Concordia University stands at a crisis point. Its campus has devolved into a hostile environment where antisemitism is not only present but increasingly normalized, leaving Jewish students exposed to harassment, intimidation, and exclusion. This toxic atmosphere is not new; it is the product of more than twenty years of institutional complacency, repeated appeasement, and a persistent failure to enforce fundamental standards of student safety and mutual respect. The university can no longer afford to equivocate, it must take immediate and decisive action to address its failure to prevent hate and violence, ensuring the preservation of academic integrity and the safety of all its students.
The massacre committed by Hamas on October 7th, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people, including Israeli civilians and foreign nationals, and the kidnapping of around 250 individuals into Gaza, sparked an alarming surge in campus tensions.
Rather than unequivocally condemning acts of terrorism, numerous campus groups chose to justify or ignore the brutality of October 7th. This only amplified divisions that had been lingering at Concordia, particularly around Middle Eastern politics, where the campus has seen growing polarization for over two decades.
In April 2025, masked vandals attacked Concordia’s Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies, smashing windows and spraying anti-Israel graffiti just before Passover. SPHR Concordia later expressed pride in the attack on social media, prompting outrage from Jewish community leaders.
In January 2025, the CSU voted overwhelmingly to implement BDS at Concordia, with “a total of 885 students voting in favour of the motions and 58 voting against,” further deepening the divide and placing the university in the middle of a global political dispute. Students were encouraged to “conceal their identities” during the event, and some “openly praised Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader responsible for the October 7, 2023, massacre of Israeli civilians.”
In the fall of 2024, SPHR Concordia intensified its campaign. On October 5, 2024, the group hosted a “One Year of Resistance Student Contingent” on campus. Days later, from October 7–11, 2024, they held a “Week of Rage,” invoking the anniversary of Hamas’s brutal October 7th attacks. On October 7th, 2024, anti-Israel protestors broke through police barriers and vandalized a construction site for a new education building known to be funded by “Zionists.” Protestors flooded the streets shouting “the student intifada lives on,” while SPHR and its partners framed their actions as commemorating “the historic breach of the colonial border wall and a year of Palestine’s historic resistance.”
SPHR Concordia continued to organize disruptive rallies, including the “National Day of Action” in September 2024, during which they vandalized campus property and disrupted classes. Despite repeated violations of the university’s Code of Rights and Responsibilities, Concordia’s responses were inconsistent and delayed. This further augmented the extreme antisemitism and anti-Zionism on Concordia’s campus.
Meanwhile, the CSU’s refusal to dissociate from SPHR Concordia, unlike McGill’s student union which cut ties from its SPHR chapter after similar incidents, drew criticism from Jewish organizations. Many see Concordia’s inaction as implicit endorsement of antisemitic hostility.
In June 2024, SPHR Concordia had been informed by the university that it would no longer be recognized as a student club due to its repeated violations. Yet the group continued to operate independently, organizing events, issuing statements, and maintaining a visible presence on campus.
As protests continued, Jewish and Zionist students reported increased harassment, both online and in person. The tension came to a head on November 8, 2023, during a disruption by SPHR Concordia members of a peaceful Shabbat dinner display by Hillel Montreal and StartUp Nation. Intended to raise awareness for Israeli hostages, the display was met with aggression. Video evidence captured verbal abuse, antisemitic slurs, and physical altercations directed at Jewish students and allies.
By late 2023, old hostilities reemerged, more visible and aggressive than ever. In the immediate aftermath of the October 7th attack, groups such as SPHR Concordia refused to condemn the violence, instead sharing a post expressing “solidarity with Palestinian resistance.” The Concordia Student Union issued a statement that ignored the victims of Hamas’s atrocities and instead emphasized “solidarity with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.” Many Jewish students viewed these responses as dismissive of their trauma and concerns.
The roots of this toxic atmosphere extend far beyond these tragic events, tracing back to longstanding divisions that have been allowed to fester at Concordia for over twenty years.
On September 9, 2002, current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned lecture at Concordia sparked an intense violent riot. Anti-Israel activists, accusing Netanyahu of war crimes, flooded the campus with flyers and posters calling for mass demonstrations. The protests grew violent, with demonstrators harassing attendees and clashing with police. Netanyahu’s security eventually canceled his appearance, but protests continued, resulting in property damage and arrests. In response, the university imposed a moratorium on “all issues pertaining to the Middle East.” Despite this, antisemitic acts and anti-Israel protests persisted, and “within several weeks of the moratorium being lifted, the CSU… suspended Hillel Concordia from campus.”
In November 2000, the Concordia Student Union (CSU), in partnership with The Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), organized a general assembly in support of “United Nations Resolution 242, which demands the withdrawal of Israel from Palestine.” At this time, SPHR Concordia was accused of distributing Holocaust denial material, which included allegations of Israel developing an “ethnic bomb to kill Arabs.”
As Concordia University grapples with its identity and responsibilities, it must confront the reality of its longstanding failure to address antisemitism on campus. The culture of hostility, enabled by years of inaction, has allowed for a toxic environment to flourish. While academic freedom and the right to free expression are vital values, they must not come at the cost of students’ safety or dignity.
To reclaim its identity as an institution of learning, Concordia must take decisive action. This means protecting all students, regardless of their background or religion, from hate, implementing stronger measures against antisemitism, and ensuring that campus remains a space where respectful, inclusive dialogue can thrive. The university cannot afford to let this cycle of division and hostility continue. The time for change is now.
This article was originally published in TheJ.CA.
