A prominent Jewish human rights group is calling out a UofC professor for posting what it says are inappropriate and “troubling” online posts it says are “unbecoming” of the institution.According to B’Nai Brith, faculty member Prof. Tawab Hlimi has spread “misinformation and hatred causing stress and confusion” to the local Jewish community.Specifically, Hlimi accused “their (Israeli) terrorist state” of “literally grinding human flesh and bones into the ground.”He also referred to Israelis as “white supremacists” and accused the Israeli government of “ethnic cleansing” in its war against the terrorist group Hamas in the wake of the October 7, 2023 massacres and hostage taking of innocent civilians..On May 19 of this year, Hlimi wrote: “…Cry me a river…to the sea” in response to the pro-Palestinian slogan ‘From the River to the Sea’ calling for the expulsion of Jews from the Holy Land.As recently as July 13 he described the war in conspiracy loaded terms. “I have sneaking suspicion that the Zionist Occupation deliberately massacre Palestinian civilians to incite outrage and stroke global antisemitism...”.The group notes that these are but “examples” of Prof. Hlimi’s posts and that it has gathered numerous others.The Western Standard has reached out to the UofC. According to a spokesman: “We are currently reviewing the letter in accordance with our established processes and procedures and are not able to provide any further information on this matter.”.Nonetheless, B’Nai Brith officials told the Western Standard that it is in the public interest to address the conduct of senior staff at publicly funded educational institutions such as the UofC.“I firmly believe in the importance of free speech and respectful public debate, but there is a significant difference between expressing personal opinions and spreading hateful rhetoric targeted against an identifiable group,” B’Nai Brith director Richard Robertson said in an interview.Robertson agreed that there is room for debate on the merits of the conflict, or lack thereof, and he agreed the Muslim community has also suffered from hateful actions.But resorting to stereotypes and tropes ultimately diminishes free speech for all concerned and lowers the overall discourse in society as well as on university campuses.“There's a difference between constructive dialog and the the propagating of conspiracy theories and advancing of misinformation, as well as the demonizing of the Jewish community for the actions of a foreign state, or the perceived actions of a foreign state or non-state actor,” he said.“These types of inflammatory and inciting commentaries only serve to further divide Canadian society, at a time when those in positions of authority, such as professors who are responsible for educating the next generation of Canadians, should be working to unite our society.”Robertson said it’s not isolated to just Calgary and that these incidents have become regular occurrences across Canada, the US and Europe.“I can go on the record and say that we're apprehensive about the 2024-2025 school year on campuses across the country,” he continued, referring to encampments and sometimes violent protests.“What we witnessed across Canada in 2023 and 2024 was highly problematic with a truly concerning number of anti-Semitic incidents plaguing Canadian campuses and further dividing and inciting campus communities. And we hope that university administrators across the country, including at the University of Calgary, will proactively work to ensure that what we saw in 2023 and 2024 does not repeat itself in the coming school year.”
A prominent Jewish human rights group is calling out a UofC professor for posting what it says are inappropriate and “troubling” online posts it says are “unbecoming” of the institution.According to B’Nai Brith, faculty member Prof. Tawab Hlimi has spread “misinformation and hatred causing stress and confusion” to the local Jewish community.Specifically, Hlimi accused “their (Israeli) terrorist state” of “literally grinding human flesh and bones into the ground.”He also referred to Israelis as “white supremacists” and accused the Israeli government of “ethnic cleansing” in its war against the terrorist group Hamas in the wake of the October 7, 2023 massacres and hostage taking of innocent civilians..On May 19 of this year, Hlimi wrote: “…Cry me a river…to the sea” in response to the pro-Palestinian slogan ‘From the River to the Sea’ calling for the expulsion of Jews from the Holy Land.As recently as July 13 he described the war in conspiracy loaded terms. “I have sneaking suspicion that the Zionist Occupation deliberately massacre Palestinian civilians to incite outrage and stroke global antisemitism...”.The group notes that these are but “examples” of Prof. Hlimi’s posts and that it has gathered numerous others.The Western Standard has reached out to the UofC. According to a spokesman: “We are currently reviewing the letter in accordance with our established processes and procedures and are not able to provide any further information on this matter.”.Nonetheless, B’Nai Brith officials told the Western Standard that it is in the public interest to address the conduct of senior staff at publicly funded educational institutions such as the UofC.“I firmly believe in the importance of free speech and respectful public debate, but there is a significant difference between expressing personal opinions and spreading hateful rhetoric targeted against an identifiable group,” B’Nai Brith director Richard Robertson said in an interview.Robertson agreed that there is room for debate on the merits of the conflict, or lack thereof, and he agreed the Muslim community has also suffered from hateful actions.But resorting to stereotypes and tropes ultimately diminishes free speech for all concerned and lowers the overall discourse in society as well as on university campuses.“There's a difference between constructive dialog and the the propagating of conspiracy theories and advancing of misinformation, as well as the demonizing of the Jewish community for the actions of a foreign state, or the perceived actions of a foreign state or non-state actor,” he said.“These types of inflammatory and inciting commentaries only serve to further divide Canadian society, at a time when those in positions of authority, such as professors who are responsible for educating the next generation of Canadians, should be working to unite our society.”Robertson said it’s not isolated to just Calgary and that these incidents have become regular occurrences across Canada, the US and Europe.“I can go on the record and say that we're apprehensive about the 2024-2025 school year on campuses across the country,” he continued, referring to encampments and sometimes violent protests.“What we witnessed across Canada in 2023 and 2024 was highly problematic with a truly concerning number of anti-Semitic incidents plaguing Canadian campuses and further dividing and inciting campus communities. And we hope that university administrators across the country, including at the University of Calgary, will proactively work to ensure that what we saw in 2023 and 2024 does not repeat itself in the coming school year.”
