October 12, 2022 – Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) published an explosive 100 page report today, detailing the widespread suppression of speech on Palestine in Canada. IJV spent the last year gathering research about the repression faced by academics, students and Palestine solidarity activists, collecting approximately 80 testimonies describing the resulting “chilling effect”. This report – Unveiling the Chilly Climate: The Suppression of Speech on Palestine in Canada – is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, utilizing rigorous research to describe both the overarching effects of this repression as well as the deeply personal impact it has on activists, artists, students and professors. While focused on Canada, it also holds international ramifications as many of the dynamics described in the report are present in other countries.
Since 2019, IJV has been leading a highly successful No IHRA campaign against the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, which has been used in multiple countries to silence or censor legitimate critique of Israel. While proponents of IHRA argue that this definition will not threaten freedom of expression or inhibit criticism of Israeli policies, the findings of this report–along with troubling recent developments within the federal government–suggest otherwise.
“Just last week, Canadian Minister of Diversity and Inclusion, Ahmed Hussen, suggested that civil society grantees of the Department of Canadian Heritage may soon be required to sign an attestation that will commit them to Canada’s ‘anti-racism framework’, which includes the IHRA definition,” noted Corey Balsam, IJV’s National Coordinator. “If this measure is to be put into place, it would signal the most significant application of the IHRA definition in Canada to date and constitute an egregious assault on Palestian, Arab and Muslim community groups, not to mention others who seek funding for genuine antiracism work.”
The IHRA definition has been effectively weaponized by pro-Israel groups to clamp down on speech on Palestine, but it is not the only tool to enforce this “chilly climate”. As this report has found, threats to funding, employment, and even threats to people’s physical integrity have been used to shut Palestinians and their allies up.
“Recently, we witnessed the shocking Azarova hiring scandal at the University of Toronto, where a pro-Israel donor and sitting tax judge used his influence to block the hiring of Dr. Valentina Azarova because of her research on Palestinian human rights,” said Dr. Sheryl Nestel, one of the report’s authors. “But as we found out in the course of researching and writing this report, the Azarova affair was only the tip of the iceberg. If we’re going to end the silencing of Palestinian voices and those of their allies, we need to first shed light on the problem. And that’s exactly what we’re hoping to do with this report, so that it may be a powerful tool in the quest for justice and truth in the years to come.”
The report will be launched with an online panel discussion at 12pm ET today. Nestel and Rowan Gaudet (the report authors) will present their work, and then invite reflections from professor Saree Makdisi of UCLA, German-Palestinian scholar Anna-Esther Younes and former Amnesty Canada Secretary General Alex Neve. All are welcome to attend.
Media contact
Aaron Lakoff, IJV Communications & Media Lead | +1 514 317 6288 | [email protected]
