Students are reporting mixed reactions after Ontario New Democratic Party leader, Andrea Horwath toured York’s Keele campus.
Backlash ensued on social media after a photo was posted to the Students Against Israeli Apartheid Facebook page featuring Horwath meeting with York Federation of Students executives and a “SAIA member.”
Rena Silver, political liaison with Hasbara at York, says it was distressing seeing Horwath meeting with students associated with movements such as Israeli Apartheid Week, which Silver describes as dangerous behaviour.
“Without being privy to the exact details or context of this meeting, Hasbara at York can say that it is of the firm understanding that hateful movements such as Israeli Apartheid Week which serve no purpose but to demonize and slander Israel slow potential peace processes.”
Willem Hart, president of Campus Conservatives York University, wants an Ontario free of discrimination.
“But it gives me pause to think of what this secretariat would look like practically, given that Horwath is promoting this policy to students whose goal is to marginalize and alienate Jewish and Israeli students with their advocacy for the BDS movement,” says Hart.
“Horwath and the NDP should take a less ambiguous stance on this issue. BDS has no place in an Ontario that welcomes everybody,” he adds.
In a phone call with Excalibur, representatives for Horwath say the MPP wasn’t aware of any SAIA members at the meeting, while the purpose of the meeting was to discuss anti-racism initiatives.
“The Jewish community at York is home to a diversity of political opinions,” says Manisha Joshi-Vijayan, second-year English student, and the SAIA member allegedly featured in the photo.
“The York chapter of Independent Jewish Voices, for example, advocates for equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians. So we shouldn’t confuse criticism and peaceful action against the racist policies of a state for an attack on an entire people,” she adds.
Previously, a coalition of Ontario MPs voted to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week. The YFS famously endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in 2013.
Last March, Toronto hosted the 11th annual Israeli Apartheid Week.
Alex Kvaskov, Assistant News Editor
