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Toronto (August 10, 2022) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is calling on McGill and Concordia universities to disassociate themselves completely from student groups that are involved in an upcoming rally that glorifies Palestinian "martyrs," including leaders and militants of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which is a listed terror group under Canadian law, who have planned and been involved in attacks against Israelis. The student clubs Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill (SPHR McGill) and Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Concordia (SPHR Concordia) are both sponsors of a rally scheduled for this evening titled “Glory to Our Martyrs.”

Yesterday, SPHR McGill was promoting the rally on Facebook, calling on the Montreal community to “march against Zionist aggression and honour our martyrs.” By all accounts, the "over 44 Palestinians" that the post states were killed includes a significant number of PIJ members, including senior leaders.

In letters to McGill Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier and Concordia President and Vice-Chancellor Graham Carr, FSWC Director of Policy Jaime Kirzner-Roberts stated, “We have seen SPHR clubs hint at support for terrorism against Israel in the past, but never in such a blatant and frightening fashion. How is a Jewish student supposed to feel safe on campus when a student group is celebrating terrorists who have murdered Jews?”

Kirzner-Roberts asked for both administrations to take prompt action “to strip SPHR of its club status and right to use the university name in order to protect the safety of Jewish members of the community and to send a message, loud and clear, that hateful and threatening speech and the glorification of violence are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated on campus.”

The Students for Justice in Palestine Carlton (SJP Carleton) is also sponsoring an anti-Israel protest taking place this evening in Ottawa alongside the Palestinian Youth Movement and Samidoun, a group that has ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is recognized by the Canadian government as a terrorist organization. Meanwhile, the University of Windsor Palestinian Solidarity Group has also promoted its protest "to honour our martyrs," taking place tomorrow evening. FSWC has written to both Carleton University and University of Windsor's president and vice-chancellors to also call on the universities to disassociate from the student groups.

Similar rallies are planned for today in Toronto and Vancouver.