For years, we at McGill have tolerated outrages that reflect poorly on our institution — and us — cowering behind our respect for academic freedom and student autonomy. As long as Israel-bashers yell “occupation,” many academics have allowed this legitimate political criticism to mask anti-Semitism. And when certain leaders of the SSMU — the Students’ Society of McGill University — have harassed pro-Israel students, we’ve insisted, “it’s not us, it’s the students.” Meanwhile, every year more students suffer — and our university is besmirched when student leaders in official positions show contempt for anyone who deviates from the politically correct Israel-bashing line.
So when Jordyn Wright, a McGill undergraduate, found herself the latest target of today’s socially acceptable campus witch-hunt — targeting pro-Israel Jews — it seemed as if it would be one more episode in a sad history.
Fortunately, this time, many McGillians said: “Enough.”
Last week, Wright reported that after she enrolled in a free Hillel Montreal Israel trip, Face-to-Face, the SSMU Legislative Council passed a motion claiming this “conflict of interest” required her “resignation” from student government. What “interest” was involved? Certainly nothing connected to the student governance issues that justify the “M” in SSMU, meaning the reason why student tuition dollars fund the organization and SSMU may use McGill’s name.
Beyond the “thinly veiled and blatant anti-Semitism” Wright says she experienced, watch what’s happening to McGill’s brand. “I was warned about getting involved in student leadership at McGill,” she writes. “The toxic environment, countless scandals, prohibitive anti-Israel sentiment, and anti-Semitism have led to a tainted image of an unfriendly campus for Jews.”
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