Toronto(October 24, 2017) -Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is shocked to learn that a Jewishmember on the Board of Directors of the Students' Society of McGill University(SSMU) was banned from his duties due to his involvement in the Jewish community.

Thedecision was made at last night’s Fall General Assembly. According to those whoattended the meeting, students voted against having the Jewish member sit onthe board, as well as two other board members seen as being supportive ofIsrael and the Jewish community.

“It issurprising that after seeing such a positive step forward on the McGill campuswith a vote against the anti-Israel, antisemitic BDS movement, the studentunion is now taking a step backward with this blatantly antisemitic decision,”said FSWC President and CEO Avi Benlolo. “This vote sends a message that Jewishstudents are not welcome as members of the board at McGill, a type of exclusionthat has no place at universities that claim to support inclusiveness.”

Thestudents’ votes supported a campaign launched by a group that called for theremoval of board members who support the anti-BDS initiative at McGill,reportedly calling it a Jewish “conflict of interest.” This campaign waslaunched after, in September, the Board of Directors ratified a ruling by theJudicial Board rejecting the anti-IsraelBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement on campus, stating that it isunconstitutional. 

To arrange an interview with AviBenlolo, please contact:

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

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Follow us on Twitter at @CanadianFSWC for latest news and organization updates.

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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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