Marty York: Canada’s universities have been co-opted by antisemites

A recent federal government report , which found that 95.7 per cent of Jewish post-secondary students in this country experienced antisemitism last year, was eye-opening to be sure, but not a complete shocker to those of us who have been following what has been happening on university campuses over the past three years.

“What this report ultimately tells us is that campus antisemitism is not just a widespread problem but a systemic problem, which corroborates what our students have been telling us for years,” said Daniel Koren, founder and executive director of Allied Voices for Israel, in an interview. “When (the vast majority) of students report seeing or experiencing antisemitism, it means universities are institutions where antisemitism is thriving and going unchecked.”

Even worse is the fact that these institutions are state-sponsored. Grants from the federal and provincial governments keep Canadian universities alive and functioning.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

“There is a hateful mob mentality targeting students of all backgrounds, including brave non-Jewish students who choose allyship and stand with their Jewish peers,” Koren said. “Through their inaction, and by allowing the status quo to continue, the federal and provincial governments are enabling antisemitism to thrive. It is time for the governments to wake up and re-evaluate their grants to post-secondary schools.”

Agreed. Why in the world is our tax money going to support cesspools of fear and hate? Too many universities have become breeding grounds for antisemitism, laden with influencers, including professors, who should know better but seem all too willing to share anti-Jewish messages.

And that includes journalism schools, which terrifies me. I’ve been in or around mainstream media in Canada for more than half a century — I started at the Globe and Mail when I was a tot — and I’ve taught journalism in post-secondary institutions, yet I was stunned by a recent report from HonestReporting Canada.

It details how J-Source (the J stands for “journalism”), which is affiliated with the journalism programs at Toronto Metropolitan University and Carleton University, shows a “persistent pattern of one-sided framing: elevating Palestinian narratives while portraying Israeli perspectives, pro-Israel advocacy and journalistic standards such as balance and objectivity with skepticism.”