Israel on Campus: Defending Our Universities
CIJR’S August 23 Conference a Great Success
International Scholars, 200 Attendees
Discuss Battle Against
Delegitimation of Jewish State

The Aug. 23, 2009 Israel on Campus: Defending Our Universities Conference, in conjunction with the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research’s Twenty-First Anniversary Gala evening dinner, successfully brought together internationally renowned academics, student leaders, journalists and media representatives, prominent members of Montreal’s business and Jewish communities, organization heads, and other members of the community-at-large.

Nearly 200 hundred Conference attendees crammed the available room, forcing organizers to close registration early and turn people away at the door. The proceedings were opened by Dr. Judith Woodsworth, president of Concordia University. Dr. Woodsworth’s message was one of balance: “Concordia has a profound responsibility to encourage debate, but also to set the parameters around this debate, [and to] ensure that all its members can work and study in a safe and civil environment.”
The morning panel, entitled “Israel on Campus: Analysing the Problem”, was devoted to understanding the growing problem of antisemitism masquerading as anti-Zionism on our university campuses. Chaired by Dr. Ira Robinson (Concordia U.), the panel included Lawrence Muscant (The David Project), Dr. Charles Small (Yale U.) and Dr. Robert Wistrich (Hebrew U.).
“If there is anything that we should have learned from [Jewish] history,” Dr. Wistrich said, “it is that if, as is the case on campus, you are subjected to harassment or intimidation, you have to speak out, and strongly…. It is intolerable that a society that considers itself liberal, tolerant and democratic, should permit such harassment and intimidation.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Associate Dean, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, delivered the luncheon address in a panel chaired by Dr. Julien Bauer (UQAM). Rabbi Cooper spoke about the importance of Jewish outreach to the international world.
The afternoon panel, chaired by Dr. Michael Kotzin, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, examined strategies and goals for combating antisemitism on campus. The panel consisted of Dr. Alvin Rosenfeld (Indiana U.), Dr. Edward Beck (Scholars for Peace in the Middle East), and Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs). “We need out-of-the-box solutions with low investment and high return,” said Dr. Gerstenfeld, “there should never be an antisemitic free lunch.”

“The need for the conference—to address growing campus antisemitism and anti-Israelism—speaks for itself,” said CIJR Director Dr. Frederick Krantz, explaining why so many organizations were on board as co-sponsors. The Asper Foundation, The Dym Family Foundation, The Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation, Middle East Forum, Federation CJA, The David Project, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, and The Yale Initiative for the Study of Antisemitism were institutional co-sponsors.

The Gala Dinner’s keynote address, given by renowned human-rights advocate MP Irwin Cotler, concerned how students can take back the campus in the face of recent Iranian incitements to genocide. There was also a moving violin performance by the internationally-acclaimed Dame Ida Haendel, in memory of late Clara Balinsky, a founding member of CIJR’s Board of Directors.

For more information about the conference or to become involved in our efforts to battle antisemitism on university campuses, please contact Joshua Peters, CIJR Assistant Director, by phone at 514-486-5544 or via e-mail at cijr@isranet.org.

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