A $77 million class-action lawsuit on behalf of Jewish students who faced antisemitism on campus has been filed against McMaster University and the McMaster Students Union.
According to the National Post, the plaintiffs include all Jewish students currently enrolled at McMaster, as well as graduates from the past two years.
The suit claims Jewish students “have faced increased difficulties due to a rise in antisemitic rhetoric on campus” since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
The law firm Diamond and Diamond specifically cited a pro-Israel vigil which “had to be moved to a secret location for safety reasons,” and a teaching assistant who “allegedly supported the public display of a swastika” at Canada’s Parliament.
It also cited McMaster’s Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities (“behavior that encourages hatred, violence, discrimination or interferes with the educational atmosphere”) and the Canadian Criminal Code which criminalizes “public incitement of hatred, the deliberate promotion of hatred, and the intentional promotion of antisemitism.”
The McMaster Students Union is included in the suit due to its support of the BDS — boycott, divestment, and sanctions — movement.
MORE: Fired DEI administrator: DEI ideology fosters campus antisemitism
The lawsuit is in partnership with The Lawfare Project (LP), an organization dedicated to protecting the civil and human rights of Jewish people through legal action.
LP announced the partnership late last month, stating a goal to collaborate on high-impact cases, leverage their networks to mobilize resources and provide comprehensive legal guidance to “ensure that justice is served for the Jewish community in Canada.”
“Unfortunately, the hatred toward the Jewish community, which dramatically increased after Oct. 7, continues to be prevalent on college and university campuses, including McMaster,” said Brooke Goldstein, founder and executive director of LP. “This lawsuit seeks to establish and enforce effective, and enduring measures to guarantee a safe, supportive and tolerant educational setting for all students, irrespective of their race, religion, or ethnicity.”
Diamond and Diamond lawyers filed a similar suit against York University in October, and are considering actions against other schools.
In the U.S., several Jewish New York University students sued the school after October 7 over its “indifference” to antisemitism on campus.
Even before the Hamas assault against Israel, five Jewish professors sued “one of CUNY’s darkest hotbeds of antisemitism” for “pervasive anti-religious discrimination.”
MORE: Jewish student sues Rutgers alleging antisemitic harassment
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