Achi news desk-
Bnei Brit is declaring victory after a Quebec judge granted a temporary injunction preventing a student union at McGill University from adopting what the Jewish advocacy group calls “anti-Israel policies.”
The Supreme Court ruling follows another ruling last November that stopped the McGill University Students’ Union (SSMU) from implementing the results of a referendum held last fall.
The policy was proposed weeks after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israeli settlements. It included multiple demands, including “immediately and publicly condemning the bombing campaigns and blockade of the genocide in Gaza”, severing ties with “partner” corporations, institutions and individuals, and “committing to a strong and consistent position in solidarity with Palestinian students, as well as with the Palestinian struggle against genocide and settler-colonial apartheid”.
Bnei Brit argued that this was discriminatory and against the constitution and bylaws of the student union itself, and the court agreed.
“While the court recognizes that there will continue to be division and alienation of students regardless of the policy’s fate, these problems will be exacerbated by the call to action that the ratification and implementation of the policy will cause, one that involves a cascading series of controversial demands.” Written by Supreme Court Judge Shawn A. Finn in his judgment given on Wednesday.
SSMU’s policy, the judge added, “will strike at the heart of student life by degrading certain students based on their national, ethnic or religious background.”
The wording of the policy stated that it would remain in effect until May 1, 2028, which the judge saw as problematic because “there seems to be no internal mechanism to cancel the policy for about four years, making it impossible to end a continuous violation of human dignity. Throughout the interim period.”
The ruling allows for a trial on the merits of the matter. Until this process is completed, the policy cannot be ratified.
The SSMU did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Hank Topas, director of the Quebec region of Bnei Brit Canada, welcomed the court’s decision and said the proposed policy demonizes Jewish students.
“We feel that the courts, thank God, did their job. We believe that there was a fair hearing of the facts in a well-reasoned verdict – a 38-page verdict. The judge went back and forth on many of the points involved in this decision,” Topas said in an interview with CTV News on Wednesday.
The judge also ruled that the identity of the McGill student who filed the restraining order would also remain protected.
