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Anti-Israeli Activity at Concordia University 2000-2003

 
Filed under: Anti-Semitism, International Law, Israel, World Jewry
Publication: Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism

Concordia: A History

Concordia University came into existence in 1974 with the merger of the originally Jesuit-run Loyola College and the YMCA-based Sir George Williams University. The two schools came together under the name Concordia, which was borrowed from the motto of the city of Montreal, Concordia salus (wellbeing through harmony).[1] To this day the separate campuses are maintained with a free shuttle bus transporting students and staff back and forth between the two. Concordia is one of two English-language universities in Montreal, the other being McGill.

Concordia’s motto, “A real education for the real world,” is apt; it is home to more than 3,500 international students and over eleven thousand part-time students in a student body of thirty thousand.[2] This accessible education is what originally drew many Jews to attend Concordia at a time when most North American universities, including McGill, had quotas for Jews. Nowadays, with a contingent of approximately four thousand Arab students outnumbering the Jewish population by more than four to one,[3] the tensions between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups have come to reflect the conflict that Israel faces among its numerous Arab neighbors.

Student Activism at Concordia

Concordia has long been considered the Anglophone working man’s university, and has also become a politically aware and active campus. Contributing to its activist tendencies is the larger backdrop of the Quebec Federation of University Students, which is a subsidiary of a national federation representing more than 450,000 students. Student unions in Canada, including Concordia’s, are accredited and possess the same power and independence as any labor union. In Quebec the student unions are especially active; the most notable recent case was a province-wide strike that drew more than two hundred thousand students at its peak, in protest against funding cuts and tuition hikes. In this wider environment, Concordia gradually developed into a radical, extreme-Left campus.

The first incidence of student violence at Concordia came well before its 1974 merger. It was the largest student riot in Canadian history, superseded only by the more recent one at Concordia in 2002. Beginning on 29 January 1969, over two hundred students occupied the university’s computer lab at Sir George Williams University. The sit-in was in protest at the university administration’s inaction on allegations of racism against a professor. The students stormed the computer lab on the eighth floor of the downtown Montreal campus, throwing thousands of punch cards from the windows.

In light of the university’s history, the events targeting Israel and often Jews are characterized by many as straightforward antiracist, leftist activism in defense of an oppressed indigenous minority persecuted by “Zionist apartheid.” The pro-Palestinian faction has often crossed the line into anti-Semitic rhetoric. For many the University became a paradigm of anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli campus activity. This was a gradual process at Concordia, climaxing in September 2002 with a riot protesting Hillel’s attempt to bring former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak. The ongoing battle between pro- and anti-Israeli factions at Concordia was not diffused by this violence, nor by the involvement of the Jewish community at large. Indeed, the confrontation continues.

Tensions Rise on Campus

Concordia University announced its entrance into Middle East politics in November 2000. The student union, in conjunction with the student group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), called for a general assembly to support UN motions against Israel and demand Israel’s immediate withdrawal from the territories. At this time SPHR was also handing out copies of an article from the Journal of Historical Review, known for Holocaust denial, alleging that Israel was developing an ethnic bomb to kill Arabs.[4]

Throughout the 2000-2001 school year, the leftist student union attempted to rally support for the Palestinian cause. In the subsequent elections another left-wing student government prevailed, vowing to “continue the fight for Palestine.”[5] As in many other campuses throughout the Western world, the Palestinian cause appealed to left-wing student groups and activists.

By September 2001, the pro- and anti-Israeli camps became visible and active when the leftist student organization ACCESS released the student calendar titled “Uprising.”[6] The first page prominently displayed a poem called “Intifada” that called for violent revolution against any form of authority, and throughout the calendar, days were marked by radical statements. Canada Day called for students to burn the national flag; Thanksgiving demanded action against imperialist symbols in Canada. There were also many articles encouraging theft, intravenous drug use, vandalism, and the destruction of churches.[7]

Most relevant to the future violence against Jews at Concordia was the agenda’s unequivocal denial of Israel’s right to exist. On Israel’s Independence Day the word Al-Naqbah (“the catastrophe” in Arabic) was written together with an inflammatory article titled “What It Means to Be a Palestinian” that made numerous accusations against Israel.[8]

Widespread outrage over the handbook throughout the university community went unanswered by the Concordia Student Union (CSU). Most shocking was a page depicting airplanes crashing through the windows of an office building; the handbook was distributed just prior to 9/11.[9] After condemnations by Hillel and the university administration, and a request by Rector Fredrick Lowy to launch an independent inquiry into the CSU, the elected president of the student union, Sabrina Stea, resigned amid a hail of accusations that the union was being repressed.[10]

Earlier in the year, on 21 August, two student activists named Tom Keefer and Leith Marouf were banned from campus for spray-painting anti-Semitic slogans on school property and threatening the security guards who tried to stop them. Both students were members of the elected student union, and Marouf, the son of a Syrian diplomat, claimed immunity when security guards attempted to detain him. Keefer and Marouf were formally expelled and subsequently faced criminal charges by the Montreal Urban Police. They were eventually permitted back on campus after an appeal to the Board of Governors. Both had remained active in the anti-Israeli campaign despite their suspensions, and continued their anti-Israel activities long thereafter.[11] In a written statement at the time of her resignation, Stea condemned the university for “the arbitrary expulsion and banning from campus of two duly elected union representatives, Tom Keefer and Laith Marouf.”[12]

Throughout the 2001-2002 school year, numerous incidences contributed to a rise in tensions between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups on campus. On 18 October 2001, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak spoke to an audience of two thousand at a synagogue in the Montreal suburb of Cote-St-Luc. Subsequently two Concordia students filed a suit with the Canadian Commission for Human Rights claiming that the lecture organizers and security had discriminated against them by detaining them and preventing them from attending the event. The students, Hashem Yassif and Nidal al-Aloul, were members of SPHR on campus.

Al-Aloul, a native of Nablus from a prominent family with official ties to the Palestinian Authority, accused Hillel members of instructing security to single out the SPHR members. However, no evidence of this was ever ascertained and Hillel never accepted responsibility. One community leader, Rabbi Reuven Poupko, stated that nobody was singled out; every attendee underwent a rigorous security check, and hundreds of people were placed in a separate room because of limited seating capacity inside the hall. Furthermore, while al-Aloul claimed Israeli soldiers abused him and confiscated his passport, no evidence for this charge ever surfaced. Only two Israeli security guards were present, Barak’s private bodyguards.[13]

In January 2002, Dr. Alan Baker of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, who in 2004 became Israel’s ambassador to Canada, lectured on the incitement of Palestinian children to commit acts of terror. Many SPHR members attended solely to heckle and interrupt, and later condemned Hillel for bringing Baker to speak at all.[14]

Further Disruptions

Throughout 2002 there were constant disruptions during Hillel-sponsored events both on and off campus along with attempts to discredit speakers and Hillel as a viable campus group. In March, SPHR staged an event called “Concordia under Occupation.” Palestinian supporters set up mock checkpoints and demanded that students show identification before being allowed through. They also built a fake tank that was stationed in the center of the campus’ public area, and from there the activists harassed students passing by.[15]

The following day SPHR set up a mock cemetery. Members donned keffiyehs and wore black as they spoke to students about the numerous Palestinians who had died in the Second Intifada.[16] Careful in their use of language, SPHR cited people who had died, and not been killed in conflict. Any militants or rioters who were in fact killed by Israeli forces were praised for dying “in defense of their human rights” or “resisting occupation.” This semantic distortion was characteristic of SPHR activities on campus.

In response to the mock occupation and cemetery, Hillel staged a sit-in where people were invited to join in a peaceful music circle with drums, guitars, and refreshments. There was no attempt to accuse or propagandize; students simply sang peacefully and demonstrated support for Israel with Hebrew songs and Israeli flags.[17] This tactic of nonconfrontation became central to Hillel’s activities on campus, expressing the idea of Israel- awareness as being separate from the conflict. Nevertheless, tensions on campus remained high.

One month later, SPHR members from Concordia occupied the Montreal offices of Liberal Party MP Irwin Cotler. A well-known human rights lawyer and activist, Cotler became Canada’s justice minister in 2003. His wife, Ariela Cotler, was president of the board of Montreal Hillel in 2001 during the most heated period at Concordia and played a major role in the pro-Israeli activity.

Despite Cotler’s reputation for defending human rights unconditionally, the protesting students claimed that he and the Canadian government as a whole were insufficiently speaking out for the Palestinians regarding the alleged massacre in Jenin. With sensationalist, largely fictitious statements to the press about war crimes being committed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Jenin, the students stormed the offices and demanded the staff to vacate the premises. The student newspaper reported that: “Elatrash [a prominent SPHR spokesperson] claims that mass graves are being dug to dispose of the hundreds of casualties from the battle in Jenin and that over 9000 Palestinians have been detained, many of whom face unlawful confinement and torture by their captors.”[18]

Two hours later police entered the building and arrested seven students for assault and trespassing. These same students continued to instigate both on and off campus against Israel and Jewish groups-especially Samer Elatrash, who became one of the main agitators of the September riot.

The 9 September Riot

The most infamous events at Concordia began at the outset of the following semester in September 2002. Hillel invited former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak on campus during his cross-Canada tour.[19] One week before his engagement, numerous articles, flyers, and posters called on students, and Montrealers at large, to convene on the day of the lecture and demonstrate against Netanhayu, whom the pro-Palestinians accused of being a warmonger and murderer.[20] The activists drafted a mock arrest warrant demanding that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian government place Netanyahu in custody for purported war crimes and crimes against humanity, including ethnic cleansing.[21]

In light of the numerous threats, the police arrived several hours before the lecture to secure the university and create a safe passage for both attendees and Netanyahu himself. The police presence included municipal, provincial, federal as well as Israeli consulate security, private Israeli security, and a local security company hired for the occasion. Although the second-floor entrances were open to students attending classes in the morning, all first- floor entrances and access were blocked off for security reasons.[22]

The protesters, most of whom were not students, also arrived early, positioning themselves at every entrance to the university and harassing the 650 ticket-holders arriving to attend the lecture.[23] Numerous incidents of violence against Jewish students and community members attempting to enter the university were reported, some of which were captured on tape. Thomas Hecht, former president of the Canada-Israel Committee, was kicked violently as he entered the building. Rabbi Howard Joseph and his wife Norma, a Concordia professor, were hit and spat on. Many others were shoved, sprayed with ketchup, and verbally assaulted as they made their way into the Hall Building and several men reported having their skullcaps knocked off their heads by the protesters.[24]

Although the most vocal protesters were well-known Concordia students who were elected leaders of the student union or activists for SPHR, the majority were nonstudents. By the time the lecture was scheduled to begin, an estimated one to two thousand demonstrators had convened outside the university, burning Israeli flags and chanting anti-Israeli or anti-Jewish slogans in English, French, and Arabic.[25] Many even threw pennies and other projectiles at those trying to get to the lecture.

Netanyahu’s security decided not to bring him into the university, and he remained instead at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.[26] Yet the protesters continued demonstrating, becoming increasingly agitated by the police presence and clashing repeatedly with riot police. Several hundred protesters forced their way into the building by a back entrance through the university café and pushed their way down the escalators into the lobby where the conference hall was located. Police kept them at bay as they started throwing chairs and other objects down at those in the lobby. Several rioters attempted to get past the police and were arrested or pushed back up the escalators.

Just before 1 p.m. rioters stormed the building, smashing its front windows and trying to force themselves past police who had formed a barrier between them and the conference hall where Netanyahu’s audience remained barricaded with no way out.[27] Faced with rioters on all sides, riot police used tear gas to dispel the crowd and prevent escalating violence within the building. Ultimately the university charged eleven students with violating its code of conduct and the police arrested five participants.[28]

In the days following the riot, participants sought any possible excuse for their behavior, from gross exaggerations of police conduct during the riot to accusations that the disturbance was instigated by an exclusively Jewish audience entering the building. The demonstrators denied any responsibility for their actions and claimed they had exercised their right to free speech and assembly. Many charges against the university administration and Hillel were unfounded, including the claim that the audience was handpicked and racially screened.

In reality the protests were a suppression of free speech, a tyrannical and violent initiative for censorship of Jewish and Israeli expression. In an interview with journalist Mark Himmel in the documentary Confrontation at Concordia for Global Television, Netanyahu said: “If the real solution to this fanaticism is ventilation, the aeration of various ideas, then you got a whiff of the underlying root cause of terrorism in Concordia. That is the unwillingness to have a free exchange of ideas. The root cause of terrorism is totalitarianism.”[29]

The Palestinian lobby showed their inability to acknowledge or even permit opposing perspectives to be voiced. As Israel Asper, executive chairman of CanWest Global Corporation and cosponsor of Netanyahu’s speaking tour put it: “The minority of a rabble, the rioting group of essentially thugs, lawbreakers, employed a technique known only-introduced, really-70 years ago by Adolf Hitler and his brownshirts…. The shouting down, the closing down, the trampling on the right of free assembly and the physical restraint through violence of freedom of speech; it was a most unfortunate scene for Canada.”[30]

The media tumult that ensued led to donors threatening to withdraw funds from Concordia and influenced the reaction of the university administration. The media impact was compounded by the abovementioned Confrontation at Concordia documentary. The film portrayed the riots and ensuing events in a largely negative light that angered the Arab community and the CSU to the point of taking legal action against the broadcaster. Another documentary titled Discordia, produced independently and released the following year, focused more intimately on three main players in the conflict-Aaron Mate, Noah Sarnah, and Samer Elatrash-and received positive reactions from all sides of the debate.

As a result of the violence and the harm to Concordia’s image, Rector Lowy and the university administration imposed a schoolwide moratorium on all issues pertaining to the Middle East. Despite a popular outcry from all sides to the dispute, including students, professors, and politicians, severe action was promised against anyone violating the moratorium. Hillel, though disagreeing with the measure, abided by it. The CSU and SPHR, however, took every opportunity to disobey.[31]

 The moratorium was subsequently lifted at the end of November following in-depth inquiries into the situation on campus, the cancellation of numerous lectures, and a demonstration by several Canadian MPs outside the Hall Building to protest the gag order.[32] The few students who were arrested or suspended for their participation in the riots were not adequately penalized by the university, and eventually were permitted back on campus where they continued their anti-Israeli activities.

The Hillel Suspension

Within several weeks of the moratorium being lifted, the CSU struck a blow against free speech regarding Israel and Judaism when they suspended Hillel Concordia from campus in a late-night, clandestine caucus on the last day of the semester. Hillel had had information flyers for Mahal programs-foreign volunteers for the Israeli army-present at their booth for several hours during the day. These had been placed there by a student who had been a Hillel staff member but was no longer affiliated with the Hillel executive, which generally approves materials for the booth. Hillel was suspended for supposedly violating Canada’s Foreign Enlistment Act, which states:

Any person who, being a Canadian national, within or outside Canada, voluntarily accepts or agrees to accept any commission or engagement in the armed forces of any foreign state at war with any friendly foreign state or, whether a Canadian national or not, within Canada, induces any other person to accept or agree to accept any commission or engagement in any such armed forces is guilty of an offence.[33]

Of the CSU’s political body of twenty-seven members, only nine were in attendance.[34] Eight of these voted in favor of the suspension; one representative of Hillel, Noah Joseph, who was also a member of the student council opposition, was present and attempted to contest the action and voted against it. The vote violated the CSU’s own guidelines requiring a quorum of ten council members to ratify motions, and to provide notice to all council members before voting.[35]

The council chair, Omar Badawi, ruled that the action could not proceed because of the lack of due process. The council members, however, including Samer Elatrash who was present though at the time he was forbidden from being on campus property for any purpose apart from attending classes, ignored him and continued with the suspension.[36] If the CSU’s support for SPHR had not been made clear enough at the 9 September riot, by the Friday afternoon following the Hillel suspension it was made undeniable when the two groups held a joint press conference to defend the suspension. Once again, Hillel was not invited.[37]

Hillel demanded immediate reinstatement and a public apology from the CSU. The response was an offer of conditional reinstatement, permitting Hillel to hold events but not to receive any funding, pending a formal public apology and the signing of a contract committing all groups to an antiwar stance.[38] Hillel Montreal president Ariela Cotler stated:

We cannot let this go on, and Concordia cannot let this go on either. I have no doubt this is an attempt to shut down Israel’s voice in this community, starting with Hillel and expanding from there. The CSU’s bylaws state that the board must be advised at least five days in advance. They also have an obligation to have a quorum on hand for a vote. There was an obvious agenda to disrupt the activities of Hillel on campus. Their only concept of freedom of expression here is when the Society for Palestinian Human Rights is involved, with the support of the CSU.[39]

Dissatisfied with the CSU’s response, Hillel decided to bring a civil suit against it demanding an apology and $100,000 in punitive damages. Hillel cited the lack of due process in the suspension proceedings and the fallacious nature of the claims against Hillel. Montreal Hillel, the Canadian Jewish Congress, and B’nai Brith Canada lent their support to Hillel Concordia, and the latter two sought intervener status in the court case.[40]

The accusation that the pamphlets on the information table were breaking Canadian law was demonstrated to be entirely false both by a lawyer and a military historian. First, the act had not been cited since the 1937 ban on Canadian recruits to the Spanish Civil War; second, the flyers could not be considered active recruitment.[41] On 4 December 2002, Hillel further protested its suspension by sponsoring a communitywide Chanukah celebration on campus.

Throughout North America, Hillel student groups called on Jewish university students to light a candle in support of the Concordia chapter. Hillel president and international director Richard M. Joel stated:

Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life condemns in the strongest terms the outrageous decision of the Concordia Student Union to exclude Hillel from campus and to deny it CSU funds. Hillel urges the CSU to rescind its decision. We support Montreal Hillel’s efforts to pursue legal action against the CSU. We call upon the university to denounce this action which flies in the face of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association.[42]

In Montreal, more than three hundred students from Concordia and McGill University as well as community members, including Ariela Cotler, attended the Chanukah event. Anti-Israeli protesters from the CSU and SPHR attempted to interrupt the celebration; Samer Elatrash was arrested for violating his bail conditions from the September riots. In February, he was expelled from Concordia.[43]

Although the case was eventually dropped after appeals, Hillel’s legal action and confrontation of the CSU did much to foster greater awareness of the anti-Semitism faced by Jewish students on campus. By the following school year, Concordia students voted overwhelmingly to oust the left-leaning, pro-Palestinian lobby from power and instead elected a politically neutral party, “Evolution, not Revolution,” which vowed not to become involved in rabble-rousing.[44]

Conclusion

Although the years since the 2002 events have been relatively quiet, tensions at Concordia between the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli camps have continued. Hillel has focused on projects not dealing with Middle Eastern politics, including founding a photography club and sponsoring events on global social justice.[45] It has formed new ties through joint activities with other groups on campus, including the Queer Union.[46]

The CSU, for its part, has remained moderate and uninvolved in the Israel debate. SPHR, however, has remained actively hostile to Israel and its supporters. It often attacks Israel, Jews, and their campus supporters on the university newspaper’s editorial pages, and demonstrations against Hillel speakers shadow every event. These activities are mirrored on campuses across North America and Europe, where Israel supporters continue to find themselves on the defensive against virulent anti-Israeli agitation.

Nevertheless, the shift in student politics at Concordia has been significant because of the continued success of the moderate Evolution party and Hillel’s many attempts to avoid battles over Israel on campus. Thus, despite several notable incidents, a relative calm has come over Concordia. This is mainly due to the changing of the guard in the Student Union, but also reflects a growing understanding of the situation by community groups and the university administration, and an ability to deal more effectively with student agitation.

*     *     *

Notes

[1] www.concordia.ca/about/history.

[2]  http://supportservices.concordia.ca/iso/.

[3] Sheldon Gordon, “Campus Bans Activism after Anti-Bibi Riot,” Forward News, 20 September 2002,  www.forward.com/issues/2002/02.09.20/news3.html.

[4] Janice Arnold, “Anti-Israel Vote Fails at Concordia U: Motion May Now Go before Entire University Population,” Canadian Jewish News, 7 December 2000.

[5] Steve Faguy, “Welcome to Concordia: A Colourful History of a Notorious Institution,” The Link, 2 September 2003, http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=03/09/02/0136235.

[6] Christopher Adam and Catherine Letendre, “CSU Agenda Hateful,” The Link, 16 October 2001, http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=01/10/16/1428238

[7] Ibid.

[8] Bram Eisenthal, “Canadian School Comes under Fire for Revolutionary,” JTA, 14 October 2002, www.jta.org/page_print_story.asp?intarticleid=102101.

[9] David Sax “From the Campus to the Courtroom”, The Jerusalem Post, 31 January 2003. http://www.davidsax.ca/content/view/147/79/

[10] Sabrina Stea, “CSU President’s Resignation Letter,” The Link, 23 October 2001,

http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=01/10/22/2347226.

[11] Sheli Teitelbaum, “Jihad at ‘Gaza U,'” Jerusalem Report, 21 October 2002, www.campus-watch.org/article/id/311.

[12] Sabrina Stea, “CSU President’s Resignation Letter.”.

[13] Sara Collin, “Two SPHR Members File Lawsuit,” The Link, 30 October 2001, http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=01/10/30/1614226; Nidal al-Aloul, “Treatment at Barak’s Lecture like Israeli Checkpoint,” The Link, 23 October 2001, http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=01/10/22/2335248.

[14] Marwan Sefian, “Lecturer Failed to Address Facts of Middle East Conflict,” The Link, 29 January 2002, http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=02/01/28/2215202.

[15] Ingrid Peritz & Tu Thanh Ha, “Tensions Between Arab, Jewish Students Poison Atmosphere at Montreal University,” Globe and Mail, 14 September, 2002. http//spme.net/cgi-bin/facultyforum.cgi?ID=577

[16] Janet Forest, “SPHR ‘Graveyard’ Exposes Students to War,” The Link, 26 March 2002.

[17] Steve Faguy, “Hillel Members Respond to SPHR Mock Gravesite,” The Link, 9 April 2002,

http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=02/04/09/0231227.

[18] Giancarlo La Giorgia, “Concordia Students Take Over MP’s Office,” The Link, 23 April 2002, http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=02/04/23/0525222.

[19] “Netahyahu Speaks despite Toronto Protests,” CTV, 10 September 2002, www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20020910/netanyahu_montreal_020910/Canada/story/.

[20] Samer Elatrash, “Netanyahu Not Welcome at Concordia,” The Link, 3 September 2002,  http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=02/09/02/1642255.

[21] Jaggi Singh, “Riot Police Attack Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators at Concordia University-Netanyahu Speech Cancelled,” 9 September 2002, www.columbia.edu/cu/cssn/cssn-list/2002/09/00039.htmlf.

[22] David Abner and James Grohsgal, “Violence Silences Netanyahu,” McGill Tribune, 10 September 2002, http://mcgilltribune.com/media.paper234/news/2002/09/10/News/Violence.Silences.Netanyahu.

[23] Sara Aronheim, “9/11/2002: Concordia Riot Eyewitness Account,” 11 September 2002,  www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=4076.

[24] Mike Cohen, “Concordia Cancels Netanyahu Speech amid Violence,” 12 September 2002, http://www.bnaibrith.ca/%20&%20tribune/jt-020912-06.html.

[25]An inability to pinpoint the number of demonstrators emerges in two separate accounts by prominent activist Jaggi Singh, who contradicts himself in statements about the crowd. “At least two thousand…” Singh wrote in “Riot Police Attack.” Just four days later, 13 September 2002, he stated: “I was one of more than 1,000 people who gathered to protest…” in his article “Day of Broken Glass” in the Globe and Mail, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstorty/TGAM/20020913/COSI. Disagreement about the precise number of rioters emerges in all media regarding the incident.

[26] Abner and Grohsgal, “Violence Silences Netanyahu.”

[27] Steve Faguy, “Netanyahu Speech Cancelled: Hall Building Evacuated as Police Pepper-Spray Protesters,” The Link, 9 September 2002, http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=02/09/09/1740218.

[28] Jon Elmer, “A Riot Is the Language of the Unheard: Netanyahu Talk Shut Down at Concordia,” Dalhousie Gazette, 11 September 2002, www.fromoccupiedpalestine.org/node.php?id=9; “Timeline of Key Events,” CBC Roughcuts: Discordia, www.cbc.ca/roughcuts/discordia/timeline_printer.html.

[29] www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/decisions/2004/040511.htm.

[30] Lee Parsons and Keith Jones, “Canada: Right-Wing Furor over Student Protest against Netanyahu,” 25 September 2002, www.wsws.org/articles/2002/sep2002/neta-s25.shtml.

[31] “Bias on Montreal’s Concordia University Campus,” 15 December 2002. www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=22&x_article=381

[32] Ibid.

[33] Foreign Enlistment Act (CHAPTER F-28), http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/F-28/61434.html.

[34] Sara Russo, “Concordia U. Suspends Campus Hillel for Israeli Defense Flyer,” Accuracy in Academia, 1 January 2003, www.academia.org/campus_reports/2003/january_2003_1.html.

[35] Bram Eisenthal, “Hillel Muffled at Montreal School,” JTA, 5 December 2002, www.juf.org/news_public_affairs/article.asp?key=3744.

[36] Lou Marano, “Jewish Group Fights Suspension in Montreal,” UPI, 8 December 2002, www.upi.com/inc/view.php?StoryID=20021207-111920-2126r.

[37] Ibid.

[38] Sara Russo, “Concordia U.Suspends Campus Hillel for Israeli Defense Flyer”. http://www.academia.org/campus_reports/2003/january_2003_1.html

[39] Bram Eisenthal, “Pro-Arab Body at Montreal School Shuts Campus Hillel over Israel Flier,” JTA, 5 December 2002, www.tampabayprimer.org/index.cfm?action=articles&drill=viewArt&art=0.

[40] Fariha Naqvi, “Hillel Back in Spotlight,” The Link, 7 January 2003,

http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=03/01/07/0825247.

[41] Sara Russo, “Concordia U. Suspends Campus Hillel for Israeli Defense Flyer”. www.academia.org/campus_reports/2003/january_2003_1.html

[42] “Light the Seventh Candle for Concordia Hillel,” 5 December 2002, www.hillel.org/Hillel/NewHille.nsf/B187DF656681F7E5852568E004A382C.

[43] “Concordia Hillel Celebrates, Protest on Campus,” www.hillel.org/Hillel/NewHille.nsf/FCB8259CA861AE57852567D30043BA26/B88B7D8A27078CE285256C8B0073F45E?OpenDocument.

[44] “Confrontation @ Concordia” (2003), Produced and Directed by Martin Himel

[45] Dan Aviad, “Pleased by Hillel’s Pluralism,” The Link, 3 February 2004, http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=04/02/03/0436242.

[46] J. Marmor, “Thanks for Hillel/Queer Union Event,” The Link, 2 December 2003, http://thelink.concordia.ca/article.pl?sid=03/12/02/0215217.

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Corinne Berzon is originally from Montreal, where she completed an undergraduate honors degree at Concordia University in political science and liberal arts. She moved to Israel in 2003 and is completing a master’s degree in political philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2005 she was an intern at the JCPA.