The claim has been made that boycotts of Israel on the left can be separated from a boycott of Jews. This case at Ryerson University shows why a boycott of Israel inevitably becomes a boycott of Jews.
All Ryerson social work grad Rebecca Katzman wanted was to do her third-year placement at one of two respected Toronto Jewish organizations with a track record of addressing social justice issues.
The 22-year-old, who will graduate with her Bachelor of Social Work degree on June 8, said her desire to be placed at either the Prosserman Jewish Community Centre (JCC) or the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) was “sparked” by a combination of actions at Ryerson — among them the anti-Semitism she experienced on campus.
However, she wasn’t prepared in the slightest for what happened with her third-year placement coordinator in the faculty of social work, Heather Bain.
After making it clear to Bain about her preferred placement, Katzman said the field coordinator advised her in an e-mail in late August of 2015 she did not follow up with the JCC or UJA because their values appeared to be “in opposition” to the values of the School of Social Work.
Bain listed those values as the advancement of anti-oppression; anti-racism; anti-colonialism and decolonization; feminism; anti-capitalism; Queer and trans liberation struggles; issues in disability and madness (cct); among others (many of which are not listed on the school’s own website.)
“My understanding is both agencies have a strong anti-Palestinian lean,” Bain continued, suggesting that if Katzman agreed to bring a “critical awareness” (of Palestinian solidarity movements) to either agency she might reconsider.
While the two agencies where Katzman wanted to be placed are known to be pro-Israel, she said their websites do not indicate any anti-Palestinian policies in the slightest.
Katzman, who waited until she was ready to graduate to tell her story for fear of retaliation from the faculty, said she was devastated by Bain’s e-mail.
“I felt targeted as a Jewish student,” she said, noting she’s coming forward because she wants the university to investigate as well as a public apology.
There is the intersectional formula laid out by Linda Sarsour. That one cannot be pro-Israel and be a feminist. Or have any place in the progressive camp.
But what Heather Bain is accused of doing is even more insidious. And it's the next stage of Linda Sarsour's formula. The failure to explicitly state opposition to Israel is already a thought crime. The only "Jews" allowed into the treehouse first have to attack other Jews.
The UJA or a JCC are liberal groups. They will be on board with a two-state solution. They just won't be explicitly anti-Israel.
And that is how anti-Israel boycotts quickly become boycotts of Jews. Anti-Zionism inevitably reverts to its roots in anti-Semitism.
Heather Bain didn't target the UJA and the JCC because they were pro-Israel, but because Jewish organizations are presumed to violate the solidarity of intersectionality unless they openly declare war on the Jewish State.
This is the new National Socialist boycott of Jews. This is the new anti-Semitism of Social Justice.