A pro-Israeli student group at York University announced it is going to create its own task force to deal with the issue of discrimination against Jewish students. Meanwhile, over
200 faculty members and students have signed a petition that rejects the claims of anti-Semitism.
In response to the unhealthy political atmosphere on campus, York University issued a report with recommendations compiled by the Task Force on Student Life, Learning and Community. However, Hasbara at York did not think the report fully addressed the issues of anti-Semitism.
Marlee Mozeson, co-president of Hasbara Fellowships at York, said the new task force is providing an opportunity to stand up and speak to students who would not normally
be vocal.

The task force meeting, which took place on Monday, Oct. 26 in the Student Centre, gave Jewish students a chance to talk about any experiences of anti-Semitism they have faced
on campus.

Mozeson said the task force’s goal is to grasp the seriousness of anti-Semitism at York. Anita Bromberg, national director of legal affairs at B’nai Brith Canada, was present at the task force meeting and said she thought it went very well.

“I hope there will be further opportunities for more students to express their concerns and I particularly hope that the report will stir up some changes on campus,” she said.

B’nai Brith has been outspoken about its dissatisfaction with York University’s task force reports in the past, claiming that they did not adequately address the issue of anti-Semitism.

Matan Hazanov, president of Hillel at York, said the Jewish task force was a Hasbara initiative and that Hillel prefers to deal with each student privately rather than holding a task
force meeting.

“We feel it is more effective because students are more likely to share if it is done in a private situation,” Hazanov said. Odion Osegyefo, York University Black Students’ Alliance (YUBSA) president, said that the intimidation that black students face on campus is also severe, and he feels that there is an overreaction on the part of the mostly white Jewish students.

Zahran Khan, vice-president of equity for the York Federation of Students (YFS), was also present at the task force meeting and said he thought the meeting was a good opportunity for students to speak up.

“I think if there is any student discrimination on campus, we should take it very seriously,” he said. The YFS held their own task force meeting on racism in September. At the meeting, students from different backgrounds were free to express their concerns.

Patrick Monahan, vice-president of academic and provost, who headed the Task Force on Student Life, Learning and Community, said students are free to organize meetings and have discussions.
“While working on the task force recommendations, we tried to contact Hasbara and asked to receive a submission from them, and we have not actually received anything,” he said.

Monahan said the task force was designed to make sure that all students are free from intimidation and are allowed to pursue their studies freely.

Meanwhile, nearly 200 students and faculty members have signed a petition that rejects the claims of anti-Semitism.

The petition’s statement read that the use of inflammatory language on this issue has to stop. Ilan Kapoor, an associate professor of environmental studies at York who referred to himself as a contact person for the petition, said the document was a collective effort.

He said the basic objective of the statement is to show the support that York faculty and students have for public debate and for discussion on Israeli and Palestinian issues.

“We are rejecting the highly exaggerated rhetoric and misinformation that we have been witnessing. Whenever there are student clashes and disagreements on campus about the issue of Middle Eastern conflict, B’nai Brith immediately equates them with anti-Semitism,” Kapoor said.

The petition makes mention of a Sept. 12 advertisement in the National Post, where B’nai Brith Canada provides a “checklist” of anti-Semitic incidents that occur on campuses.

In the ad, B’nai Brith Canada referred to “harassment of students wearing the Star of David or a kippah,” as well as “anti-Israel rhetoric in the classroom” and “radical students staging rallies calling for the destruction of the State of Israel” as potential threats that students may face on campus.

The members of the York community who have signed the petition claim that B’nai Brith Canada’s “checklist” and its allegations are entirely inaccurate.

Bromberg disagreed; she said that the whole notion of the petition was ridiculous. “Are people [who signed the petition] acknowledging that there is a problem on campus? If they want to have a dialogue, here is their chance,” she said.

Kapoor said he hopes the statement and petition will allow York faculty members and students to come together against the campaign of misinformation and fear.

Tyler Shipley, a political science PhD candidate at York, is one of the students who have signed the petition.

He said York has an exciting political life, but equating that to anti-Semitism is incredibly misleading.
“What checklists like that do is they erase the actual debate that is taking place and turn it into an expression of hate,” Shipley said.

Mozeson disagreed. “I think this petition is quite insulting and it undermines the incidents that took place at York. It really puts aside all anti-Semitic experiences that people have had,” she said.

Krisna Saravanamuttu, president of the YFS, said he thinks the petition is a good thing, because it clearly denounces anti-Semitism on campus.

“At the same time, it implicitly recognizes the fundamental difference between acts of anti-Semitism and being critical of Israel’s foreign policy,” he said.