This is one sick story. A prof made the following statement: “‘All Jews should be sterilized’ would be an example of an unacceptable and dangerous opinion”. One student jumped on the line from professor Cameron Johnston, who is Jewish, telegraphing the quote but not the qualifier to Jewish organizations. Needless to say, all hell has broken loose.
Johnston was giving his introductory lecture to Social Sciences 1140: “Self, Culture and Society,” when he explained to the nearly 500 students that the course was going to focus on texts, not opinions, and despite what they may have heard elsewhere, everyone is not entitled to their opinion.
“All Jews should be sterilized” would be an example of an unacceptable and dangerous opinion, Johnston told the students.
He didn’t notice Sarah Grunfeld storm out. Grunfeld, a 22-year-old in her final year at York, understood Johnston’s example to be his personal opinion.
She contacted Oriyah Barzilay, the president of Hasbara at York — an Israel advocacy group on campus — who then sent a press release to media and other Jewish community groups calling for Johnston to be fired.
Blogs and Facebook groups picked it up, and in a few hours the allegations spread within the city’s Jewish community, albeit mostly online.
Sensitivities around anti-Semitism are particularly heightened at York, which has a large Jewish population and a history of toxic relations between supporters and critics of Israel on campus.
This whole Stephen Harper ‘any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism’ is spreading into a Gestapoish ‘any word of Israel, regardless of its context’, is now tantamount to anti-Semitism. This is not freedom. This is not intelligence. It is fascism. It is Eugene McCarthy laughing in his grave.
Oh, and as for that student. Think she’s chagrined, embarrassed or offering any apology? Hell no.
“The words, ‘Jews should be sterilized’ still came out of his mouth, so regardless of the context I still think that’s pretty serious.”
‘Liberal universities’ my ass.
