“Noah Lew, a Jewish student at McGill
University in Montreal, was re-nominated for a position on the Students’
Society of McGill University, or SSMU. But the college’s General
Assembly rejected him after he was the target of a nasty, anti-Semitic
smear campaign. The controversial vote was carried out without
discussion.“(About) 160 people voted no to a director only because he was Jewish,” the GA president said, “and the discontent seems to be coming from one issue that is political and has nothing to do with work performance.”
McGill has been criticized for anti-Semitism after BDS,
the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, formed on
campus. An off-shoot of that movement, Democratize SSMU,
has admitted highlighting Lew’s Jewish identity to urge students to
oppose him. The group claimed he was “actively harming Palestinian
students” by letting his politics interfere with his leadership duties.McGill’s principal, Suzanne Fortier, wrote in a statement that
the university is addressing the “disturbing allegations of
anti-Semitism.” She said the allegation will be thoroughly investigated
and a task force and support line will be created for the campus
community.“I was blocked from participating in
student government because of my Jewish identity and my affiliations
with Jewish organizations”After the backlash, Democratize SSMU released a statement apologizing.
“The material in question has since been deleted, but
for transparency’s sake we would like to apologize for the way in which
an event created by this campaign was insensitive to anti-Semitic tropes
of Jewish people as corrupt and politically powerful,” the statement
said. “We thoroughly apologize for any harm that the statement caused.
We want to validate that anti-Semitism is not acceptable anywhere, and
is a real and toxic force in our society and on campus.”Lew responded to the statement on Facebook.
“If BDS is not anti-Semitic,” he said, “why was I
barred from participating in student government because of my Jewish
identity?”Lew said he had long heard about the student
government’s anti-Semitic hostility, but until this incident had never
experienced it himself. Before he joined the student governing body, he
was told by other students that he should hide his affiliation with
Judaism and Jewish organizations.Igor Sadikov, a radical BDS supporter, earlier this
year was forced to resign from his position as director of SSMU after he
tweeted “punch a Zionist today.”While Lew said the attacks were “incredibly upsetting,” he’s also optimistic.
“I am happy that the discriminatory agenda of BDS
McGill that has been swept under the rug for years is finally out in the
open,” he said, “so that we may all come together to defeat it.””
Student group admits using anti-Semitic propaganda to unseat Jewish campus leader
Death By Catchphrase 