Rally Against Hate, U of Toronto Campus, May 8th, 6:30pm
All Toronto and near-by community members are invited to join Rally Against Hate, a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with Jewish students, staff, and faculty at U of T. Organized as a partnership among multiple campus groups, including Hillel Ontario, StandWithUs Canada, Allied Voices for Israel, United Against Antisemitism, Alpha Epsilon-Pi (AEPi), and the Jewish Medical Students Association. Join us on Wednesday, May 8th at 6:30 PM at U of T (location to be announced at 3:00 PM on Instagram via @StandWithUsCanada). We need your voice as we send a powerful message about our strength and unity as a community.
Inspired by the vicious anti-Israel protests at American universities, radical activists have set up encampments on campuses across Canada – including at the University of Toronto, McGill, UBC, University of Victoria, McMaster, and Western. Here’s the latest from U of T:
The protest has grown over the weekend, with the May Day rally ending on campus. Protestors have increasingly focused on calling on the university to divest from Israel and sever ties with Israeli academic institutions (U of T President Meric Gertler has already ruled out these demands in a statement to the protestors).
U of T issued a statement declaring: “Members of the U of T administration met in good faith with U of T student representatives of the individuals in the encampment over the weekend. Our discussions have been constructive, and we see a way forward.”
The statement went on to express concern about the presence of non-student activists on campus and a number of incidents, including reported assaults and hate speech, and that they have forwarded four reports to Toronto Police Service for further investigation. A firsthand report from a professor on campus reveals the disturbing extremism–often fomented by non-student activists–at the encampment.
During his speech at the Yom HaShoah ceremony at Queen’s Park, Premier Doug Ford said university encampments need to be dismantled and called for the universities to act.
Hillel Ontario and CIJA continue to urge university leaders to take meaningful action against the encampments. This includes enforcing campus rules, keeping off-campus extremists off campus, and protecting Jewish students from hate.
The above information is copied from UJA Toronto.
If you have any affiliation with a university listed in this message, including as a parent or grandparent, please sign this letter. Or write your own.
