Nati Pressmann, ArtSci ’25, believes Canadian universities are allowing their codes of conduct to sit idle while Jewish students face escalating hate on campus.
On May 8, Pressmann spoke at a press conference on Parliament Hill to draw attention to the rise in antisemitic incidences on university campuses and announce the formation of The Canadian Union of Jewish Students (CUJS).
READ MORE: Antisemitic incidents occur on and off Queen’s campus
Convening in Ottawa, representatives from the CUJS discussed current issues facing Jewish students attending Canadian universities. They were accompanied by Liberal and Conservative MPs from across the nation.
The CUJS will represent the interests of Jewish students and encourage universities to implement their own codes of conduct to actively address Jewish hate, Pressmann, the founder of the union, explained.
“It’s not that universities don’t have these rules. They have them. They’re just not using them,” Pressmann said in an interview with The Journal.
CUJS has been in development for over two years. However, its formal inception was accelerated by Pressmann’s recognition after Hamas’s attack on Israel. Pressmann saw the immediate need to support Jewish students in the wake of Oct. 7, which prompted the Israeli government to impose a siege on the Gaza Strip in response.
Pro-Palestine encampments have been erected on university campuses across the country—including Queen’s—to protest university connections to Israel amid ongoing conflict.
READ MORE: Pro-Palestine protestors set up encampment on Queen’s University campus
For Pressmann, pro-Palestine protestors, including Jewish students engaged in the encampments, are entitled to their own opinions. However, the use of ‘violent’ language, like labelling Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack as ‘resistance’ or calling for an intifada, should be condemned by universities using their code of conduct, Pressmann said.
In Arabic, intifada means “shaking off” oppression and, in English, is associated with a period of violence between Israeli and Palestinian which include a series of attacks by Palestinian terrorist groups on public venues in Israel, Global News reports.
“That is the language that incites violence, and the University [Queen’s] should be seeing it as such,” Pressmann said.
Queen’s University has not reached out to Pressmann considering her advocacy on Parliament Hill. Jewish students impacted by antisemitism this year could “barley get a meeting” with the University to discuss their concerns, Pressmann said.
Yos Tarshish, director of Queen’s Hillel, says there’s a significant gap between the University’s public statements denouncing antisemitism on campus and actionable change.
Jewish students have proposed creating an antisemitism working group, providing sensitivity training focused on antisemitism to faculty, and increasing Kosher food options on campus to the University, Tarshish, who also spoke on Parliament Hill, said in a statement to The Journal.
“Students need reassurance that their well-being is a priority, and that the administration is committed to maintaining a campus where all can thrive without fear of discrimination and harassment,” Tarshish said.
Tags
Antisemitism, jewish students, Parliament Hill
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