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(Madison McLauchlan / The McGill Tribune)
McGill, News, SSMU


MCGILL STUDENT SUES UNIVERSITY, SPHR MCGILL AND SSMU WITH SUPPORT OF B’NAI BRITH

by Madison Edward-Wright on August 25, 2022
 * Madison Edward-Wright Author


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Jewish service organization B’nai Brith Canada announced on July 27 that it will
back a lawsuit filed against McGill University, the Students’ Society of McGill
University (SSMU), and Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill (SPHR) for
“participating in creating an antisemitic environment.” The lawsuit, filed by
Jonah Fried, U3 Arts, claims that attempts to implement the Palestine Solidarity
Policy not only contradict McGill’s Memorandum of Agreement with SSMU, but also
violates SSMU’s own constitution. 

Fried, the plaintiff, officially filed the lawsuit on July 22 in the civil
division of the Superior Court of Quebec. He is receiving financial support
exclusively from B’nai Brith’s Legal Defense Fund though he declined to clarify
whether his attorney, Michael Bergman, is associated with the organization. In
an email to The McGill Tribune, Fried claimed that McGill failed to properly
address the “discriminatory” Palestine Solidarity Policy.

“We [Fried and B’nai Brith] are suing because McGill’s administration is not
enforcing its anti-hate policies—which the Palestine motion violates—allowing
antisemitism to fester,” Fried wrote. “We want to show all Canadian universities
that, with the help of B’nai Brith Canada, the Jewish community will not stand
for this any longer.”

Fried also said that “Jewish students need to see that they are not alone, and
that there are legal resources available to challenge antisemitic prejudice.”

Riley* and Blake*, two representatives from SPHR McGill, told the Tribune in an
interview that SPHR has yet to gain access to a copy of the lawsuit; the
plaintiff has not sent the group a copy and, despite the lawsuit being part of
the public record, an electronic version of the document has not been made
available online. In fact, SPHR members only learned of the lawsuit after it was
reported on by several media outlets. 

“We do not have more details than what the press has released,” Riley said. “We
do not even know if [Fried] is actually going to go through with it [….] We have
not looked into [obtaining a lawyer] yet because we do not know what we are
faced with […] but so far we have been offered legal support.”

The lawsuit did not come as a surprise to Riley and Blake, however, as they
explained that backlash against pro-Palestinian activists is commonplace. 

Blake shared that SPHR has received lots of support from organizations outside
the McGill community. This support extends from the willingness to provide legal
aid to requests for interviews about the struggles Palestinian students have
dealt with on and off campus. Media organizations and non-profits have also
asked for resources that provide in-depth information about the injustices
Palestinian people and their supporters face. 

One organization that has openly and proudly supported SPHR and the larger
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement is the Canadian Foreign Policy
Institute (CFPI). On July 14, CFPI hosted a virtual rally, during which it
invited members from SPHR McGill to share their stories about pro-Palestinian
advocacy and the attacks they have faced—such as having personal information
posted on the pro-Israel watchdog website Canary Mission—as a result of such
work. 

In an interview with the Tribune, Yves Engler, board member and fellow of CFPI,
explained that the webinar was preceded by the publication of a letter in
support of the Palestine Solidarity Policy signed by CFPI, Just Peace Advocates,
and Roger Waters, among others. According to Engler, the rally was not only
about supporting students, but also showing organizations like B’nai Brith, the
Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and the McGill administration that they
cannot suppress the will of the student body without facing external backlash.

“There needs to be pushback against the hard, aggressive, outside lobbying of
these anti-Palestinian, pro-apartheid organizations,” Engler said. “It is
important that B’nai Brith and these other bullies do not get their way.”

Engler, along with representatives from SPHR, expressed confusion over why Fried
filed his lawsuit, since the Palestine Solidarity Policy was ultimately
abandoned by  SSMU. Richard Gold, a law professor at McGill, explained in an
email to the Tribune that the basis of the lawsuit is unclear. He pointed to the
passing of Bill 32 earlier this year, which protects an individual’s right to
freely participate in discussions and debates on campus without being persecuted
for their “doctrinal, ideological, and moral” beliefs. 

“Whether one agrees or not with the substance of the referendum […] you cannot
sue because someone tried to run a referendum that never had any effect,” Gold
wrote. “I see no obvious legal basis for the claim against McGill and the
student organizations, [it] would seem to run against Quebec’s Bill 32.”

Riley and Blake questioned whether other Jewish students at McGill felt the same
as Fried. Both SPHR members clarified that they do not consider themselves to be
antisemites and explained that their pro-Palestinian activism is only ever
geared toward raising awareness about the killing of innocent Palestinians, not
spreading hate. 

Hillel McGill told the Tribune in a written statement that it took issue with
the Palestine Solidarity Policy, but relied on the mechanisms in place at McGill
and within SSMU to address their concerns. The student group clarified, however,
that it is not opposed to the lawsuit.

“This is one individual’s approach, his way of doing things, and that is his
right,” the statement read. “At Hillel we are committed to working with students
on the ground to build bridges, fight antisemitism and work to affect change
ensuring everyone can enjoy a good campus life [….] That is why it was so
important for us to participate in in the process that led to McGill’s
Initiative Against Islamophobia and Antisemitism.”

Some, on the other hand, such as Liam*, BA’ 20 and former member of Independent
Jewish Voices (IJV) McGill, find Fried’s claims of antisemitism brought on by
the Palestine Solidarity Policy to be unfounded. IJV is a Canadian Jewish
organization that bases itself on the principle that supporting the
pro-Palestine movement does not make one antisemitic. As a member of the
Montreal chapter, Liam expressed dismay at Fried’s decision to go to court in an
email to the Tribune. 

“There is a difference between being uncomfortable and unsafe, and university is
supposed to be a place where you can be exposed to a diversity of opinions,”
Liam wrote. “Given the serious incidents of antisemitism that have happened
around the world in past few years, the focus should be on combatting actual
antisemitism. Attempting to stifle students’ free speech criticizing Israel’s
policies by claiming that it’s antisemitic is not going to make a safer
environment for Jewish students.”

Liam’s position on the lawsuit, as well as those of Engler, Riley, and Blake, is
not shared by McGill. As demonstrated by its threat to terminate its Memorandum
of Agreement with SSMU, the McGill administration felt that the Palestine
Solidarity Policy sowed further divisions on campus. Claire Loewen, a McGill
media relations officer, detailed in an email to the Tribune that McGill
attempted to rectify the division caused by the referendum question by creating
the Initiative against Islamophobia and Antisemitism (IAIAS). 

“The Final Report of the IAIAS contains a series of bold and concrete
recommended actions that we will implement over the coming years. The University
will act on each of these recommendations immediately to enhance inclusion and
belonging for Muslim and Jewish members of our university community,” Loewen
wrote. “Our diverse identities are not only accepted at McGill but honoured and
celebrated; no one should ever feel that they must hide who they are to feel
that they belong on our campuses.”

As of yet, no date has been set for when the lawsuit will be heard in court.
SSMU did not respond to the Tribune’s request for comment and the McGill
administration declined to directly address the lawsuit. 

*Riley’s, Blake’s, and Liam’s names have been changed to preserve their
anonymity.

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lawsuit, McGill Administration, Palestine Solidarity Policy, SPHR McGill, ssmu




ONE COMMENT

 1. Dawa Samdup
    August 25, 2022 at 11:45 am  ·  Reply
    
    Are any and all criticisms of Israel based in antisemitism? Is Israel then
    the only country on earth that is beyond reproach? They it do no wrong?
    Calling all criticism of Israel racism or antisemitism is a mindless and
    vicious tactic designed to scare off anyone who might want to speak on this
    subject.


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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The McGill Tribune is situated on the ancestral and unceded territory of the
Kanien’kehà:ka; a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange
amongst many First Nations, including the Kanien’kehá:ka of the Haudenosaunee
Confederacy, Huron/Wendat, Abenaki, and Anishinaabeg, among others. The
Tribune honours, recognizes and respects these nations as the traditional
stewards of the lands and waters.James McGill, our university’s namesake, rose
to power, property, and fortune, off of colonial trade and his enslavement of at
least two Indigenous children, and three people of African descent. In using his
name in our publications, we must acknowledge the five people he enslaved, Jack,
Sarah, Marie-Louise, and Marie Potamiane, and one whose name has not been
uncovered, who do not receive the same recognition. It is essential to
acknowledge McGill’s inextricable ties to slavery and colonialism, and its
continued impact on journalism, especially as it has been used to justify
relations of domination, erase racial and settler-colonial injustice, and
conceal stories that need to be told.This land acknowledgement derives
information from Dr. Charmaine Nelson and her students’ research, “Slavery and
McGill University: Bicentenary Recommendations.” For more resources and
information, consult this link: linktr.ee/mcgilltribuneresources. 



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