This week, we received numerous complaints from both students and parents about antisemitic professors who are spreading lies to usually unknowing students, metaphorically carrying the Hamas flag into the classroom. These professors are using their academic platforms not to educate but to indoctrinate, planting seeds of hostility toward Jews and Israel under the guise of academic freedom. The complaints reveal a disturbing trend: radical educators, emboldened by a lack of accountability, are presenting outright falsehoods as facts, thereby inciting hatred and creating unsafe spaces for Jewish students.
Antisemitism on campuses by radical professors who are peddling these lies must be treated as we treat Nazi white supremacist ideology. It is no different. Only today, it is disguised as anti-Zionism — a cover for antisemitism. During the Second World, many North American academics embraced Nazi ideology. Today, they embrace a pro-Hamas, pro-terrorist ideology. The parallel is undeniable. Universities and much of the mainstream media, aside from this newspaper, refuse to recognize this absolute convergence, thereby aiding and abetting antisemitism against Jewish students.
This modern form of antisemitism, often masked in academic language, is insidious. Zionism, as Theodor Herzl described, is “the return to the Jewish fold even before it is a return to the Jewish land.” It is not merely a political idea but the essence of Jewish self-determination in their ancestral homeland. Yet professors distort this reality, teaching students that Zionism is a form of colonialism or oppression. Such claims not only misrepresent history but also deny the Jewish people’s fundamental rights and identity.
Classrooms should be sanctuaries of learning, where critical thinking thrives and students are encouraged to explore diverse perspectives. Yet, in too many cases, they have become arenas for ideological warfare. We have heard from students forced to endure lectures that equate Israel’s actions with genocide or justify acts of terror as “resistance.” These narratives, often delivered with authority and unchecked bias, create an environment of fear and alienation for Jewish students.
But many Jewish students are fighting back. They are refusing to be silent. They are recording their antisemitic professors, presenting the evidence to department chairs and challenging hate speech head-on. Many are rejecting assignments blatantly designed to propagate antisemitism, asserting their right to education without bias. These students are the heroes of today — standing on the front lines and speaking truth to power, often at great personal risk. We applaud their courage and determination.
Parents, too, are deeply concerned. They send their children to university expecting them to receive an education grounded in truth, not propaganda. When professors cross the line into activism and hatred, it is a betrayal of that trust. Parents have shared their frustration, asking how institutions that claim to uphold academic integrity can allow such egregious behaviour to go unchecked.
The parallels to darker times in history are chilling. Just as universities once failed to reject Nazi ideologies in the 1930s and ’40s, they are now failing to address the infiltration of extremist narratives that vilify Jews and Israel. By ignoring this, academic institutions risk repeating the mistakes of the past.
Today, I strongly denounce the announcement of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. This move will now serve to further the interests of Israel’s detractors, exacerbating antisemitism in academia and undermining the state of Israel. Since 2015, the ICC has been carefully calibrated and weaponized against Israel, not as a tool of impartial justice but as a means to delegitimize the Jewish state. Such actions give credibility to those who perpetuate distortions about Israel, intensifying the challenges faced by Jewish students on campuses around the world.
At a private gathering with U.S. Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt, at the invitation of U.S. Consul General Baxter Hunt, I highlighted the active problems Jewish students face in classrooms with antisemitic professors. The stories of students confronting this hatred, both directly and indirectly, illustrate the alarming prevalence of antisemitism disguised as academic critique.
Universities must take a stand. Leadership must draw a clear line: classrooms are for education, not indoctrination. Curricula must be reviewed to ensure they are balanced and factual, and professors who cross ethical boundaries must be held accountable. There must also be robust support systems for Jewish students, who need to know their complaints will be taken seriously and that they are not alone in this fight.
While universities have been slow to act, Jewish students are stepping up. They are documenting lectures, forming advocacy groups and pushing back against bias in every form. These students remind us that courage is not just found in grand gestures but in everyday acts of resistance against injustice. Their bravery deserves not only our admiration but also our active support.
The time for complacency is over. Universities must rise to the challenge of protecting all students, ensuring that education remains a tool for enlightenment, not a weapon for hate. The stakes are too high to ignore. We call on academic leaders to fulfill their responsibility to create safe, inclusive and intellectually honest spaces for all students. Silence and complicity are no longer acceptable.
National Post
Avi Abraham Benlolo is the founder and CEO of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative.