Our Story

NECA was formed by faculty members who have been working on issues of antisemitism on Canadian campuses for almost 20 years.  Formed in 2022, NECA recognized the ways in which antisemitism was surging on our campuses as well as the unique challenges that higher education faces in combating and dismantling antisemitism.

While antisemitism is easily recognizable when it takes the form of swastikas or the Holocaust denial of Zundel and Kiegstra, the antisemitism that emerges in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict is often more challenging for universities and colleges to see, name, and address.  A fatal lack of knowledge about Jewish history and the history of antisemitism combines to silence Jewish voices and erase Jewish experiences of discrimination, harassment, and exclusion. While legitimate critique of the state of Israel must be fully protected on our campuses, weaponizing the conflict to collectively blame and target all Jews, Israelis, and their allies cannot be tolerated. When campuses devolve into places where students are indoctrinated with false information, subjected to incitement to violence, and prevented from fully expressing themselves, the core values and mission of the University has been betrayed. 

What happens when antisemitism isn’t meaningfully addressed? 

We have heard shocking stories of Jewish students and faculty being spat on, being told they belong in ovens, that Hitler should have finished the job.  We hear how students are forced to denounce a part of their Jewish identity, that is their connection with Israel, to be able to participate in progressive spaces. One Student union that was calling for a boycott of all “Zionist companies” tried to deny students Kosher food. 

The result is that Jewish people on our campuses report facing increasing hostility from detractors, exclusion from progressive spaces or causes unrelated to the Middle East (e.g., gender equality, climate change), concern that faculty will not support work associated with Israel, denial of Jewish students’ ability to express their positionality with respect to Israel, and increasing pressure to express only negative attitudes with respect to Zionism. 

We see the result of unchecked hatred.  Jewish people and their allies have been intimidated by being swarmed and filmed, threatened with physical and sexual violence, and are regularly subjected to protests calling for the genocide of the Jewish people.

Of significant concern is that Jewish identity is not being considered in Human Rights Offices and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives on campuses. The outcome is that Jewish sensitivity training has often not been represented in essential training programs, despite the minority status of Jews and the alarming rise of anti-Jewish racism on our Canadian campuses.

These current trends threaten full and fair inclusion of Jewish faculty, staff and students in campus life, Jewish people’s health and safety, and the fundamental values of the academy. 

We are the Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA), uniting and supporting academics affiliated with Canadian universities and colleges. NECA is committed to genuine fairness, inclusivity and respect for the dignity of all people.