The Jewish Academic Alliance of BC is proud of the diligence and good faith that we and our membership devoted to months of often challenging engagement with UBC’s Office for Equity and Inclusion in the development of the anti-discrimination resources on antisemitism and Islamophobia. The recently published materials did not fully reflect our perspective, but we view these materials as part of an ongoing dialogue in the UBC community about these important topics.
We have reservations about the materials as they currently stand, which reflect points we have continued to make with UBC’s Office for Equity and Inclusion. They include especially:
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- The failure to address our concerns about anti-Zionist conduct and expression on campus that marginalizes and harms the majority of Jewish faculty, staff, and students on campus.
- While we acknowledge that Palestinians can be subject to prejudice, hate, and discrimination on the basis of their identity, we believe the term “anti-Palestinian racism” is descriptively inaccurate and unhelpful. We are concerned about the conceptual coherence of considering anti-Palestinian attitudes a form of racism, and about the deployment of the important concept of racism in a politicized and un-nuanced way that risks damaging its broader value and meaning. We are concerned in particular that the concept may be instrumentalized against people who express support for Israel.
- We also wish to make clear that these reports do not substitute for further meaningful action by the university to counter both antisemitism and Islamophobia. We appreciate Dr. al Shaibah’s willingness to engage with us, and call on President Bacon and the University administration to do more to ensure that Jewish community members are not only safe on campus, but are welcome and able to thrive.