO – Last week, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus Students Union (SCSU), students voted to reaffirm the union’s support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. The union voted to officially endorse BDS in 2013.
The motion, which was put forward only after Hasbara Fellowships Canada held an effective advocacy program for more than 50 U of T Scarborough (UTS) students, seeks to deprive Jewish students of their right to publicly support their indigenous homeland on campus. It is also an attempt to force Jewish students to abandon a vital aspect of their Jewish identity and bar UTS students from engaging in open and honest dialogue about Israel.
The motion is the latest clear and vicious attack on the freedom of speech of Canadian students of conscience at the University of Toronto.
In the motion, the SCSU’s Vice-President External, who has advocated for freedom of speech and expression on campus, was publicly targeted because he displayed an Israeli flag in his office, where he displayed a Palestinian flag as well. The VP was also criticized for attending a lecture with Dr. Asaf Romirowsky, Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), which was organized by Hasbara Canada and the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF).
The lecture took place on the evening of Nov. 20, 2019, the night of the now infamous York U rally. Dr. Romirowsky spoke to a diverse classroom of students about the Arab-Israeli conflict and the upcoming Israeli elections. Students who participated were respectful, cordial, and engaged in honest debate about Israel with Dr. Romirowsky. It appeared to be a very positive and informative experience for everyone in attendance.
In an article published Sunday in The Varsity, student activist Kandeel Imram said she brought forward the BDS motion simply because Dr. Romirowsky was invited to speak. In response, the motion calls on UTS students to “refrain from engaging with organizations or participating in events that further normalizes Israeli apartheid” and “ensure that future elected representatives… uphold our collective commitment to justice in Palestine,” an apparent reference to the VP’s attendance of Dr. Romirowsky’s lecture.
“This motion is truly disturbing not only because it attacks the freedom of speech of students but because it is opposed to fostering interfaith dialogue at the University of Toronto,” said Hasbara Canada Director Daniel Koren. “Anyone who attended our lecture with Dr. Romirowsky will attest that it was not biased or political in nature. In fact, it was designed to introduce non-Jewish students to the Arab-Israeli conflict by presenting them with the facts, and allowing them to come to their own conclusions.”
He continued. “This motion, however, is not about the facts. It does not mention the fact that most Palestinians agree that BDS is to their detriment, as well as antithetical to peace. Nor does it mention the fact that a plurality of Jewish students on campus agree that BDS has led to their intimidation or harassment. It was a BDS activist who was opposed to kosher food at U of T, and it was BDS activists who chanted ‘Viva Intifada’ at the York U rally.”
Koren concluded that the motion “will do nothing to quell our efforts or the efforts of UTS students who are advocating for the rights and freedoms of all students, Jewish and Israeli students included. We will continue to find allies who rightly see BDS for what it is, and we will continue to combat antisemitism, anti-Israel prejudice, and all forms of discrimination on campus.”
