September 23, Toronto – A coalition of community and civil society organizations, faith leaders, and concerned citizens calls on University of Toronto President Melanie Woodin to:
- Apologize publicly for the Islamophobic and antisemitic rhetoric platformed at the September 15 conference, “A Canary’s Song: Antisemitism in Our ‘Free and Democratic Society.’”
- Explain why she opened the conference and what institutional standards were applied to its programming.
- Disclose UofT’s role and support for the event, including administrative and facilities support.
- Meet directly with impacted students and members of affected communities to hear their concerns about the conference, the rhetoric it platformed, and the university’s role in providing it with institutional legitimacy.
President Woodin opened the conference by saying, “As the president of the University of Toronto, it’s our honor to be hosting this important conference.” She also spoke about academic freedom, freedom of speech, UofT’s partnerships with Israeli institutions, and opposition to academic boycotts. That institutional endorsement matters.
What was said on UofT’s stage
The conference presented itself as an examination of antisemitism, anti-Zionism and threats to liberal democracy. Speakers and participants, however, made statements that raised serious concerns about the collective targeting of Muslims and anti-Zionist Jews:
- Raheel Raza, introduced as a “bridge-builder between communities,” told the audience: “Muslims are the problem but Muslims are also the solution.” She received a standing ovation.
- Michael Teper, President of the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, effectively insinuates traditionally anti-Zionist Haredi Jewish families who “are either indifferent or hostile to the state of Israel” are producing children exponentially “at a rate of 6 or 7 per family,” stating “They are demographically apparently the future of the Jewish community in North America in the next 80 to 100 years.”
In the closing discussion, an audience member raised what they called the “infiltration by Islamic extremism” into government, education and social media.
- Naya Lekht responded that there was an “infiltration of Islamic extremism” and said that institutions of prestige had been “captured.”
- Casey Babb described identifying what he called “threat actors” within Canadian society as “among the most important things that we can do,” warning that if people do not speak out, future generations may not have the country they once envisioned. In the context of the discussion, this was part of a broader warning about Islamic extremism and alleged infiltration of Canadian institutions, including government, education and social media.
- Adam Louis-Klein argued that anti-Zionism should be placed “at the center of attention,” describing it as the broader framework connecting Islamist, Western, Soviet and Arab nationalist movements.
And this framing was not incidental. Conference convenor Peter Biro argued in his opening keynote that anti-Zionism “constitutes a form of incitement and willful promotion of hatred,” and described it as action rather than merely words.
The issue is institutional responsibility
The question is not whether universities should permit difficult or controversial ideas to be discussed. They should. The question is why the University of Toronto chose to give this particular discourse its institutional platform, and why its president opened the proceedings.
A university cannot claim to defend academic freedom while allowing its institutional authority to be seen as endorsing hateful and harmful Islamophobic and antisemitic narratives. UofT has a responsibility not only to protect academic freedom, but to ensure that the authority of the university is not used to legitimize hatred, dehumanization or collective suspicion.
UofT put its name on the door. Its president opened the proceedings. Now the university must answer for what happened inside.
We call on President Woodin and the University of Toronto to meet the four demands above.
Endorsed by:
Organizational Signatories:
- Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council
- Jews Say No to Genocide Coalition
- Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction
- Jewish Faculty Network – National Steering Committee
- Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA)
- Legal Centre for Palestine
- Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV)
- Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
- Jewish Faculty Network, University of Toronto branch
- Muslim Students’ Association at the University of Toronto St. George
- Muslim Students’ Association at the University of Toronto Mississauga
- Muslim Students’ Association at the University of Toronto Scarborough
- University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union
- Eglinton Lawrence Don Valley for Palestine
- Palestinian and Jewish Unity
- The Canadian BDS Coalition and International BDS Allies
- Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste
- Independent Jewish Voices – Toronto-York Region
- World BEYOND War
- IfNotNow Toronto
- Davenport for Palestine
- Toronto Palestinian Families
- Health Workers Alliance for Palestine
- East End Acts
- CUPE 3902 BDS Caucus
- UTGSU BDS Caucus
- Toronto Centre for Palestine
- The BC Muslim Association (BCMA)
- Justice For All Canada
- Jews for Tikkun Olam
- Rising Tide Toronto
- Educators for Palestine, GTA
- Occupy UofT
- ISNA Canada
- University-Rosedale for Palestine
- Tkaronto Students in Solidarity with Palestine
- Downtown Muslim Professional Network
- Toronto Jewish Families
- Jamat-E- Islahul Muslemin of Mississauga
- United Jewish People’s Order Canada
Individual Signatories
- Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s former Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia
- Rabbi David Mivasair, Independent Jewish Voices, Hamilton
- Rev. Dr. Paul Shepherd, Minister with the United Church of Canada
- Bruce Katz, Co-President, PAJU
- Sheryl Nestel, Affiliated Scholar, New College, University of Toronto
- Dr. Zoë Wool, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto
- Daniel Rosenbaum, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
- Dr. Eli Jany, PhD, Yiddish Studies, University of Toronto, 2026
- Priyansh, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education, University of Toronto
- Dr Mary Rambaran-Olm, Activist/Public Historian, former UofT Provost Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2020-2022
- Chuka Ejeckam, PhD Student, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto
- Jody Berland, Professor Emerita, York University,Independent Jewish Voices, Toronto
- Nathan Kalman-Lamb, Associate Professor, UNB, U of T Class of 2006
- Dr. Matthew A. Sears, Professor, Department of Historical Studies, University of New Brunswick
- Dr Richard Douglass-Chin, University of Windsor
- Derek Silva, Professor, King’s University College
- Daniel Sailofsky, Assistant Professor, York University
- Dr. El Jones, Associate Professor, Department of Politics, Economics, and Canadian Studies, Mount Saint Vincent University.
- Dr. Val Marie Johnson, Co-Chair & Associate Professor, Social Justice & Community Studies, Saint Mary’s University; U. of T. BA & MA Alumna
- Maher El-Masri, Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University
- Dr. Osman Tarabain, MD, BSc, FRCPC, FACP, Adjunct professor, Schulich School of Medicine – University of Western Ontario
- Dr. Shama Rangwala, Associate Professor, Humanities, York University
- Dr. Tammara Soma, Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University (UofT Class of 2010, 2018)
- Dr. Rabab Ward, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia
- Dr. Adel Guitouni, Professor, University of Victoria
- Dr. Gordon Doctorow, EdD, graduate of University of Toronto
- Larry Haiven, professor emeritus, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, founding member Independent Jewish Voices Canada
- Sid Shniad, founding member, Independent Jewish Voices Canada
- Sue Goldstein, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network – Canada
- Munir El-Kadi (MSc Physics, MSc IS, MBA), Independent Jewish Voices supporting member, and Labor for Palestine, Vancouver, SFU Staff
- Joanne Naiman, Independent Jewish Voices Vancouver
- Neil Naiman, Independent Jewish Voices, Vancouver
- Henroy Bailey, Retired ETFO Educator
- Elizabeth Block, member of Independent Jewish Voices
- James Deutsch MD PhD FRCPC, Faculty of Medicine (retired)
- Eiman Elnoshokaty, Librarian, Simon Fraser University
- Cheryl Gaster, LL.B., C. Med, Member IJV
- Shirarose Wilensky, Independent Jewish Voices Vancouver
- Omar Yaqub, ICD.D DSL MBA BSc, IslamicFamily
