Six prominent Canadian universities are facing a series of proposed class-action lawsuits with claims that Jewish students are unsafe on campus.

Six prominent Canadian universities are facing a series of proposed class-action lawsuits with claims that Jewish students are unsafe on campus.

The list includes Queen’s University, York University, Concordia University, Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of British Columbia. The prominent Toronto-based personal injury law firm, Diamond and Diamond, has also listed many of their student unions.

Hamilton, Ont.'s McMaster University and its student union are the latest to face legal action. A statement of claim, dated Jan. 3, alleges that “McMaster University has become, for over a decade, home to systemic discrimination, harassment, hatred, antisemitism, violent discourse, and actual or threatened physical harm amongst the student body.”

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  • deegeese
    284·
    9 months ago

    Class action lawsuit by personal injury lawyers over students’ hurt feelings.

    This will certainly end well. /s

    • spider@lemmy.nz
      161·
      9 months ago

      And all of these lawsuits are filed within days or weeks of each other.

      Hell of a coincidence, ain’t it?

      Reminds me of copycat legislation in state houses across the U.S.

      • deegeese
        263·
        9 months ago

        It’s an attempt to force university administrators to repress speech about Israel committing genocide.

        • spider@lemmy.nz
          141·
          9 months ago

          And it’s not necessarily limited to universities:

          House Declares Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism, Dividing Democrats

          More than half of House Democrats declined to back the Republican-written resolution, as some argued that equating criticism of the state of Israel with hatred of the Jewish people went too far.

          “Under this resolution, those who love Israel deeply but criticize some of its policy approaches could be considered anti-Zionist,” Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York and the longest-serving Jewish member of the House, said in a floor speech before he voted “present.”

        • breakfastmtn@lemmy.caOP
          81·
          9 months ago

          The article specifically addresses this:

          Zisckind says she takes no issue with free speech on campuses.

          "You can disagree with Israel, you can say there needs to be a ceasefire, those are things that are tantamount to free speech, but you cannot say we need to kill the Jews,” she explains.

          • jonne@infosec.pub
            104·
            9 months ago

            So do they have any evidence of someone saying that and having University administrations backing them? And no, ‘from the river to the sea’ doesn’t count.

        • spider@lemmy.nz
          2·
          9 months ago

          You’re welcome; thanks for the heads up. Was not aware of that, and it wasn’t needed to get my point across anyway.

    • breakfastmtn@lemmy.caOP
      4·
      9 months ago

      personal injury lawyers

      I don’t know if there’s anything to this litigation but their previous and current class action lawsuits seem non-frivolous. Their class action against Monsanto for Roundup causing cancer seems serious enough. A look at their list of current litigation shows them representing workers with non-paying employers (Amazon), victims of revenge porn, and victims of various privacy breaches (ex. 23andMe). The harms seem legitimate and there’s nothing you wouldn’t expect to be pursued as a class action.