By CAROLYN BLACKMAN and FRANCES KRAFT
Staff Reporters
TORONTO - Although anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment on
campus have become a serious concern for many Jewish students and campus
professionals in the past year, it would be "audacious" to say
Jewish students are "swamped" by it, says a leading campus
professional.
 While
the problem is more serious at certain universities such as Concordia in
Montreal, it's not everywhere, said Michael Jankelowitz, director of
campus Israel affairs at Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in
Washington, D.C.
"When
we exaggerate, we do ourselves damage," Jankelowitz said, adding that
to say we are suffering anti-Semitism would be to belittle what happened
during the Holocaust.
Jankelowitz,
who is on shlichut as a representative of the Jewish Agency for Israel,
was the keynote speaker at a town hall meeting sponsored by The Canadian
Jewish News on May 7 at the Barbara Frum Library. The meeting was the
fifth in a series of town hall meetings and round table discussions
instituted by the paper in 1998.
Zac
Kaye, executive director of Jewish Campus Services of Greater Toronto (JCS),
and university students Daniel Held and Adam Cutler also spoke. CJN editor
Mordechai Ben-Dat moderated the program.
Unfortunately
the current intifadah in Israel is far from over, said Jankelowitz.
"I believe we've got to be proactiveŠ There are many positive things
that Jewish students can doŠ What I have tried is to tell the Jewish
students to get on with the job, to educate themselves not to be
intimidated, to bring in lecturers to speak on behalf of Israel."
But
Jewish students are "bombarded by [anti-Israel] propaganda" and
didn't live through much of Israel's history, he noted. "For them,
1973 is what the 1956 Sinai Campaign is for me. [Jankelowitz was born in
1952.] Their first memories are of the signing on the White House lawn.
Today that dream is shattered. Oslo didn't bring us peace. It brought a
piece of paper, where the other side unfortunately didn't fulfil its
commitment."
Jankelowitz
recalled his parents' concern in 1967, when he was growing up in South
Africa, that Israel was going to be annihilated during the Six-Day War.
"How many of our students today understand what happened in 1967, and
that there was a miracle? This wasn't a war that Israel went about
willingly. We've got to see that history doesn't get rewritten. We've got
to make sure our students understand what happened."
If
students do not know the history of modern Zionism, he said, they will
"be beaten on campus when the Palestinian student says 'You are the
occupier.'"
In
95 per cent of North American campuses, Jewish students are organized, but
if the Jewish community doesn't support Jewish students, they are liable
to be intimidated, Jankelowitz said.
Until
recently, students on university campuses had been lulled into a false
sense of security, said Kaye.
"The
message until now had always been peace, reaching out to other groups and
building relationships. Now we're playing catch-up."
Last
summer, he said, his office prepared for "what we did not know would
happen on campuses. We were not sure what the fall would bring - what the
Arab, the Muslim, and the growing, very disconcerting Jewish opposition to
Israel would be on campuses."
Sept.
11, however, created a strange lull, said Kaye, and JCS became concerned
with preparing themselves for anti-Israel activity. "The most
important thing was to be pro-active, not reactive."
They
hired Stuart Lapowich as Israel affairs co-ordinator in order to create a
pro-Israel agenda on campuses across the city, and to monitor anti-Israel
activity on campuses.
As well, a
number of students created Counterpoint, a pro-Israel newspaper funded by
UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, and held their own pro-Israel
demonstrations, he said.
One
reason anti-Israel activity has increased on campuses, Kaye said, is
because today's students are "what I refer to as children of the
intifadah. The images they remember and are familiar with are of the first
and second intifadah, of mighty Israel with armed soldiers and of the poor
Palestinians.
"These
are the images our students see on television every day, and they do not
have the wherewithal to understand what is going on. They internalize a
message that is not pro-Israel - a message that is not strong and
positive," he said.
The
anti-Israel message is spreading, he said, and "by and large, we do
not have students to confront it."
At
York University, where Held is a student, there have been problems with
campus newspapers, particularly the Atkinsonian (Atkinson College's
newspaper), which has had many blatant anti-Israel articles, Held said.
Also
of concern at York are "almost illegal" rallies held in a
central area, he added, explaining that the nominally anti-globalization
and left-wing events have turned into anti-Israel rallies.
Cutler
noted in his address that, in the campus community, anti-globalization
activists, such as those at York, are not viewed as extreme.
"We
tend to play what we consider a fair game," said Held. "We hold
rallies and information sessions according to the rules of the university.
That doesn't always happen on the other side."
A
third, more recent, problem is that Jewish students' posters have been
damaged and defaced with swastikas at York.
'Jewish
students who know what's going onŠ feel intimated walking around with a
kippah or Magen David. It's a real concern."
To
deal with these issues, said Held, Jewish students need to be educated
about Israeli affairs, Jewish values and Jewish pride. Some programs
created for that purpose have been lunch-and-learn sessions and special
events such as an Israel advocacy retreat, a concert of Jewish music and
the annual arts festival held under the auspices of JCS.
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At the Town Hall meeting are Michael Jankelowitz, director of campus
Israel affairs at Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in
Washington, D.C. (left) and Zac Kaye, executive director of Jewish Campus
Services of Greater Toronto (JCS)
The
education should address not only the "matzav" itself (the
Hebrew word for situation, commonly used in Israel to describe the current
state of affairs there), but also the culture and all the beautiful things
about Israel, Held said.
"We
need to start getting the other side of our story out. We need to feel
comfortable in the campus environment."
Cutler's
assessment of the environment at the University of Toronto, where he is a
student, was more positive. "I'm glad to say that U of T, as far as
I've experienced, has experienced very little anti-Semitism." This
year, he said, has been pretty quiet.
More
common in his experience is ignorance. A faculty member who might want to
deduct marks for absences on Jewish holidays is one example.
Last
fall, Cutler recalled, the U of T newspaper the Varsity ran an article
linking Israel with the events of Sept. 11. It did, however, print a
response and since then, almost every issue has had pro-Israel letters
from Jewish students, he said. "The Varsity has been acting very
respectfully."
Both
Cutler and Held took part in a World Union of Jewish Students conference
in Jerusalem this past winter, along with 25 other students from the
Toronto area, who learned about being proactive regarding Israel.
"One
problem," said Cutler, "is how to be pro-Israel without being
pro-Sharon or pro-Netanyahu or pro-Barak, because not everyone is
right-wing or left-wing. Most people don't care at all. We have this
slogan put together by Hillel, 'Wherever we stand, we stand with
Israel.'"
Another
challenge, he said, was how to incorporate people who are against the
occupation but pro-Zionist.
Some
methods that have been tried at U of T are handing out fliers, and
publishing and distributing Counterpoint.
"It's
only through events like advocacy retreats and sending kids to Israel that
the Jews on campus are being empowered with the help to spread a
pro-Israel message on campus. These things don't come for free. We need
the continued support of the community to send these students to Israel
and to bring speakers [here] from Israel."
Josh
Shuval, immediate past president of the Jewish Students' Union at
University of Western Ontario, said he was quite concerned about how to
deal with professors who spread anti-Israel propaganda. "How do we
deal with reputable academics?"
Kaye
acknowledged that this is not a new problem. "These issues have to be
brought to Jewish organizations who will raise the issue with the
university.
"This
is the most dangerous form of propaganda, and it has to be taken up with
high level organizations. If not, the problem will not be solved. "
Jessica
Waintman, outgoing president of the Waterloo/Laurier Jewish Students'
Association, expressed concern that with only 400 Jews across the two
campuses, they feel forgotten and alone.
"We
have had problems on campus this year, but did not know what to do without
resources. I urge you not to forget about us; we need support and
encouragement."
A
student from McMaster University acknowledged that students may not show
outward support for Israel because they are afraid of the reaction of Arab
students.
The
four speakers all agreed that if the students are willing to stand up, the
response, although painful at first, will eventually settle down.
"On
a campus such as McMaster there should be many groups that support
Israel's cause," Kaye said. "It is a matter of building
alliances and making connections.
"Once
you take the jump, you may be surprised at who will support you. The only
way to defeat them is not to be intimidated by them."
Asked
if he is involved in preparing high school students for what they might
encounter at university, Kaye said that JCS ran a three-part program for
Grade 12 students at CHAT, and that this program may become a prototype
for what they could do on a regular basis at CHAT and at other high
schools.
"We
are very conscious of our responsibility in this area," he said.
It
is essential, said Kaye, that Jewish students learn about their history.
"I am a big believer in weekend retreats. They give students an
opportunity to focus on issues differently than they do on campus."
There
is a lot of propanda on our campuses, he said. "Students must learn
how to deal with it."
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