A pro-divestment movement takes shape on Canadian university campuses

On May 8, 2025, the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA), which represents professors and librarians at one of the largest universities in North America, adopted a resolution proposed by an anonymous group of its members that calls on the University Pension Plan (UPP) to divest from companies linked to Israel. This move should be deeply concerning for Israelis and world Jewry, both because of the possible consequences of the resolution and because of the undemocratic means used to bring it about.

The University of Toronto is one of several higher education institutions in Canada’s province of Ontario whose pensions are jointly administered by the UPP.  While UTFA does not set the UPP’s investment policies, it does represent the interests of the largest group of professional academics who belong to the UPP.  UTFA will now advocate to the UPP Trustees for divestment from Israeli-linked firms. Although this consequential motion passed with less than 40 percent of UTFA members voting, of whom only a bare majority of 52% supported the proposal, supporters are already trumpeting the divestment resolution as proof that the Canadian professoriate condemns Israel. This result will encourage anti-Israel groups at other Canadian universities to pursue similar statements and will increase the pressure on universities to sever their partnerships, exchanges, and other scholarly ties with Israeli counterparts.

The tactics employed by the divestment proponents also showcase the bare-knuckles approach of the BDS movement to campus politics, using undemocratic and inequitable means to limit opposition. The organizers of the motion required all members (many of whom would have had teaching or other academic responsibilities at the relevant time) to attend a two-hour meeting in person or online to be eligible to vote, after which only 15 minutes were given for the vote itself. Before the meeting, some UTFA officers used member email lists to urge support of the motion, whereas opponents were not given access to the same lists to present opposing views. The same one-sided approach was repeated at the meeting itself, where only divestment supporters were allowed to make a lengthy, prepared opening statement. Although both sides were later permitted to participate in a debate, speakers were limited to very short questions and comments. Moreover, speakers who were given the floor were selected on the spot, making it more difficult for divestment opponents to prepare a coherent argument against the motion.

This divestment motion fits into a broader pattern, in which Canadian Jewish faculty, staff, and students face unscrupulous opponents who use strong-arm tactics to ram through anti-Israel policies. The targeting of Israel has become a high priority for activists in Canadian labour unions, faculty associations, and student organizations, creating a hostile environment for most Jews.  These organizations also use their collective voice to pressure university administrations, as seen in the US and Canadian campus encampments in 2024.  As these bodies are often independent of the universities in which they operate, it is usually impossible to obtain redress from administrators. As we experienced, such activists are well-versed in the policies and procedures of these associations and use them effectively to bring their anti-Israel agenda forward.

On the other hand, the heavy-handed methods and egregious voter suppression that characterized the UTFA divestment vote do suggest a weakness of the BDS movement: it is stronger among activists than it is among faculty, staff, and students as a whole. While Jewish individuals and groups on campuses can feel very alone, the widespread disapproval of last year’s encampments and the surprisingly high level of opposition to the UTFA divestment motion show that appealing to people within the broader community who are fair-minded and open to persuasion is a fruitful approach.  Thus, a 270-member association of Jewish faculty and staff at the University of Toronto managed to mobilize a group of non-Jewish UTFA members to vote against the UTFA divestment motion that was about three times the number of Jewish UTFA members.

Still, there is no doubt that the BDS movement in Canadian and US universities is powerful, organized, and emboldened by its recent victories. While those successes could be seen as unimportant to those outside the academy, they feed into broader efforts throughout the public sector and non-profit organizations to isolate Israel and stigmatize Jews who support it. Defeating such efforts must become a higher priority for the government of Israel, our own governments, and diaspora Jewish community institutions.

This article was co-written with Professor Pekka Sinervo (Department of Physics, University of Toronto).