Canadian University Leaders Need a Strong Moral Compass on Israel

In response to the horrific terror attack by Hamas in Israel last weekend, many Canadian universities issued cookie cutter, curt, and obfuscated messages to their respective campuses with bland labels such as “Conflict in the Middle East.”

These tepid statements are an insult to the Jewish community — and all decent people everywhere — and highlight the lack of courage among some university leaders to protect their Jewish campus members.

Statements that depict the Hamas terror attacks as part of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict are problematic. By framing the events as part of an ongoing conflict, universities politicize what was the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. The attacks, in which at least 1,300 people were murdered, were one of the worst mass attacks on civilized society since the 9/11 attacks more than 20 years ago.

In fact, Canadian citizens were among those murdered in Israel. People were brutally massacred including 40 babies. Innocent women, children, and men were raped, tortured, and mutilated, and brought back as prizes to parade around Gaza.

University leadership messages should have unequivocally condemned the Hamas terror attacks as crimes against humanity. Had this terrorist attack occurred in any other region of the world, university reaction would have been swift and definitive in support of the community affected.

Such double standards are articulated well by Dr. Morris of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine who said, “the vagueness of statements reflects a wide-spread cowardice among institutions when it comes to speaking plainly about attacks on Jews” (Globe and Mail, October 11).

Disregarding the facts about Hamas’ heinous terrorist attack to placate members of the campus community for fear of backlash is unacceptable. This is especially the case in an academic environment, which claims its mission is to search for truth.

Many university statements also inappropriately drew a moral equivalence between terror attacks and the legitimate response of a sovereign democratic country to defend herself. The leaders of Canada, the US, the UK, France, and other countries have all been crystal clear that Israel has a right to defend herself. University leadership seems to have missed the memo.

Worse still, are those messages that suggest that the terrorist actions of Hamas were committed in the name of avenging or helping the Palestinian people. Shockingly, some university statements completely fail to address the true motivation for Hamas’ terror attack — which is to kill Jews and lead to the destruction of Israel.

Hamas’ charter, in a perversion of Islam, clearly states that it seeks to kill all Jews.

The murder of Jews because they are Jews is what motivated the terrorist attacks of last Saturday. By failing to mention the impact specifically to the Jewish community, university statements have caused more harm than good. Many of us have been fielding calls and messages from Jewish students and faculty who no longer feel safe in the classroom or on campus.

It is, of course, appropriate to reach out to Palestinian students, faculty, and staff who may have family and friends in Gaza who are living in extremely difficult conditions with a blockade by Israel and Egypt in place. (Israel has agreed to increase humanitarian aid as soon as Hamas releases all Israeli hostages).

The current operations by the IDF in Gaza have been correctly labelled by sane governments as a legitimate response to a terrorist attack. These actions are not an “escalation” of violence as some university statements assert. To quote President Biden, “Hamas does not stand for the rights of Palestinian people, but rather uses them as ‘human shields.’”

Canadian university leaders must find a strong moral compass and use their rights of academic freedom to express what is just and what is evil. They need to show courage in the face of evil. They need to condemn without qualification the antisemitic terror attacks committed by Hamas.

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Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA)

Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA)

B’nai Brith Canada

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