Student alleges antisemitism on campus
Lawsuit against Toronto Metropolitan University claims administration has failed to ensure safety
A Jewish student at Toronto Metropolitan University is suing the school for failing to ensure a safe and respectful learning environment, alleging that pro-Palestinian protests on campus and statements posted by students online since Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023 have led to a poisoned antisemitic atmosphere.
Media production student Nicole Szweras’ $1.3-million lawsuit claims TMU has failed to enforce nearly a dozen university policies that commit to the health and wellbeing of students by enshrining the values of equity, diversity, respect, inclusion and dignity.
The lawsuit is the latest development in a searing debate that has stretched across college campuses and numerous professional fields over where political expression ends and hate speech begins.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators stress that they seek an end to the conflict and the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands. Supporters of Israel counter that these demands get expressed and extended in ways that deny Jewish people a right to a homeland and can be interpreted as calls to ethnically cleanse the Middle East of Jews.
The lawsuit includes a variety of allegations, ranging from student conduct on and off campus and online, professor conduct and administration’s failure to act. It cites numerous “antisemitic violence-inciting slogans,” that have been chanted on campus and posted online by students and student groups, and claims Jewish students at TMU have been denied a safe environment for study and work.
“The administration appears unable or unwilling to do anything about this particular environment.
It doesn’t appear that our elected officials are willing or capable of doing anything about this environment. So this TMU student is forced to go to court,” said lawyer David Rosenfeld, who is representing Szweras.
“(TMU) has an entire website devoted to microaggressions, but they seem to be permitting students to go out and chant violence-enticing slogans and calls for violence or celebration of violence against Jewish people.”
The university administration declined to comment on the lawsuit, as the matter is before the courts.
“TMU is proudly diverse and intentionally inclusive and the university works hard to promote an equitable and inclusive university community, free from discrimination and harassment,” wrote TMU spokesperson Karen Benner.
“We encourage community members who are impacted by discrimination and harassment to reach out so we can investigate, and to access available supports, such as counselling, security planning or human rights resources.”
Toronto has seen a surge in reported hate crimes, particularly antisemitic incidents, in addition to Islamophobic ones, and there have been allegations of widespread intimidation of those expressing proPalestinian views.
TMU has been a nexus of protest since Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 200 more hostage last fall. Israel’s bombardment and invasion of Gaza has subsequently killed more than 34,000 people, some two thirds of whom are women and children, according to health officials in the territory. During the demonstrations, calls for a ceasefire and the provision of direly needed food and medical aid have intermingled, at times, with calls for the elimination of Israel and Zionists.
The lawsuit cites three chants as examples of popular slogans that stray into hatred, including: “From the River to the Sea Palestine will be free,” “Long live the Intifada,” and “Only one solution, Intifada revolution.”
These calls “are perceived as direct threats to Nikki’s personal safety and that of the other Jewish TMU community members,” according to the statement of claim.
In painting a picture of unchecked antisemitism on campus, the claim describes several high-profile incidents at TMU, including the university’s initial statement on the Hamas attack (which failed to name the terrorist group), its president’s letter denouncing antisemitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric (which the claim says was not acted upon) and a petition signed by more than 70 law students declaring “solidarity with Palestine and support (of ) all forms of Palestinian resistance and efforts toward liberation.”
The claim also describes an incident where Szweras and other students participated in a “Silent Protest for Peace & Humanity,” where they were “surrounded” by a group of students who threatened them and spat on the ground in front of them. “TMU security took no action to stop or prevent such conduct,” the claim states. “No student attending an institute of higher learning should have to face such an environment.”
Rosenfeld said students do not have the right to discriminate or harass or intimidate others.
“What is being described in the statement of claim is well beyond differences in opinions or world views,” he said. “You can have disagreements about all sorts of things in a manner that is respectful. You can have rallies and seek whatever political change you may want, but the words that you use matter. The actions that you take when you do that matter.”
Since the conflict in the Middle East broke out, pro-Palestinian protests have become bigger and more frequent than they have been historically, and they’ve centred on university campuses not only across Canada, but around the world.