Statements

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.

A response to Oded Haklai's OpEd published in The Globe and Mail on November 2, 2023.

We write to you, as the Steering Committee of the Jewish Faculty Network, to share our grave concerns and growing alarm about the ongoing campaign against colleagues at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine due to their legitimate criticism of the State of Israel.

In August of this year (2022), approximately two dozen Canadian university presidents and university administrators traveled to Israel to meet with Israeli university administrators. The delegation was organized and led by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and funded or otherwise supported by several private foundations. With this statement, we the Jewish Faculty Network (JFN), join the calls for accountability and transparency expressed by Palestinian Canadian Academics and Artists Network (PCAAN), Faculty for Palestine (F4P), Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CPJME) and Independent Jewish Voices (IJV).