The University of Toronto (UofT) is facing public scrutiny on social media following the establishment of a new Jackman Humanities Institute working group titled "Bridging Theories of Anti-Zionism," criticism that comes in the direct wake of a major antisemitism conference held at the university on Tuesday.
Launched for the 2026–27 academic year, the faculty- and student-led working group outlines its core focus by asking, "What does it mean to critique Zionism as a political ideology, and how have the last three years of genocide in Palestine changed the scholarly engagement with this question?" Designed to map varied intellectual streams of anti-Zionist thought and construct a critical genealogy, the initiative draws on recent academic frameworks, referencing joint programs such as the University of Toronto/Princeton University conference on the Anti-Zionist Idea alongside the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism.
The backlash of social media posts condemning the university arrived directly following a full-day conference held by the university on Tuesday, titled "A Canary’s Song: Antisemitism in Our 'Free and Democratic Society.'" Anti-Zionism emerged as a major focal point during the event. Prominent historian and diplomat Deborah Lipstadt said that "anti-Zionism frequently functions as a proxy for traditional antisemitism by denying Jewish self-determination and applying double standards to the Jewish state." Expanding on the broader societal danger of the ideology, Casey Babb, a security expert and academic researcher, described anti-Zionism as an existential risk and an "assault on reality" that "inverts historical victimhood to isolate Jewish communities."
In a statement to The Jerusalem Post, Babb, who posted critically about the working group on X, said, “Once again, university administrators are not only failing their Jewish students and the Jewish philanthropists who have funded their institutions; they're failing all students by exposing them to ideological drivel that inverts the truth, inverts language, and inverts objective reality. How is that beneficial to any student?”
“Antizionism is as much a hate movement as any other, and it should be treated as such, not legitimized through pseudointellectual working groups like this one. UofT President Melanie Woodin stood in front of several hundred Jews, including me, two days ago, and told us that she supports us, and now this? She should be ashamed of herself for what's happening under her leadership,” Babb told the Post.
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UofT President Melanie Woodin addressed Tuesday's conference where she referenced a newly launched online resource for the university community titled "Addressing Antisemitism at the University of Toronto," noting that while members of the community remain free to criticize the policy decisions and governments of any country, including Israel, the document includes a key distinction, "actions directed at individual members of our community because they are Jewish or Israeli or identify as Zionist can be harassment discrimination and/ or violate law or policy such actions directed at individuals do not cease to be problematic simply because the word Jewish or Israeli is replaced by the word Zionist."
The Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA) criticized the working group's approval process in a statement to the Post, stating, “This Jackman Humanities Institute's working group, ‘Bridging Theories of Anti-Zionism,’ was peer-reviewed within the JHI. That this group and its assertions were examined by a committee and determined to meet scholarly standards is immediately questionable.”
NECA pointed specifically to the group's opening premise, noting that “the first sentence describes a ‘genocide’ in Palestine.” The network argued that “despite the widespread use of the term on social media and in popular culture, scholars would know that no authorized court of law has examined evidence and determined that the war in Gaza has met the legal standard for genocide,” adding that “abundant evidence in fact suggests otherwise.”
Because of this framing, NECA asserted that “the assertion made in the context of an academic unit subverts a scholarly process because it begins with an egregious false statement.” Instead of scholarly rigor, NECA stated that the initiative platforms “an ideological position that promotes discrimination against an identifiable group, i.e., Jews.”
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Highlighting the institution's own guidelines, NECA noted that “The University should examine its own policy on addressing antisemitism,” citing the specific line regarding actions directed at individuals identified as Zionist. NECA added, “It behooves the University of Toronto, now that they are aware of this working group, to examine whether it has violated the antisemitism policy. One wonders whether JHI would platform a working group examining the scourge of antizionism and how it targets Jews for hate, especially given how difficult it was to hold the ‘Canary's Song’ conference at U of T, which ultimately had to be held as a non-University event in a private U of T conference center.”
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Dr. David Jacobs reacted to the page on X/Twitter, saying, “I would be remiss in my duties as a University of Toronto Governor if I stayed silent on this latest working group. After the 2026 Canadian Heritage federal report revealed that 95.7% of Jewish post-secondary students in Canada experienced or witnessed antisemitism on campus over the prior year, I would expect the U of T not to indulge in this type of activity. This will be discussed in excruciating detail at the next Governing Council meeting.”
The Post received a statement from UofT after publication time.
A spokesperson for UofT said, “The existence of a research group examining theories of anti-Zionism does not imply institutional endorsement of the views expressed by its individual participants. The university takes persistent action to address discrimination and harassment against Jewish and Israeli members of our community, including conduct directed at individuals because they identify as Zionist.”
Professor Randy Boyagoda, who became Director of the Jackman Humanities Institute (JHI) on July 1, 2026, added: “The Jackman Humanities Institute affirms the academic freedom of the individual faculty members involved with all of its working groups and does not endorse particular perspectives associated with any of them. The JHI receives proposals from faculty members seeking to convene working groups on various subjects. These proposals are assessed by fellow faculty members. As the new director, I have focused on the re-conceptualization and renewal of the JHI’s programming since taking up my appointment in July. This includes working groups, among other activities.”