On November 6, U of T’s Governing Council addressed the university’s decision not to shut down the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union’s (UTMSU) event “Honouring Our Martyrs.” At the meeting, longtime council member and accounting professor Ramy Elitzur compared the event to a commemoration of the massacre at the École Polytechnique. 

Following statements from President Melanie Woodin and UTM Principal Alexandra Gillespie, Elitzur said the event was “commemorating the martyrs of the Hamas on the day that the worst massacre of Jewish people ever happened since the Second World War. I cannot imagine the university letting an event commemorating Marc Lépine on the day of the massacre of École Polytechnique, which was horrible, but pales in comparison to what happened on October 7.” 

Elitzur continued, “This actually violated the university’s most fundamental principles, inclusivity and safety, and I don’t buy the administration response that the union leaders did not intend for the event to be antisemitic or supportive of terrorism… This insults my intelligence and everybody here.”

In an email to The Varsity about the comments he made during his time on the Governing Council, Elitzur wrote, “It’s important that my remarks be viewed in the context of my entire statement,” adding, “I stand behind what I said.” 

Elitzur, who began as a teaching staff governor in July 2023, has been an outspoken critic of the university’s response to pro-Palestine student activism. In a June 2024 Governing Council meeting, he said, “When you talk about inclusivity, I’m not included. Jewish people are not included, Jewish [lives] do not matter… The actions of the university over the last… year showed me I don’t matter.” Elitzur said that U of T is where EDI “became IED, improvised explosive device, which is the preferable weapons of terrorists.” 

In the same meeting, he also claimed he was “pretty sure that if you are a Jew now, you won’t be admitted to the [U of T] medical school.” In an email to The Varsity, a spokesperson for the university noted that Elitzur’s claims about Jewish students at the U of T medical school “have no basis in fact.” 

Since 2024, Elitzur has also voiced concerns about the Occupy for Palestine’s student encampment. In a National Post opinion article, he compared Jewish students who participated in the encampment to Jewish people who served in the Nazi military. In the article, he described the encampment as a “violent mob,” and called on the university to take a more aggressive approach.

In a 2024 interview with The Varsity, when asked why the university had not taken action against Elitzur, former U of T President Meric Gertler said that the university upholds academic freedom and freedom of expression, including “the right to say things that are controversial and even troubling or disturbing,” as long as the speech is not illegal and does not breach university policy. 

According to the Governing Council’s “Expectations and Attributes of Governors and Key Principles of Ethical Conduct,” governors are expected to “support the fullest range of respectful and constructive debate.” Governors’ behaviour should also reflect the university’s broader values of academic freedom, collegiality, and civil discourse. 

When asked whether Elitzur’s comment constituted respectful and constructive debate, a university spokesperson referred to the Statement on Freedom of Speech, which noted that “the values of mutual respect and civility may, on occasion, be superseded by the need to protect lawful freedom of speech.”