Unveiling the Trend: 10 Case Studies on Pro-Hamas Stances in Canadian Academia (Not surprisingly, many of the names are Muslim)
Canary Mission The pro-Israel group, Students Supporting Israel (SSI) was recently suspended as a campus group by the University of Manitoba after inviting Palestinian peace activist Bassem Eid to speak on campus.
Eid, who rejects Palestinian terrorism and speaks fairly about Israel, caused “discomfort” among members of the anti-Israel campus group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at the university. SJP subsequently lodged a complaint against SSI with the university, which promptly shut SSI down.
Less than six months ago, this would have been an Orwellian scenario. But post-October 7 – which saw the largest massacre, rape, mutilation and hostage-taking of Jews since the Holocaust – this scenario is unfortunately a reality for Jewish students, faculty and staff on Canadian college campuses.
Those who thought that antisemitism was a relic of the past in “congenial” Canada have been shocked to find out that, like in the United States, it was only lying dormant.
As apparent as this pernicious hatred has been in American academia, in particular at elite Ivy League schools, it also extends to academia in Canada. Faculty and staff are openly supporting the terror group Hamas, justifying its atrocities in the name of social justice, “decolonization” and “resistance.”
This report documents this worrisome trend through a series of case studies which illustrate the nature and extent of terror support on Canada’s college campuses. Most of the professors profiled below teach in universities in Ontario, but the problem extends nationwide.
Despite the horror of their anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments, the vast majority of these faculty and staff have not faced significant consequences. Only a small fraction have faced disciplinary actions, such as suspension or, in rare cases, termination.
Common Themes in Faculty Statements and Actions
Justifying Hamas Terrorism
Labeling Israel’s response to Hamas terrorists as “genocide”
Support for Palestinian “resistance” (i.e., terrorism)
Accusing Israel of being a settler-colonial state
Promoting decolonization (an academic word for murder)
Implications for the Academic Environment
The endorsement of extremist views by academic professionals has far-reaching implications for the academic environment in Canada. These implications are particularly concerning regarding the well-being of Jewish students and the normalization of extreme perspectives within academic discourse.
Normalizing of support for terrorism within academic discourse
Ostracizing Jewish students and faculty who now feel targeted and unsafe
Influencing student perceptions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Contributing to the polarization and politicization within academia
Legitimizing armed resistance (i.e., including terrorism against civilians) and redefining what terrorism means
The ten case studies presented here are just the tip of the iceberg, highlighting a concerning trend in both Canadian and American academia.
Students are being indoctrinated with extremist ideologies, contributing to the rise in antisemitism and potentially leading to a generation with distorted values as they transition from academia to the real world.
Jewish Canadian students are increasingly expressing fear as they navigate this aggressive environment, questioning why university administrations are not addressing the issue head-on.
To effect change, it is imperative that extremist professors face consequences for their actions. Holding a university position should not grant the right to propagate harmful ideologies without accountability. The firing and suspension of Natalie Knight and Yannis Arab is a step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done to ensure a safe academic environment for all students.
1. Katherine Blouin: University of Toronto
Associate Professor of Ancient History
Tweeted justifying Hamas terrorism and criticizing the silence on Palestine in academia.
On October 8, 2023, Blouin tweeted: “👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼” referring to a tweet published on October 7, 2023 that said: “Academia loves to decolonize everything besides occupied land. Its silence on Palestine is enough to know how decolonization has become a metaphor signifying everything besides material change and collective resistance.”
On the same date, Blouin tweeted: “So #LandBack except for Palestine? / Noted.” Her tweet was in response to a tweet by the Premier of Manitoba condemning Hamas and showing support for the province’s Jewish community and Israel’s right to self-defense.
Also on October 8, 2023, Blouin tweeted: “👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼” referring to a tweet published on October 7, 2023 tweet that said: “Deafening silence from academics who have made careers from talking about decolonial theory and held round tables on Fanon and Said, as one of the most significant moments of decolonisation unfolds today in Palestine.”
2. Uahikea Maile: University of Toronto
Tweeted supporting Palestinian “anticolonial resistance”
On October 7, 2023, Maile tweeted: “As Hawaiians wake up to the news of Palestinian anticolonial resistance in Gaza to Israeli settler colonialism, remember that—from Hawaiʻi to Palestine—occupation is a crime. A lāhui that stands for decolonization and deoccupation should also stand behind freedom for Palestine.”
In October 2023, Maile signed and reportedly [00:03:00] co-authored [00:30:30] a pro-BDS statement titled: “Indigenous Solidarity With Palestine.” The statement said: “Colonized peoples have the right to defend themselves and to resist colonial violence. We support Palestinian liberation and their right as an oppressed people to resist colonialism and genocide.”
On November 5, 2023, while speaking in an episode of The Red Nation podcast, Maile said regarding the October 7 attack [00:04:43]: “To see the breaking free of Gazans from the world’s largest open air prison containment site… was an expression and a movement and a feeling of jubilation for that kind of freedom and liberation to actually occur under an intense, brutal, murdersome Israeli military occupation.”
Maile then related October 7 to Hawaiians, saying [00:05:20]: “So in that jubilation I was very energized by… what might we learn from this liberation struggle and at the same time how might we stand in solidarity with Palestinians fighting for their freedom, for their liberation from that containment, from that occupation, from this system of apartheid and from an ongoing genocide.”
3. Yogendra Shakya: University of Toronto
Former Bousfield Professor of Practice (September 2022 – May 2023)
Tweeted a musical piece as a tribute to the Palestinian “liberation movement”
On October 7, 2023, Shakya tweeted a link to a musical piece he’d composed that he previously uploaded to YouTube in 2021, titled “Rise to Liberation.” The description said it was “…a tribute to the unwavering liberatory spirit of the Palestinian people. Please feel free to share. If not already, please join the Palestinian liberation movement…”
This is what the University of Toronto had to say about Shakya;
“As part of the Bousfield Professor of Practice, Yogendra will engage students to develop curricula on anti-imperialist planning … to bring focus on the rich foundations of anti-imperialist scholarship and social movements from around the world, particularly … ‘underclass’ constituents (e.g. occupied groups like Palestinian(s)…”4. Waqas Butt: University of Toronto Scarborough
Assistant Professor
Tweeted support for signing a pro-Hamas statement
On October 24, 2023, Butt tweeted that “Scholars, students, and others in Canada” should join him in signing a statement in support of Hamas titled: “Statement of support for faculty speaking about Palestine/Israel / Anthropologists across Canada.”
The statement noted that “anti-colonial solidarity is not only an ethical stance but also a critical analytical perspective…” The statement also accused Israel of “genocide” and claimed: “For two decades, Israel has held Palestinians in Gaza under siege…”
5. Ameil Joseph: McMaster University
Associate Professor, Social Work
Tweeted justifying the Hamas attack and shared a statement in support of “anti-colonial solidarity”
On October 7, 2023, the day that Hamas massacred over 1,200 Israeli Jews, Joseph tweeted: “Postcolonial, anticolonial, and decolonial are not just words you heard in your EDI [Equity, Diversity, Inclusion] workshop.”
Joseph retweeted an October 12, 2023 tweet with a statement by the University of Toronto’s Department of Historical and Cultural Studies that said it was “essential for scholars to situate the current war in its broad historical contexts, including those of settler colonialism… and global movements for Indigenous rights.” The statement said that “anti-colonial solidarity is not simply a legitimate ethical position, but a critical analytical perspective…”
6. Natalie Knight: Langara College
FIRED: English Instructor
Praised Hamas at a rally and supports the “right to resist” against the Israeli state
On October 28, 2023, Knight praised Hamas at a rally held in Vancouver, while speaking as a member of the group United In Struggle. Knight said, “Two years ago in September of 2021, six political prisoners [convicted terrorists being held in an Israeli prison] dug their escape out of a maximum security prison using only spoons. Amazing!”
She added: “This was a feat of determination and ingenuity only eclipsed, only eclipsed by the amazing, brilliant offensive waged [by Hamas] on October 7th.”
7. Ehab Lotayef: McGill University
IT & Technical Services Manager in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill University
Posted on Facebook supporting armed resistance
Spoke at and participated in protests chanting for “Intifada”
On October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas massacred over 1,200 Israelis, Lotayef posted on Facebook: “- Armed resistance is a right. – What the Palestinians did is not more of a terrorist act than the collective punishment and bombardment Israeli has been doing for years…”
On October 30, 2023, Lotayef posted a live video on Facebook from a protest, which he described as: “In front of the door of [Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly’s] office” [sic]. In the video, protesters chanted: “There is only one solution, intifada revolution!” and “Long live the intifada!”
On November 19, 2023, Lotayef was featured as a speaker at an event titled: “Paroles de résistance pour une Palestine libre [Words of resistance for a free Palestine].”
Lotayef recited [00:00:38], with the audience chanting back: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
Lotayef then claimed [00:00:44]: “They’re…shifting the dialogue always about Hamas and about terrorism because someone decided to pass a law that Hamas is a terrorist organization … it is the right of the occupied people to carry arms and to fight for their liberation.”
On November 23, 2023, Lotayef spoke at another anti-Israel event in Montreal and then led the audience in chanting [00:04:52]: “No justice, no peace!”
8. Heidi Matthews: York University
Assistant Professor
Tweeted questioning the definition of resistance
Signed a statement of solidarity with Palestine
On October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas massacred over 1,200 Israeli Jews, Matthews tweeted there was “A lot of obfuscation going on about what the right of resistance looks like in brutally asymmetrical contexts.”
In response to a tweet that warned not to conflate Hamas with the general Palestinian population and that said “What Hamas is doing is not resistance,” Matthews wrote: “I think I’ll leave it to Palestinians to let us know what resistance looks like for them.”
In the week following Hamas’s attacks, Matthews signed an “Artists & Academics in Canada: Statement of Solidarity with Palestine,” which read, “[Resistance] is in fact a right guaranteed by international law … As artists, cultural workers, and academics, we stand strong in support of the Palestinian struggle for freedom and against all forms of racism and settler-colonial violence.”
On October 15, 2023, in response to Canada affirming its support for Israel’s right to self-defense in the aftermath of Hamas’s attacks, Matthews tweeted: “Disgraceful …”
9. Yannis Arab: University of Montreal
SUSPENDED: “Chargé de cours” (Lecturer) in History
- Participated in a disruptive anti-Israel protest yelling antisemitic slurs
On November 8, 2023, Arab participated in disrupting a pro-Israel demonstration on the Concordia University campus, where Jewish students gathered to display posters of Israeli civilians, including women and children, kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
Arab was filmed among the crowd of violent counterprotesters, yelling at Jewish Concordia students: “Go to Poland! Go back to Poland! Sharmuta [whore]!”
Arab then shouted: “Ben zona [son of a whore]! Ben zona! Ben zona!”
10. Dina Al-Kassim: University of British Columbia
Associate Professor
- Denied Hamas War Crimes
- Tweeted in memory of a Palestinian terrorist and supported convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh
On October 11, 2023, Al-Kassim tweeted: “Rape is a tool of occupation not resistance.”
In the tweet, Al-Kassim linked an article titled: “Tear feminism out of the hands of the colonizer: Our statement debunking the claims of mass rape used to siphon off support from the Palestinian resistance.”
On November 20, 2023, Al-Kassim tweeted: “No evidence of rape. Israel has admitted it fired on its own. Most of the dead are soldiers. Facts.”
Al-Kassim has a history of glorifying terrorists. On November 6, 2022, Al-Kassim tweeted: “RIP Fatima Barnawi, founder of Palestinian Women’s Police and veteran prisoner, dies at 83.”
Bernawi, a terrorist with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), was responsible for a 1967 attempted bombing of a crowded Jerusalem movie theater. Bernawi was sentenced to life in prison but was released after 10 years.
On October 24, 2014, Al-Kassim signed a petition written and signed by “feminist scholars” in support of convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh.
Odeh was a key military operative with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization. In 1969, she masterminded a PFLP supermarket bombing that killed two college students. She also attempted to bomb the British consulate in Jerusalem. After being released by Israel in a prisoner exchange, Odeh moved to the United States but was deported to Jordan in 2017 for lying on her immigration papers.
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