B’nai Brith Canada is expressing “deep disappointment” after a McGill University investigation denied that anti-Semitism played a role in the removal of the only Jewish student member of the student council’s board of directors.
The report was completed in December but released last week.
Noah Lew was voted off the university’s student council’s board of directors last Oct. 23, while other members were elected. Lew contended that the vote was related to the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and his support for Israel.
The McGill report found that while the vote to remove Lew indeed was related to the BDS movemnent and Lew’s support for Israel, it concluded his removal stemmed from a political disagreement and not anti-Semitism.
“Unfortunately, rather than seriously grappling with the issue of anti-Semitism at McGill, this report is a whitewash,” said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada. “The report does not present a full or accurate picture of the hostile atmosphere facing Jewish students at McGill, and inexplicably ignores the common definition of anti-Semitism used in Canada.
“While we are pleased that Lew and his peers were restored to their posts in January, the failure of this report to address the root causes means that a similar anti-Semitic incident can and probably will happen again.”
B’nai Brith contends that the report:
• “Did not explicitly consider previous threats of violence against Jewish and pro-Israel students at McGill, including a call to ‘punch a Zionist today” by student politician Igor Sadikov in February of 2017.’ Sadikov was neither disciplined by the McGill administration nor immediately removed from his posts in student government, instead hanging on until he resigned two weeks later.”
• “Ignores the fact that The McGill Daily, a student-funded campus newspaper, maintains a boycott of all content which promotes ‘a Zionist worldview.’”
• “Mischaracterized the discriminatory treatment of Lew as the product of ‘protests about Israel’s policies.’ In fact, the students who voted to remove the Jewish director were not merely critics of Israel’s policies, but rather supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, which is opposed to the Jewish State’s very existence. The Ottawa Protocol on Combating Antisemitism, to which Canada is a signatory, defines denial of Israel’s right to exist or seeking its destruction as a form of anti-Semitism.”
Several Jewish groups, including Hillel McGill and Chabad at McGill, criticized the report for saying an anti-Semitic message by the group Democratize SSMU was posted after the Oct. 23 vote. The groups say it was posted before the vote.
McGill principal Suzanne Fortier, who commissioned the report, told the media that “there is no place for anti-Semitism at McGill University.”
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), through Rabbi Reuben Poupko, said that they welcomed Fortier’s commitment in that regard.
However, “the General Assembly vote on Oct. 23 was discriminatory to Jews and pro-Israel students,” Rabbi Poupko stated. “While the report strongly validates concerns raised by many, it does not reach a clear conclusion. While the investigation failed to determine anti-Semitic intent, it is clear to us that the targeting of those students was anti-Semitic in effect. CIJA and FCJA / Hillel will continue to constructively support students to ensure that the McGill campus is secure and inclusive.”