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BDS on Canadian campuses: What has been achieved in the months since 2024’s summer of unrest?

Written by TSX Stocks on February 7, 2025. Posted in Canada. Leave a Comment

In the summer of 2024, a cluster of tents sprang up on the University of Windsor’s central campus, transforming a patch of grass near the main quad into what organizers called ‘The Liberation Zone’.

Colourful banners and hand-painted signs bearing slogans like ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Boycott Israel’ lined the perimeter, while makeshift tables offered pamphlets detailing the goals of the protest.

Similar to many pro-Palestinian encampments erected at universities throughout North America that summer, the gathering primarily aimed to pressure the school’s administration to adopt sweeping reforms in alignment with the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Over several weeks, demonstrators called for financial transparency, divestment from companies linked to the Jewish state, and an academic boycott of Israeli institutions.

On July 10, 2024, the encampment organizers announced an agreement with UWindsor’s administration via Instagram. The post celebrated the student-led initiative, which secured the university’s commitment to expand its responsible investment policies and provide annual public disclosure of its financial portfolio. “This is the most comprehensive and far-reaching agreement to come out of Canadian encampment negotiations,” posted the Palestinian Solidarity Group Windsor.

According to the agreement, the university committed to “not pursue any institutional academic agreements with Israeli universities until the right of Palestinian self-determination has been realized, as determined by the United Nations.” It also pledged to establish relationships with Palestinian universities to support post-secondary education in Gaza and proposed the creation of a “Palestine Studies minor under the Interdisciplinary and Critical Studies Department.” Additionally, the university agreed to revise its Responsible Investing Policy to include a “human rights framework,” though specific details remained vague.

While supporters hailed the agreement as a major victory, it quickly sparked criticism. Members of UWindsor’s Jewish community voiced concerns that the campaign disproportionately targeted Israel and vilified Jewish students.

The agreement also sparked a lawsuit. In January, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) filed an application for judicial review, challenging UWindsor’s agreements with the encampment organizers, arguing that these agreements violate Ontario’s anti-discrimination laws.

🚨🚨The University of Windsor caved to extremist, anti-Israel encampment leaders.

Our community won’t stand for that. Discrimination has no place in Canada.

We’re going to Court.

Learn more ⤵️https://t.co/wQUNVqWwpf pic.twitter.com/HelrhU6MLw

— Richard Marceau (@richardmarceau) January 28, 2025

Seven months after the agreement was signed, larger questions loom over its tangible impact. Despite the encampment’s sweeping demands, UWindsor’s administration acknowledge that the university had no existing academic partnerships or financial investments linked to Israel to begin with—raising questions about what, if anything, has truly changed.

While supporters view the agreement as a precedent-setting win for student activism, critics argue that BDS is largely a symbolic movement rooted in hate, offering political optics rather than substantive policy shifts.

Aside from demonizing supporters of Israel and preventing future academic partnerships, the deal at UWindsor has underscored deepening ideological divides on Canadian campuses, with ongoing legal challenges and backlash threatening to prolong tensions rather than resolve them.

The 2014 referendum: BDS takes root

UWindsor’s journey with the BDS movement began a decade earlier. In March 2014, the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance (UWSA) held a referendum asking students to support divestment from companies allegedly “complicit in human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.”

The campaign was fraught with tension. Days before the vote, anti-Israel graffiti was scrawled on the door of a Jewish student executive’s office, an incident later classified as a hate crime by Windsor Police.

Alan Wildeman, UWindsor’s president at the time, addressed the unrest, emphasizing a commitment to campus safety on the school’s Facebook page. “The University will not tolerate any practices, by any member or group of its community, that target specific individuals or entities on the basis of ethnicity, nationality, religion, or any other personal characteristic,” Wildeman wrote in 2014.

Read President Alan Wildeman’s response to the outcome of the BDS student referendum: http://t.co/yNVxcnkXbu

— University of Windsor (@UWindsor) March 2, 2014

The UWSA motion ultimately passed with 798 votes in favour and 585 opposed. Critics, however, pointed to procedural concerns, alleging that the referendum process lacked transparency and fairness. Some students reported feeling marginalized, particularly within the Jewish community, which viewed the motion as an attack on their identity rather than a legitimate critique of Israeli policy.

Following numerous complaints about the referendum’s procedures, Wildeman requested that the UWSA defer ratification of BDS policy until a thorough investigation was carried out. The referendum was never officially adopted, until ten years later.

In March 2024, the UWSA revisited the BDS movement, passing a motion at its annual general meeting to form a committee to investigate its investments. The motion called for the student union to ensure it does not support or profit from companies benefiting from Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“As a result of that student motion, UWSA has advocated in support of BDS,” wrote Ghallia Hashem, the current president of the UWSA, in an email statement sent to The Canadian Jewish News. “Through this motion, we have established a BDS Advisory Committee that consists of both approving and dissenting voices so that we are aware of the differing perspectives of our student body,” Hashem said, adding that, “This committee has no binding power, and merely acts as an advisory board to the UWSA.”

The financial landscape: What companies are targeted?

Universities typically manage substantial endowment funds, often invested in a mix of stocks, bonds, and other assets. While most institutions do not disclose detailed information about their portfolios, activists have identified several corporations as potential targets for divestment, arguing that financial ties to certain companies raise ethical concerns.

According to public data, there are at least 22 Israeli firms currently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV). These companies operate primarily in the technology, life sciences and clean energy sectors.

Despite their presence, Israeli firms account for a very small fraction of the overall Canadian market. With a combined estimated market capitalization of $375 million, these companies represent approximately 0.008 per cent of the total Canadian stock market value, which stands at $4.91 trillion as of December 2024. This negligible percentage indicates that while Israeli firms have a foothold in the Canadian financial market, their influence on institutional investments remains minimal.

According to Iso Setel, communications coordinator with Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), a vocal supporter of BDS, financial transparency is “the first call for on-campus BDS organizing.”

Setel pointed to Scotiabank’s past investments in Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense company that supplies surveillance drones and military technologies. IJV argues that Elbit’s products have been used in security operations and border enforcement, though the company maintains that it adheres to international regulations.

ICYMI, @scotiabank has come under fire recently for being the largest foreign shareholder in notorious Israeli weapons company Elbit. Activists are demanding the bank divest from a company with so much blood on its hands. https://t.co/UXGTxshCxR #BDS

— Independent Jewish Voices (@IndJewishVoices) April 23, 2023

Other corporations frequently cited in divestment campaigns include the Canadian aerospace company Bombardier, which has supplied railway components to Jerusalem’s light rail system. Some activists contend that the project facilitates settlement expansion, though proponents describe it as public infrastructure. The company also highlights its dedication to sustainability, focusing on reducing carbon emissions and developing greener aviation technology.

Lockheed Martin, a major defense contractor, has drawn scrutiny for supplying F-35 fighter jets used by the Israeli military, with divestment advocates arguing that such technologies contribute to military operations in Gaza.

Canadian firm CAE Inc. has also been raised in discussions due to its military training simulators, including programs for Israeli Air Force pilots. Similarly, aerospace manufacturer Pratt and Whitney produces jet engines for fighter aircraft used in Israeli operations, while Airbus has been linked to the supply of helicopters and surveillance technologies. Critics of these investments argue that they reinforce military capabilities in the region, while supporters counter that these companies provide defense technologies used by multiple countries.

As reported by The Guardian, companies like Caterpillar Inc., HP Inc., and G4S have been at the forefront of BDS divesting demands at schools throughout North America.

Together with @natansachs we use exports data to analyze how much of a threat is #BDS to #Israel economy. The answer: not much. Read more here: https://t.co/SLv6elqqsM

— Dany Bahar 🌎🎗️ (@dany_bahar) January 27, 2018

Dany Bahar, an economist and contributing columnist for The Forward, argues that student-led divestment campaigns have little financial impact given Israel’s minimal market territory. He identifies three main areas of exposure—direct holdings in Israeli public companies, private equity or venture capital funds, and indirect ties through multinational corporations—but suggests that divestment would be largely symbolic rather than financially significant.

UWindsor’s investment portfolio

UWindsor’s investments are managed through pooled funds by external investment managers, meaning that the university itself does not directly control or select individual holdings, according to an email statement from the administration.

Decisions to invest in or divest from specific companies ultimately rest with those external managers. “The University does not direct or influence any investment or divestment decisions related to equities,” UWindsor said.

UWindsor’s investment portfolio includes a broad mix of Canadian and global equities across industries such as technology, finance, energy and manufacturing.

Among the many companies included in its holdings, which are publicly available, are Bombardier Inc. and CAE Inc., both Canadian firms in the aerospace and transportation sectors that have been targeted by BDS protesters.

The encampment agreement does not prevent future university investments in these companies.

As UWindsor explained, “Investment policies prioritize diversifying holdings, with decisions made by investment managers guided by reviews of social, environmental, and governance factors, not by a focus on any specific country or region.”

Legal challenge by CIJA

While BDS’s financial impact on Israel is limited, CIJA’s primary concern regarding the 2024 UWindsor encampment agreement is the administration’s pledge to refrain from academic partnerships with Israeli institutions until Palestinian self-determination is achieved.

According to Richard Marceau, CIJA’s vice-president of external affairs and general counsel, this commitment effectively enforces a boycott of Israel and places the burden of Palestinian statehood solely on Israel—ignoring the Palestinians’ role– a factor that Israeli universities have no control over.

“Preemptively closing the door of any such academic partnership is a form of BDS… which is a form of antisemitism,” Marceau told The Canadian Jewish News. “So, basically, by signing this agreement, the University of Windsor has engaged in antisemitism.”

“We filed a complaint with the Ontario government under the Ontario Discriminatory Business Practices Act,” Marceau said. “This bill was written many years ago in the context of fighting any forms of boycott.” However, the Ontario Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery ruled that the law did not apply in this case, arguing that the agreement did not involve a commercial business transaction. CIJA is now challenging that interpretation, asserting that the exclusion of Israeli institutions from partnerships is discriminatory and should be considered a violation of the act.

CIJA contends that by singling out Israeli universities—and only Israeli universities—the encampment agreement constitutes overt discrimination based on nationality, place of origin and geographical location.

Beyond legal concerns, CIJA warns that UWindsor’s decision sets a dangerous precedent for Canadian universities. While encampments at other institutions—such as the University of Toronto—were dismantled following a court injunction, UWindsor remains one of the few universities to have formally agreed to student demands.

“I think that (UWindsor) was wrong to cave in and, and I would go further to say capitulate,” Marceau said. “It set a bad precedent that, in order for the law to be applied, you have to capitulate to those groups who are divisive, are toxic, and are not good not only for the Jewish students, the Jewish faculty, but I think for the entire Windsor community and more broadly across Canada.”

CIJA also argues that the agreement has contributed to a more hostile climate for Jewish students and faculty. “Our contacts at Windsor, not only Jewish students, but also Jewish faculty, felt that they were targeted,” Marceau said. “They felt that it fostered an atmosphere of antisemitism. It made them feel not welcome.”

Taking the University of Windsor.

“We believe that those agreements foster an atmosphere of antisemitism.

They are discriminatory on the basis of national origin, among other things, and they should not be left to stand.”https://t.co/0M9ohrW6PM

— Richard Marceau (@richardmarceau) January 30, 2025

Marceau argues that the decision to boycott academic partnerships is impractical as well as discriminatory. While the agreement states that individual collaborations between UWindsor faculty and Israeli academics remain permitted, CIJA argues that institutional partnerships require administrative support, which the university has effectively withdrawn. “Let’s say a professor wants to (pursue) an academic project with a professor in Israel… some people say, ‘Oh, you know, (the agreement) doesn’t stop this from happening,’ but it does not happen if there’s no institutional support.”

Now that CIJA judicial review is before the Divisional Court of Ontario, the Ontario government will be required to respond and defend its decision. The court will determine whether the UWindsor agreement meets the legal definition of discrimination under the DBPA—and, if so, whether elements of the agreement could be deemed unlawful under Ontario law.

UWindsor’s response to Jewish community

The university meanwhile, says it continues “to work to engage with Jewish student organizations, Jewish faculty and staff, and Jewish community organizations to better understand their concerns about our policies and decisions.”

Stephen Cheifetz, a lawyer and the president of the Windsor Jewish Federation, says, “No, they never, never did that.”

Cheifetz, who also taught at UWindsor, told The Canadian Jewish News that communication between the administration and the school’s Jewish community has been limited to a few meetings with very little room for raising concern.

“Basically, the answer in each of the meetings was, ‘we’re not changing anything,’” Cheifetz said, referring to a meeting he had with UWindsor’s current president, Robert Gordon.

Cheifetz argues that while the encampment agreement may not have immediate material consequences, it has future implications for potential partnerships and investments. “It affects Jewish professors due to the faculty association’s stance, and it affects Jewish law students—the largest Jewish student group at Windsor. Windsor already has a reputation for antisemitism, which discourages Jewish students from attending. Several large donors have canceled their gifts and requested their names be removed from acknowledgments.”

“Making such agreements further emboldens lawlessness on campus and will only serve to further marginalize Jewish students and discourage them from attending the University of Windsor.” -Stephen Cheifetz, Windsor Jewish Federation https://t.co/7t8r6GbD32 pic.twitter.com/a5RwVnwwas

— The Jewish Federations of North America (@jfederations) July 14, 2024

Cheifetz and his wife donated a scholarship to UWindsor, in memory of both their late fathers. The Saul Pazner and Nathan Cheifetz Scholarship was established in 2009. But, in an interview with The Canadian Jewish News in July 2024, Cheifetz announced he’d be removing his name from the gift.

“Both my father and my father-in-law would be rolling in their graves if they knew that the money that I donated on their behalf is being used by a law school where there’s so much Jew hatred that emanates from there,” Cheifetz said in July.

Cheifetz says protesters got “everything but the kitchen sink in those agreements.”

“This is the thin edge of the wedge. People go, ‘Oh, it’s only at Windsor, who cares, they only have a few Jewish students. But (BDS-proponents) are attempting to use it as a method to try and get BDS agreements at other schools.”

Cheifetz says that despite the university’s stated intention to consult the Jewish community, no such outreach took place beyond hiring a Jewish liaison—a sessional professor with the business school named Ira Cohen—who was vetted by a pro-Palestinian student representative.

The Canadian Jewish News emailed Cohen for comment on what wider efforts the university has made to communicate with the UWindsor’s Jewish community, but did not receive a reply.

Academic implications of BDS

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel claims Israeli universities are complicit in “occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid,” as stated on their website.

But enrolment data tells a different story. Arab citizens, who make up about 20 per cent of Israel’s population, are attending Israeli universities in growing numbers. A 2021 report by the Israel Democracy Institute found Arab enrolment in bachelor’s programs nearly doubled from 22,268 in 2010 to 43,454 in 2020, rising from 10.2 per cent to 18 per cent of all undergraduates.

The trend extends to graduate programs. Arab enrollment in master’s degrees climbed from 6.5 per cent in 2011-12 to 16 per cent in 2020-21. At the University of Haifa, Arab-Israeli students made up about 41 per cent of the student body in 2019, while Ariel University, a frequent BDS target, enrolls Arab, Druze and Circassian students.

Critics argue academic boycotts undermine global research collaboration and harm the very communities BDS claims to support.

“BDS not only harms Jewish Israelis but also Palestinians and Arab Israelis, who make up nearly 17 per cent of the student body in Israeli universities,” wrote Judy Zelikovitz, CIJA’s vice-president of University and Local Partner Services, in an email statement sent to The Canadian Jewish News.

“Canadians have benefitted immensely from collaborations with Israel, yielding advances in brain science, agricultural technologies, public health and more. These partnerships not only enhance the global community but also strengthen Canada’s contributions to solving shared challenges,” Zelikovitz said.

IJV says the BDS movement does not target specific programs at Israeli institutions. “The academic boycott targets institutions as a whole, not individuals or individual projects within them,” IJV wrote. “These institutions continue to partner with the Israeli military and settler groups on behalf of the university as a whole.”

BDS at Concordia University

BDS has become a major talking point at other Canadian universities, particularly Montreal’s Concordia University, where the movement has gained traction through student-led initiatives and union-backed motions.

In January 2025, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) announced that over 250 students had signed a petition calling for a Special General Meeting (SGM) to discuss the university’s involvement in the BDS movement. The petition demanded that Concordia University disclose its financial investments, divest from companies linked to militarized violence and colonialism, and suspend partnerships with Israeli institutions. Specific targets for divestment included companies such as Bombardier, Lockheed Martin, CAE, Pratt & Whitney, and Airbus.

On Jan. 29, the CSU held the SGM, which began an hour late and was marked by procedural disputes, accusations of silencing dissent, and heightened tensions between opposing factions. A motion to endorse the BDS movement passed by a vote of 858 in favour to 58 against.

According to an observer of the meeting, students opposing the motion were “denied a fair chance to debate” due to a procedural maneuver that abruptly ended discussion. “The meeting was justified as being in-person for the sake of democracy, yet the moment debate became inconvenient, they shut it down,” this source said, referring to a motion to call the question, which moved the proceedings straight to a vote before many had a chance to speak.

🇨🇦Montreal, Canada
🚨Last week @Concordia students faced relentless intimidation as a mob took over the CSU Special General Meeting. Debate on the antisemitic, anti-peace BDS motion was shut down, and dissenting voices were silenced through aggression.

Why does Concordia… https://t.co/2wLacbn4sa pic.twitter.com/EXV0qLE7tx

— FactsMatter (@AllFactsNoHate) February 3, 2025

A Jewish student at Concordia, who did not want to be named, expressed frustration: “The CSU is funded by all students. Our student body is made up of diverse ethnic and religious people, and we have a wonderful diversity of nationality too. Boycotting Israeli institutions does not help the Palestinians but just seeks to ostracize and marginalize the Israeli and Jewish members of Concordia.”

Following the passage of the BDS motion, Concordia’s president and vice-chancellor Graham Carr released a statement, saying such campaigns are “contrary to the value of academic freedom upon which all universities are founded.”

“Beyond the vote itself, reports from yesterday’s meeting are deeply troubling,” Carr wrote. “They include the presence of heavily masked individuals, complaints of discriminatory behaviour and the use of intimidation tactics. This behavior is unacceptable on campus and contravenes our policies.”

Concordia’s president added that, “The university has no input on the motions presented by the CSU or on its deliberative and decision-making processes. But we will examine the behaviour around and at the special meeting, and urge those who have complaints to report them.”

What other universities have said on BDS

Despite student pressure, Canadian university presidents have taken varying but generally critical stances on BDS, often emphasizing academic freedom and fostering constructive dialogue. At the University of British Columbia (UBC), former president Santa J. Ono publicly stated in 2022 that the university does not support BDS, citing a commitment to “constructive and respectful debate” while opposing polarizing actions based on identity or politics. This stance was reaffirmed by UBC’s current president, Benoit-Antoine Bacon, in 2023.

Similarly, the University of Ottawa has voiced firm opposition to BDS. President Jacques Frémont declared in 2021 that the university “will have no part of the BDS movement nor any movement that boycotts academic institutions,” framing such efforts as incompatible with the free exchange of ideas and mutual respect that universities aim to uphold.

University of Toronto president Meric Gertler has consistently expressed opposition to the BDS movement. In his remarks at the Conference on Historical and Contemporary Antisemitism on Sept. 23, 2024, he stated: “We remain unequivocally opposed to academic boycotts—targeting scholars or institutions simply because of the country in which they are located.”

.@UofT President Gertler delivers speech needed for months: acknowledges harm of campus antisemitism, says exclusion of anyone (whether Jewish, Israeli or Zionist) is discriminatory, protests must abide by campus codes, and fully oppose academic boycotts.https://t.co/RSnVhJNLUK pic.twitter.com/jiC7m5QOQG

— Michael Geist (@mgeist) September 24, 2024

This statement was made in the context of addressing rising antisemitism on campus, particularly following events such as the encampment at King’s College Circle and tensions related to the conflict in Gaza.

Schools such as the University of British Columbia maintain several academic partnerships with Israeli universities.

According to UBC’s Office of Global Engagement, these include a student mobility agreement with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, “facilitating academic exchanges and collaborative research.”

Despite motions considered by UBC’s Senate to suspend such collaborations, including one in May 2024 that was defeated 49 to 16, these partnerships remain intact. The university has emphasized the importance of academic freedom and the value of global engagement, noting that such collaborations contribute significantly to UBC’s mission of advancing knowledge and promoting international understanding.

The impact on Jewish students

Even though university administrations have almost uniformly denounced BDS, the campaigns continue to create a climate of animosity on campuses.

“We’ve tried to create spaces for open dialogue at UBC, but the toxicity on campus makes it nearly impossible,” said Zara Nybo, an Emerson Fellow with StandWithUs Canada and a student at UBC. “Students are afraid of being ostracized or even attacked for expressing their views. Even identifying as a Zionist on campus has become a social risk.”

Justin Hebert, a Jewish law student at UWindsor and an Emerson Fellow with StandWithUs Canada, says BDS is “a very conceptual, easy to digest mantle upon which an entire hate movement is hung upon.”

Hebert, who describes himself as the unofficial liaison for UWindsor’s Jewish community, says the movement’s actual goal is not divestment. “The actual goal is not to help make any material improvements to the conditions of life for the Palestinian people. This is specifically and squarely about turning the tide of public consciousness against the state of Israel and anyone who supports it,” he said.

In Windsor, Sydney Greenspoon, a recent law school graduate, who headed the Windsor Law Jewish Students Association (the only Jewish club on campus), spoke to The Canadian Jewish News in July, describing her convocation ceremony as deeply alienating.

‘We are going to fight back’: Windsor Jews rally against UWindsor’s concession to pro-Palestinian students https://t.co/SMw2LPppxn THE CJN DAILY podcast with @ebessner @sydgreenspoon

— The Canadian Jewish News (@TheCJN) July 16, 2024

Many graduates wore keffiyehs or Palestinian flags, and the valedictorian’s speech accused Israel of genocide, she said. Greenspoon carried a small Israeli flag on stage. Reflecting on the broader campus climate, she said, “It’s not a place for Jews anymore.”

Her experience highlights growing concerns among Jewish students at UWindsor, who have reported harassment and a lack of institutional support following the university’s agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters. Greenspoon and Hebert warn that the administration’s response has damaged the university’s reputation within the Jewish community.

“Jewish students are afraid,” said Hebert. “It’s not that they don’t want to speak out—it’s that doing so makes them a target. The negative impacts of anti-Zionist sentiment on campus are often unseen or unheard. It’s how students feel and how they are perceived.

“When the rhetoric becomes all-encompassing, targeting not just Israeli policies but Jewish identity and Zionism itself, it creates a deeply unsafe environment.”