Achi news desk-
Months after a tumultuous meeting on the campus of Mount Royal University, which ended with a criminal charge against a protester, a professor is calling out the institution for not doing more to provide a safe environment for Jewish faculty and students.
Kelly Sundberg, who holds an adjunct faculty position with MRU, is a professor of criminology with more than 20 years at the school and a member of Calgary’s Jewish community.
He says a number of students approached him in December, just a few months after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
“Because of social media, the enthusiasm and the hate, and the misinformation and the ignorance about the conflict between Israel and Hamas, a group of students went looking for Jewish teachers,” Sundberg told CTV News.
“They were looking to ‘educate’ Jewish teachers about what they called the genocide in Gaza, whether we wanted to hear it or not.”
Sundberg says one of the students suggested, “Anyone who supports the State of Israel is killing a baby.”
According to Sundberg, the incident was recorded by students looking to provoke a response.
Police confirm that a woman has been charged with causing a disturbance at the incident on December 1, 2023.
CTV News has reached out to the person being charged for an interview.
“The university administration has done nothing. Apart from telling the students not to do it again, there has been no result, so far,” said Sundberg.
“There was no follow-up with the faculty, other than saying they were going to do some security measures, but they were never actually implemented.
“To tell the truth, the university has done an abysmal job. They have been putting their head in the sand.
“I blame the university president and the university’s senior executive for allowing anti-Semitism and Jew hatred to fester and grow on campus.”
MRU currently has about a dozen Jewish professors and about 50 students of Jewish heritage.
Sundberg says he is extremely frustrated by the lack of mention of anti-Semitism in his mandatory training on equity, diversity and inclusion for university faculty.
“Efforts to tackle anti-Semitism have repeatedly fallen on deaf ears and now we have Jewish faculty who are afraid to go on campus and we have Jewish students who are afraid of attending campus,” said Sundberg.
“Instead, the university has decided that their course of action over the last few years is to say nothing and distance themselves because they are afraid of controversy.”
Sundberg says he fears no consequence for speaking out against his employer.
“I will not be silent. If the university or others feel that it is inappropriate for teachers to stand up to hate, I am more than ready to stand up and have a discussion or debate with them,” he said.
“We must go back to a humanistic perspective and respect people for who they are, but also strike the balance when it comes to hate speech.”
MRU investigates anti-Semitic claims
In a statement to CTV News, MRU says it is aware of an incident that occurred on December 1 and has cooperated with the police.
MRU says it has had no reports of similar anti-Semitic behavior on campus since then.
“Campus security services are actively monitoring the environment in an effort to keep our campus safe and welcoming for all,” the statement read.
“As outlined in our policies, MRU does not tolerate discrimination, racism, harassment, hate speech, violence or threatening speech.”
Rabbi calls on universities to denounce hate
Rabbi Mark Glickman of Calgary Temple B’nai Tikvah says many members of the Jewish community are experiencing a great deal of hateful rhetoric and many university campuses across the country are not doing enough to acknowledge the harm.
“Certainly people have the right to peaceful protests, which is deeply rooted in our culture, but if that’s all there is then we’re not really communicating,” he said.
“If all you’re doing is repeating the same pithy phrase over and over again, you’re not doing anything to allow me to encounter you as a human being and to allow me to understand your experience.”
Instead, Glickman says the key is for universities to address all forms of hate head-on and stand with students and faculty members who are hatefully targeted.
