TORONTO(March 27, 2018) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is cautiously pleasedto learn that the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) recentlyadopted a working definition of antisemitism.

On March15, the SSMU Legislative Council approved a motion featuring a series ofrecommendations put forward by the SSMU’s Special Committee onAntisemitism. One of therecommendations called for the adoption of the European Union (EU) FundamentalRights Agency’s (FRA) working definition of antisemitism.

“After ashocking series of events that took place on campus last year, resulting in aJewish student being removed from his position on the Board of Directors due tohis affiliation with Jewish and pro-Israel groups, it’s pleasing to see theuniversity’s student union taking positive strides towards creating a morepositive campus environment for Jewish students,” said FSWC President and CEO AviBenlolo. “The definition the SSMU has adopted will help students have a clearerunderstanding of what is and is not antisemitic – particularly when it comes tocriticism of the state of Israel, a common occurrence on campuses duringIsraeli Apartheid Week and anti-Israel BDS campaigns.”  

Last week,FSWC sent letters to the presidents of numerous universities across Canada –including McGill – urging the adoption of the working definition ofantisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) ofwhich Canada is a member state.

Otherrecommendations in the approved motion include a mandatory session onantisemitism during training for new SSMU executives and that the VP UniversityAffairs be mandated to implement recommendations such as hiring a specialresearcher to research campus antisemitism and organizing open workshops toeducate McGill students on issues relevant to antisemitism.

Media Contact:

Avital Borisovsky
Communications Associate  
416.864.9735 x 29  
aborisovsky@fswc.ca

Follow us on Twitter at @CanadianFSWC 

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is a top Jewish human rights foundation in Canada's organized Jewish community. It directly impacts over 100,000 people each year and 500,000+ peripherally. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and educational programs including workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Tolerance and the widely acclaimed Tour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca. 

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