A delegation of more than 30 university students travelled to Ottawa on Sept. 24 to urge the government to improve campus security for Jews, days after an Ontario synagogue was attacked.<\/p>\n
Delegates met MPs and other elected officials to ask that they protect students\u2019 rights to learn, and identify as Jews. Kate Blumberg, a third-year McMaster University student, and Livia Mamane, who\u2019s in her first year of law school at the Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al, represented the delegation during a press conference<\/a> at Ottawa\u2019s National Press Theatre.<\/p>\n Blumberg and Mamane were joined by Liberal MP Anthony Housefather (Mount Royal), Conservative MP Adam Chambers (Simcoe North), Hillel Ontario CEO Jay Solomon, and Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) CEO Noah Shack.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, we live in a time when being recognizably Jewish on campus, whether by your name, the necklace you wear, or the kippah that adorns your head, comes with repercussions,\u201d Blumberg said in the press conference. \u201cThis is because being Jewish itself has become political.\u201d<\/p>\n When she served as the only Jewish member of the Student Representative Assembly, which governs McMaster\u2019s student union, Blumberg heard many stories of Jewish students feeling singled out, excluded or unwelcome on campus.<\/p>\n Blumberg said some students have begun avoiding certain classes or professors because political discussions consistently take place even when they\u2019re irrelevant to the course. She said schools shouldn\u2019t police people\u2019s opinions, but they must enforce their standards and make sure everyone is included.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there is no consistency with that, there is no action, and I\u2019ve had many meetings at different levels of administration where there\u2019s kind of a sentiment of \u2018My hands are tied because it\u2019s not a Belleville incident,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The press conference came days after a Sept. 20 shooting in Belleville, Ont., that critically injured a police officer standing security outside the Sons of Jacob synagogue. The suspect died in hospital Sept. 21.<\/p>\n Mamane said university and college campuses are no longer safe for her and her colleagues, and that her freedom to learn is under threat. She said friends have witnessed Hitler salutes or had disputes with administrators, including some that required the students to seek legal help. Her life on campus is \u201cinundated with discomfort and fear\u201d around her Jewish identity.<\/p>\n University administrators should be more involved in monitoring campus activities, such as how student clubs or organizations operate, to make sure they follow codes of conduct and should hold back funds from groups that exclude Jewish students or other minorities, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey should ensure that Jewish clubs aren\u2019t being antagonized,\u201d Mamane added.<\/p>\n She told The CJN after the press conference that protecting students is about more than reacting to violent or hateful incidents.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about preventing them,\u201d Mamane said. \u201cThis can come from educational programs ensuring that every single student on campus knows that, for instance, a Hitler salute should not be something that is welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n Shack said the students\u2019 stories represent what Jews and Jewish students are experiencing across Canada.<\/p>\n