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On March 6, 2024, members of the Jewish Faculty Network steering committee participated in a webinar entitled, "Demystifying Islamophobia, Anti-Palestinian Racism, and Antisemitism: Building Shared Understandings." Featuring Dalia El Farra, Sheryl Nestel, Alejandro Paz & Jasmin Zine. Moderated by James Cairns.

On February 15, 2024, the Jewish Faculty Network held a webinar to consider antisemitism in the context of the recent moment in Israel and Palestine. We are deeply alarmed about how claims of defense of Israel and Jewish rights are being used to justify genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and unprecedented repression against solidarity with Palestine by university administrators, governments, and other institutions. Challenging false allegations of antisemitism, and opposing without compromise any manifestation of actual antisemitism, we follow a long tradition of Jewish ethics which encourages dissent and self-reflection.

We, the undersigned, express our outrage at the Toronto Police Services raid of homes and subsequent arrests of eleven people on charges of hate-motivated mischief and conspiracy and, most recently, criminal harassment. Allegedly, those charged were involved in splashing washable paint and postering windows of an outlet of the bookstore, Indigo. The arrestees are now subject to doxxing, harassment, and workplace reprisals. We echo the voice of others in the community who have called for these charges to be dropped immediately and call for the police to publicly apologize for these acts of intimidation and harassment.

We write as Jewish faculty from universities and colleges across Canada to extend our gratitude for, and solidarity with, your statements and actions against the escalating violence and suffering taking place in Palestine/Israel. In the midst of so much grief, the vilification, threats and dismissals you have endured demonstrate how this war plays out at home.

On Wednesday November 23rd, 2023, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) raided and ransacked the homes of half a dozen Toronto families in a way that one expert described as “typical for a high-risk warrant where you have one or two suspects who have guns or drugs.” The alleged crime was splashing washable red paint and postering the windows of a corporate bookstore, whose CEO is Heather Reisman. What is the reason for the TPS’ senseless brutality, which probably cost the taxpayer several hundreds of thousands of dollars? A reckless and spurious labelling of the alleged offences as “hate-motivated.” We condemn these spurious charges.