The student union at the University of Toronto apologized after initially refusing to support a campus campaign advocating for kosher food options for Jewish students over concerns that it was “pro-Israel.”
The Graduate Student Union told a Hillel representative, who is also a student, that the group could not support their “Kosher Forward” campaign as it would clash with the “will of the membership” because the group voted to support the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which is meant to penalize Israel over their treatment of the Palestinian people.
“Hillel strongly condemns this type of rhetoric, which associates support of the State of Israel with a campaign to make campus more accessible for Jewish students,” the local chapter of Hillel responded in a statement. “The attempt by this student body to change the conversation away from the needs of Jewish students to their support for the Jewish state is a blatant attempt to marginalize Jewish students connected to Hillel simply for their identity.”
“The UTGSU’s issues with the Israeli government and stance on BDS have influenced its attitude towards supporting Jewish students on campus. According to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, holding Jews or Jewish organizations collectively responsible for the actions of the State of Israel is an example of antisemitism, especially in a situation where Israel is clearly unrelated to the conversation at hand,” it went on.
Days after Hillel’s statement, the Graduate Student Union group released its own statement apologizing and clarifying its initial response while acknowledging that it “unintentionally caused harm towards the Jewish community [on campus].”
“Mistakenly, the External Commissioner also insinuated that the UTGSU Executive Committee might be reluctant to bring the motion forward to UTGSU General Council/Board-of-Directors as a result of Hillel being ‘pro-Israel,'” it reads. “The External Commissioner did not intend to do harm in using this language but recognizes that this is not an excuse for the harm that he wording of this response cause to the individual receiving it as well as to Jewish students at U of T.”
Despite apologizing, the student group has not yet decided if it would support Hillel’s campaign or if members will even vote on it.
“No actual decisions have been made as to whether the UTGSU Executive Committee will be bringing forward the proposed motion as an Executive Motion at the UTGSU’s next General Council/Board-of-Directors meeting,” the UTGSU statement read.
Hillel responded to the statement by saying they “appreciate” the apology but added that it “does not address the antisemitic nature of their original response.”
