Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center Calls on President Deane of McMaster University to Safeguard Jewish Students Following Latest Antisemitic Boycott Vote

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 27, 2014) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is calling upon the President of Hamilton's McMaster University, Dr. Patrick Deane, to safeguard the Jewish students on campus after a hostile anti-Israel vote left Jewish and Israeli students feeling intimidated and unsafe in a toxic environment.

Yesterday's vote, which did not reach the required quorum and is therefore non-binding, is the latest in a series of attempts by hostile anti-Israel student groups to attack the Jewish state through misleading boycott efforts.

According to a witness, the vote, "was rife with misdirection, outright lies and fueled by overt and subliminal Jew-hatred ... immediately after the vote, the initiating students along with their supporters ... chanted, 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.' This chant, for anyone who can read a map, clearly shows their intent of eradicating Israel and is not at all new to those who care to listen to what the forces against Israel say."

"The Jewish community is fed up with this discriminatory targeting of Israel, which is nothing more than the latest trend in antisemitism," said FSWC President and CEO Avi Benlolo. "Until these students wake up to the slaughter that is happening in Syria, or notice the naked Russian aggression against the Ukraine, or take a stand on attacks against Jews in France, their concern for human rights is revealed for what it is: outright hatred and hostility against Jews. It is time for President Deane to take his own stand and protect the rights of all of his students, and not just those who shout the loudest," he added.

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is a leading non-profit human rights organization directly representing over 30,000 Canadian members. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and education. Through its affiliation with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the organization has won two Academy Awards, has two Museums of Tolerances (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is represented at the United Nations and the OSCE. FSWC has a diverse number of programs, including Freedom Day and the Tour4Humanity.