Toronto (February 17, 2022) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) once again condemns the approval of an antisemitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) motion by a University of Toronto student union, this time at the St. George campus.

Last night, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) passed a discriminatory motion to “wholly divest funds and further on forbid investment to firms complicit in the occupation of Palestinian Territory.”

This comes less than three months after the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) passed a motion declaring it will refuse to engage with pro-Israel groups or services, including requiring on-campus kosher food to come from organizations that do not support Israel.

Despite a statement at the time from U of T President Meric Gertler condemning the SCSU motion, resulting in the removal of restrictions on kosher food providers from the motion, and the tabling of a tepid, at best, report from the U of T Antisemitism Working Group, there has been little sign of progress in the fight against antisemitism on campus.

“There must be decisive action and a commitment from the University of Toronto administration to address the antisemitism that’s being perpetrated on its campuses, as time and time again, we see student unions and groups contributing to growing division and hate toward Jewish faculty and students who support Israel,” said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, FSWC Director of Policy. “Last night's vote is testament to the disappointing reality that antisemitism is alive and well at U of T, which needs the full attention of President Gertler and the administration.”