Hi. Thank you for inviting me today and for leading a national conversation on the disturbing and troubling rise in anti-Semitism on university campuses since the barbaric terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7.

My family fled persecution in Iraq, settling in Israel, where I was born. As a teenager, I often visited my great-aunt who had moved to Canada, and I fell in love with Montreal. I arrived at Concordia to study finance two years ago and felt right at home. I became part of a global community comprising students of different backgrounds and cultures, bringing unique perspectives to our studies in a respectful and open manner. It was what learning was meant to be.

In this spirit, I became one of the founders of the StartUp Nation, with the goal of bringing Israel to our campus through business, innovation, culture and technology. Little did we know that we would soon become leaders in the fight against anti-Semitism on campus.

Let me share some milestone dates with you.

On October 8, a day after the horrible attack, SPHR Concordia posted, “Last night, the resistance in Gaza led a heroic”—heroic—“attack against the occupation and has taken over 30 hostages.”

On October 25, hundreds of students walked out of class at 1.30 p.m. and participated in an anti-Semitic sit-in in solidarity with Palestine in Concordia's main lobby while chanting “From the river to the sea,” “Intifada now,” and “Resistance is justified.” These chants are threatening and a call for the genocide of the Jewish people over and over again.

On November 8, 30 Jewish students made a Shabbat table with empty chairs on campus to raise awareness of the hostage crisis. As a result, about 300 pro-Hamas students and faculty harassed, threatened and physically accosted us while yelling, “Go back to Poland” and “Kike”, among other threats and chants. Personally, my life was threatened, as I was told, “You'd better get off campus or you will not get to see tomorrow.”

On November 23, a second anti-Semitic walkout took place. All participants were fully masked, screaming, “There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!”

On December 13, students from across Montreal came to the main building on our downtown campus, chanting anti-Semitic rants and waving offensive signs and banners with things such as “Globalize the Intifada”, which is a clear call for another October 7 or another 9/11.

On March 4, the administration cancelled our event because we were hosting three reservists on a diplomatic mission to speak about Israel's journey toward stability and peace. The event was then moved to the Jewish federation, the Federation CJA, where pro-Hamas students, such as SPHR Concordia, again came together to physically block all access to the building while again chanting anti-Semitic slogans. We were trapped in the conference centre for four hours while police were on site, trying to get us out.

On March 12, Jewish students in the Hillel club-room, which is the only Jewish club-room on campus, were harassed by masked individuals who were banging on the walls and chanting, “All Zionists are racists. All Zionists are terrorists.” Again, Jewish students were trapped and traumatized.

On April 8 and April 10, an Israeli scholar was invited by the Israel Institute to speak about the importance of Arab representation in the Israeli Knesset. In response, demonstrators physically blocked access to the classroom.

Our greatest disappointment is that the leadership of Concordia sat idly by, ducking and refusing to enforce its own policies and step in to ensure the safety and well-being of Jewish students. The leadership seems intent on muzzling us, and has certainly shown an insensitivity to our views and concerns.

Our policy on campus safety and security forbids demonstrators from hiding their faces by wearing masks, yet at all events the perpetrators were masked and yet, to date, have faced no consequences.

The administration has also not launched proceedings against the instigators of recent anti-Semitic demonstrations. We have, for example, indicated that a part-time student at Concordia since 2016 has broken our code of conduct. He is on campus and is a known agitator. The student has been caught on film threatening and attacking students and staff on campus, and has been arrested twice off campus since those incidents. His posts on social media also call for violence against Jews. He has said—

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