Note: This CAEF letter was drafted by StandWithUs Canada and Allied Voices for Israel, and elaborated by Andria Spindel.
November 14, 2023
Dear President Carr,
I am writing to you as a concerned Canadian who has seen the footage of the antisemitic slurs, violence, and discrimination that has taken place on your campus.
Given the important precedent the University of Montreal has set by suspending its professor who attended the anti-Israel rally at Concordia and made hateful slurs, Concordia must follow this important precedent and ensure that student clubs and professors who are espousing hateful rhetoric against Israel and the Jewish People – whether on campus or online – be reprimanded for their actions. Hateful actions must see consequences – otherwise, antisemitism will continue to rise at Concordia.
There were several anti-Israel students at Concordia who were filmed as they engaged in physical harassment and violence against a small group of Jewish students on campus. These students and others chanting anti-Israel slogans were incredibly hostile and discriminatory, contrary to the values Concordia holds dear as an academic institution and place of higher learning.
We implore you to ensure that no other students are emboldened to engage in anti-Jewish bigotry on campus because of a clear lack of consequences. Concordia must take action NOW. We are seeing what’s happening in Montreal. The bullet casings at Jewish schools. The molotov cocktails at Jewish places of worship. The bullying of Jewish students at Concordia.
Statements will not help. Condemnations will not help. You must take action against anti-Israel students and professors at Concordia NOW. Silence is complicity. Leadership calls for action. Antisemitism is an evil that is pervasive across universities, potentially leading to intimidation and danger for all Jews, a blight on society. Much stronger and definitive action is imperative.
We are counting on you.
Signed,
Andria Spindel,
Executive Director
Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation