Antisemitism in Canadian Universities

Hello dear audience, today I will discuss antisemitism in Canadian universities with Artur Wilczynski, former Canadian senior civil servant and recently appointed Special Advisor on Antisemitism to the President of the University of Ottawa.

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Antisemitism in Canadian Universities

After the impact of the Holocaust, antisemitism seemed to withdraw under the surface as many had a sense of shame that this tragedy took place while they simply watched.

During World War II, the Vatican turned a blind eye for its own political and religious reasons, and Canada and the United States turned away shiploads of Jewish refugees fleeing Europe. In addition, both countries set severe quotas on the numbers of Jewish immigrants they would let in despite the horrible news from Europe. Many Europeans joined in the hunt for Jews, while other brave souls fought to save as many as possible.

The Holocaust led many to hide their negative feeling about Jews, and these hostile feelings remained latent within many since manifesting them was considered ethically and politically incorrect or, simply, in poor taste.

However, out of sight did not mean out of mind, and all that was required was a catalytical moment to unleash this latent hatred.

The massive, justified, Israeli response to the horrible Hamas terrorist attack of October 7^th was that catalytic moment that led antisemitism to rear its ugly head and let out its roar at major universities in Canada and abroad as well as on the streets of our major cities.

To espouse a moral equivalency between Hamas’s actions and Israel’s is a false narrative. Hamas carried out a sneak attack against Israel mutilating men, women, and children, burning some alive, hacking others to pieces, and kidnapping over 300 hostages and taking them back to Gaza.

They continue to threaten Jews with death and Israel with destruction. Their goal if global jihad.

In the interim, Hamas has tortured and murdered many of the hostages and refuses to return them in exchange for a ceasefire.

Universities are currently massive camps of students calling out for jihad and intifada, and screaming support for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and Yemen – major terrorist groups or sponsors of terrorism in the Middle East. Non-Muslim female students have donned hijabs in many cases, and some have converted to Islam despite the shabby treatment women and girls suffer in Muslim countries.

The sight of LGBTQ for Palestine would be amusing were it not so sad, given the fate of LGBTQ people in Palestine and most Islamic countries.

Gangs of “Jew hunters” roam the streets of Montreal and Toronto, and Jews are personally attacked as well as Jewish businesses and institutions.

The response of governments at all levels has been shameful to say the least.

Prime Minister Trudeau does not seem capable of uttering any support for Jewish victims unless he prefaces them by referring at length to the dangers posed by Islamophobia.

Where is the Islamophobia? To the best of my knowledge, no one has attacked Muslims on the streets, at their businesses, at their homes or in mosques.

Mayor Plante of Montreal and Mayor Chow of Toronto have literally banned the police from arresting the antisemitic students roaming the streets and dismantling the camps that prohibit Jewish students and faculty from attending classes.

University administrators are just as weak and enabling, afraid to go against the demonstrators and occupiers for fear of being seen as politically incorrect or even worse, afraid for their own safety from marauding students, many of them not Canadian or even legal residents.

One ray of light occurred several days ago when the University of Ottawa appointed Artur Wilczynski as Special Advisor on Antisemitism. For more than thirty years he served as an accomplished senior official in the Canadian public service. Mr. Wilczynski established himself as a leading voice in the fight against antisemitism and other forms racism and discrimination.

A former Ambassador to Norway and executive at Public Safety Canada and the Communications Security Establishment, Mr. Wilczynski was, notably, the first government-wide Executive Champion for the Jewish Public Servants Network and he also served as Canada’s Head of Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance from 2016 to 2018.

Commenting on his appointment, he said “Confronting antisemitism, as part of efforts to fight all forms of discrimination, is essential, With the rise in hate, prejudice and exclusion, we need to address the specific challenges Jewish students, faculty and staff face. I am honoured that University of Ottawa President Frémont has asked me to take on this role. I look forward to working with him, university leadership, the Jewish community, and all those committed to a safe and inclusive University of Ottawa and Canada.”

This is a step in the right direction, and I wish the former Ambassador the best of luck.

I also hope that this will shame the Trudeau government’s inability or unwillingness to attack antisemitism from the very start. As well, both Mayors and their Chiefs of Police are to be publicly pilloried for their outright antisemitic response to the crisis, as are the university administrations that have taken over seven months to take some action.

Unfortunately, antisemitism, not islamophobia, is the real problem which appears to be growing in certain quarters of Canadian society, and urgent action is required.

Chief is the arrest and deportation of non-Canadians and non-legal residents who participate in violent actions or intimidation. There is no room for them in Canada.

Also, education programmes must be introduced at all levels to ensure that students and their teachers learn that any type of discrimination is unacceptable in a civilised society. This should include labour laws that supersede union agreements to enable the firing of individuals who promote hate on the job, including union officials.

Last, but certainly not least, immigrants and foreign students must be more thoroughly vetted to ensure that they are of solid moral fiber, and that any of their affiliations do not infect Canada with their prejudices and hatreds.

Governments will face a major challenge in getting citizens and immigrants who hold such views to rid themselves of their own prejudices especially if they cannot enforce existing Canadian values and laws on hate speech, protect personal safety and private property while maintaining freedom of expression.

This will be a major challenge, especially if governments don’t have the courage of their convictions as different levels of government in Canada have shown to date.

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