U of T recently released a draft of its “Guide to Law and Policy regarding Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Discrimination at the University of Toronto.” The administration later announced the start of a consultation process to collect the university community’s feedback on the guide. The consultation ended on January 31. 

At the end of the consultation period, the university removed the draft guide from its website.

U of T’s consultations page previously said the guide seeks to “help our community better recognize and respond to antisemitism and anti-Israeli discrimination on our campuses, and to make our teaching, learning, and working environments more inclusive.” The university notes that the draft guide “brings together existing legal and policy frameworks” at the university and “contains no new policies.”

The Varsity spoke to U of T’s faculty and student groups to hear their opinions on the guide and the university’s concluded consultation process. 

Breakdown of the guide

The five-page guide begins by establishing the “rising antisemitism at U of T and in broader society,” and its intent of reaffirming the university’s commitment to “welcoming and inclusive learning, research, and working environments.” The guide affirms that antisemitism and anti-Israeli discrimination “are treated by the University in the same way as discrimination and harassment against other equity-deserving groups.” 

The section titled “Law and Policy Context” discusses the legislature that grounds its policies surrounding antisemitism, citing legislation such as Ontario’s Human Rights Code — which bans discrimination and harassment based on factors like race, ancestry, place of origin, and creed — and the Criminal Code of Canada, which outlines offences related to “hate propaganda.”

This section of the guide also outlines an exhaustive list of policies, guidelines, statements, and initiatives that affirm the university’s “commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom,” “commitment to the ‘vigilant protection for individual human rights,’” and “the right of every member of our community to [be]… in an environment free from discrimination and harassment.”

In the section titled “Examples of Antisemitism And Anti-Israeli Discrimination At the University of Toronto,” the guide presents various scenarios that would be classified as antisemitic under the university’s guidelines. The section clarifies that using terms like “‘Zionist’ or ‘Zionism’ as a proxy for ‘Jewish’ or ‘Judaism’ does not excuse discriminatory or harassing actions.” This means that if a person disguises their discriminatory practices and antisemitic speech by using the word “Zionist” instead of “Jewish,” the intent and impact remain discriminatory. The guide notes that using the terms is separate from criticisms of Israel’s government, its policies, and Zionist ideology.

Other examples include “denying Jewish or Israeli colleagues work assignments or opportunities because of their identity or because of assumptions about their political or religious views,” and using “tropes, stereotypes, and conspiracies of Jewish people.”

Faculty’s reactions 

The release of the draft guide was met with a myriad of different reactions from members of the U of T community.

Ruth Marshall — an associate professor in the Department of Religion and the Department of Political Science at UTSG and a member of the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) — wrote in an email to The Varsity that the guide “claims not to be making new policy, but its terms and language amount to substantive changes to existing policy.” 

Specifically, Marshall believes the guide “encourages and incites [the] conflation” of “criticisms of the government of Israel and its policies, or of Zionism as an ideology” by “singling out Israeli nationality and Zionism as ‘equity-deserving groups.’”

Marshall also claimed that the draft guide is unclear on how using terms like ‘Zionism’ will be judged as antisemitic, giving the university administration a large power to interpret. She wrote, “This poses a direct challenge to the academic freedom of the many faculty who teach and write about Israel and Palestine, or those who make their views about [Israel’s] genocide known on social media.”

Marshall believes that the guide’s room for interpretation has direct effects on UTFA members’ conditions of employment, which is in “defiance of the consultative process with faculty as outlined in the Memorandum of Agreement with [the] UTFA.”

The memorandum mentions that the university “will notify the Association in a timely way of proposed changes to or of proposed new University-wide terms and conditions of employment of faculty members and/or librarians. The Association will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to such proposals.” Marshall says the guide was drafted “without the required consultation with UTFA.”

When asked about Marshall’s claims, a U of T spokesperson noted that “all members of the U of T community had equal opportunity to review the draft guide and share feedback.” 

They also stated that, “The university addresses matters related to the Memorandum of Agreement between The Governing Council of the University of Toronto and The University of Toronto Faculty Association directly with the faculty association and not through the news media.”

Student groups weigh in

Hillel U of T’s Senior Campus Director Jenn Ferman told The Varsity in an email that “[U of T] is finally putting into words what Jewish students at UofT have been fighting for—not just over the past year but for the past decade.”

Hillel is an international organization that seeks to amplify Jewish student life across university campuses. 

“Given that our campus was home just last summer to the encampment at King’s College Circle  — which countless Jewish students, faculty, and staff experienced as hateful and antisemitic — this is a big deal and a step in the right direction, and [is] why this guide matters.” wrote Ferman.

On the second day of the pro-Palestine student encampment, Hillel U of T and Hillel Ontario uploaded a joint statement on Instagram, calling on U of T to hold people accountable for discriminatory actions. The post noted that they observed “chants of ‘All Zionists are racists, all the Zionists are terrorists,’ and graffiti stating ‘Go back to Europe.’”

At the time, Vice-Provost, Students Sandy Welsh wrote to students in an email that the administration planned to review reports of “concerning language” being used in signs and chants at the encampment’s rally. 

U of T’s student-led chapter of Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) responded to the guide by releasing a joint statement on their Instagram with Occupy U of T for Palestine (O4P) — the student group that led the 63-day encampment — and the Muslim Students’ Association. 

In the post, the IJV raises concerns over the “guide’s conflation of Jewishness with the State of Israel, as well as with Israeli nationality.” 

Colin Pigeon Edwards — a first-year PhD student in musicology — and Lex Veldhuizen-Martul — a fourth-year student studying linguistics and classics — shared a statement to The Varsity on behalf of the IJV, in which they provided further context concerning their issues with the guide. 

“In good faith, we acknowledge that this [guide] was drafted with positive intentions about reducing discrimination on campus. However, both the timing of the draft… and its focus on antisemitism without acknowledgement of other forms of discrimination (like anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia) are problematic,” wrote the IJV. 

In addition, O4P spokesperson Sara Rasikh wrote in an email to The Varsity that the “U of T administration continually conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. This conflation has been widely criticized for suppressing legitimate critique of Israel’s policies and for being weaponized against pro-Palestine activism.” 

“Given that students have already faced disciplinary actions and harassment for their advocacy, we fear these guidelines will further institutionalize repression and create an environment where speaking out against Israeli apartheid is penalized.”

A U of T spokesperson stated that claims “conflating anti-Zionism sentiment with antisemitism and that students and faculty are facing disciplinary action for their pro-Palestinian advocacy” have “no basis in fact.” 

“We are calling on U of T to engage with students and faculty who have expressed concerns and to ensure that any definition of antisemitism used by the university does not include political criticism of a state. A truly anti-racist approach would address antisemitism without undermining the rights of Palestinians and their allies to advocate for justice,” continued Rasikh. 

The Varsity reached out to the university to comment on the criticisms against the guide. A U of T spokesperson instructed all contentions to be directed towards the university’s consultations page. They also noted that IJV isn’t a recognized student group at U of T.

If you or someone you know has experienced harassment or discrimination based on race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship and/or creed at U of T, report the incident to the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity office: https://antiracism.utoronto.ca/help/. 

You can report incidents of anti-Muslim racism through the National Council of Canadian Muslims’ Hate Crime Reporting form at https://www.nccm.ca/programs/incident-report-form/, and antisemitic incidents at U of T to Hillel U of T at https://hillelontario.org/uoft/report-incident/.

If you or someone you know is in distress, you can call: 

  • Canada Suicide Prevention Service phone available 24/7 at 1-833-456-4566 
  • Good 2 Talk Student Helpline at 1-866-925-5454 
  • Connex Ontario Mental Health Helpline at 1-866-531-2600 
  • Gerstein Centre Crisis Line at 416-929-5200 
  • U of T Health & Wellness Centre at 416-978-8030

If you or someone you know has experienced antisemitism and is in distress, you can contact:

  • Chai Lifeline Canada’s Crisis Intervention Team at 1 (800) 556-6238 or [email protected]
  • Jewish Family and Child Services of Greater Toronto at 416 638-7800 x 6234