Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is concerned over the Ontario Superior Court of Justice Divisional Court’s recent ruling against Ontario’s Student Choice Initiative, a program that allowed students to opt out of student fees that go toward supporting student groups and services.

The Ontario court ruled that universities are “private, autonomous, self-governing institutions” and that “Ontario has had a legislated policy of non-interference in university affairs.”

“By not giving university students the option to opt out of fees funding certain groups and services, Jewish students are forced to fund the same groups that have been involved in anti-Israel, antisemitic activities that have targeted Jewish students and created a very unwelcoming environment – just like we have recently seen at York University and the University of Toronto,” said FSWC president and CEO Avi Benlolo. “Students should have the right to opt out of funding services and groups that they do not feel comfortable supporting.”