A Short Tenure
A brief time as the University of Ottawa’s Special Advisor on Antisemitism
After a few months in the role of Special Advisor at the University of Ottawa, I posted on X (formerly Twitter), that I though the covert operation targeting the pagers of Hezbollah, a listed terrorist organization in Canada responsible for months of attacks against Israeli civilians, was “brilliant”.
The backlash to that post and a series of others was intense and claimed that I was mocking the deaths of innocent bystanders — in particular children. While that was clearly not my intent, the reaction to those posts made it clear that the debate centred about my suitability, rather than the importance of the role of Special Advisor. Given how significantly the incident affected my ability to deliver on my mandate, I resigned.
The role of Special Advisor on Antisemitism is far more important than me staying in it. The intent of my postings mattered little. Its effect on Canadians of Lebanese origin, as well as on my ability to do the job were significant. I believe in accountability. It is sad to me that many others do not.
The following is the text of my speech at the Jewish Community Centre on Sunday September 22, 2024. It goes into more detail on why I resigned. More importantly it identifies what the priorities of the Special Advisor on Antisemitism should be. It calls on the creation of more positions such as this at Universities and Colleges. The text also offers some personal reflections on how from the start, my appointment was subject to a massive anti-Zionist and antisemitic campaign. It also focuses on my firm belief that anti-Zionism is a form of racism and implores Jews in North American to be far more resilient and united in the peril that is coming.
I am not optimistic. As a community, I like many others, believe that the golden age of the Jewish diaspora in North America — one that has lasted almost 8 decades, is coming to an end. We need to prepare for this fast changing environment. We need to confront the antisemitism that has percolated for centuries in Western culture, and has crystalized into a far more virulent form in the crucible of disinformation, propaganda and technological revolution that is making truth an elusive goal.
I reiterate my apology to those who were wounded by my words and to the Jewish community for not being able to continue the important task of confronting the antisemitism that Jewish students, faculty and staff faced at the University of Ottawa.
Good afternoon everyone and thank you as well for taking time out of your weekend to be here. It is testament to how important the issue of combatting antisemitism is that you are here today.
I want to thank AJA50+, Jewish Family Services and the Soloway Jewish Community Centre for organizing this event. I am very grateful.
As mentioned during the introduction, my name is Artur Wilczynski and am now the former Special Advisor on Antisemitism at the University of Ottawa.
It’s not how I expected things to turn out. I had hoped to provide a few more months of advice and guidance on this important issue but felt that I could no longer do that effectively after a series of online posts related to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
For those who don’t know, I posted on the social media platform X that I thought the covert operation that targeted the pagers used by Hezbollah was brilliant.
The way that post and a series of others was interpreted was that I was mocking the civilian and innocent casualties of a military operation. In particular, people felt that I was mocking harm caused to innocent bystanders and children.
The reaction to these posts was immediate and intense. For someone who had a mandate to defend the human rights of all with a special responsibility to combat antisemitism at the university, I should not have made those posts.
I saw how many people — particularly of Lebanese origin — were deeply affected by the attack. The fear, anger and profound concern for the wellbeing of their loved ones was well founded. My posts compounded their anxiety and that was wrong. That was my mistake and for that I apologize.
It was clearly not my intent to cause anxiety or harm. But intent does not matter.
I should not have made that statement given my role of special advisor. It is why I apologized. I believe in accountability — which is why I resigned.
The scope of the backlash turned the focus on me rather than on the important role of Special Advisor. That distraction undermined my ability to be effective in that role. That made my position untenable.
But I do want to add a few other elements you should be aware of.
First, there was an immediate backlash when the university announced my appointment back in June. What happened after the posts was a continuation and intensification of a campaign against the position created by the University of Ottawa.
Opponents said that the appointment of an avowed Zionist was unacceptable and must be overturned.
As I challenged the content and messaging of the anti-Israel encampment at the university and defended Israel’s right to defend itself after the horrific terrorist attacks on October 7th, I was labelled as a pro-genocidal child killer, a Zio-nazi, a colonizer, and an ethnonationalist Jewish supremacist.
The hyperbole, the incitement to violence through calls to globalize the intifada, to fight by any means necessary, and escalate for Gaza — are dangerous and the backdrop for all that has happened since the summer.
The use of images deeply rooted in historic antisemitism commonly find their way into the anti-Israel discourse — and I felt it my responsibility to confront them. I believe that my online presence was necessary for members of the Jewish community to know that someone was standing up for what we believe to be right.
I believe that anyone from the mainstream of Jewish life in Canada who was in the role would do the same and have spoken out.
Folks have rightly abandoned much of the online and social media environment because of its toxicity and excesses. I believe it important to continue to use that platform to push back against those spreading misinformation, disinformation and antisemitism on-line.
Hamas and Hezbollah — both listed terrorist organizations under Canadian law — have found either ignorant or malevolent allies in the west and their objective is the elimination of Israel and the further demonization of Zionism and Zionists.
Organizations such as Independent Jewish Voices have been particularly malevolent in their attacks. They enable the tokenization of a tiny fraction of our community who are anti-Zionist. They foment a dangerous environment for the more than 90% of Canadian Jews who believe in Israel’s right to exist.
They have and continue to provide cover for antisemitic actors on both the extreme right and extreme left of the political spectrum. The fact that media provide a platform for these extremists as representatives of the community is beyond tokenism. It emboldens those who cause profound harm.
It is my firm belief that anti-Zionism is a form of racism. Whether it is promoted by Jewish or atheist ideologues, both its intent and effect are to cause harm.
The premise of anti-Zionism is that Jews do not constitute a people — and therefore we do not have a right to self-determination. A right ascribed to all peoples — but denied Jews — is racist.
Anti-Zionism calls for the eradication of the state of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of Jews from our historic homeland. Ethnic cleansing is racist and a crime.
Anti-Zionists call for the forced migration of Jews back to Poland or Russia — neglecting the diversity of places in the diaspora our ancestors lived in — and forcing us to the killing grounds of the Holocaust.
Anti-Zionism calls for Jews to live in perpetuity as a minority in a state of precarious vulnerability to discrimination, violence, expulsion and genocide. Why do I say this? Because it has been our history for thousands of years.
Unfortunately, anti-Zionism as an ideology has seeped its way into our society and we as a people need to push back and confront it — whether it is inside academia or the broader society, we need people to understand its pernicious nature and the effect it and its propagandists have on our community.
Anti-Zionism in Canada emboldens and empowers terrorist entities like Hamas and Hezbollah to continue their attacks on Israel, its citizens and Jews worldwide.
Israel has a right to self-defence. It has the right and the responsibility to protect its citizens. Like all other states, it has an obligation to do so in a manner consistent with international law.
Criticizing Israeli policies or the Israeli government is not antisemitic and it is certainly not anti-Zionist. Israelis and Jews are some of the Israeli government’s most vocal critics. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis make that point every week.
But branding those of us who support Israel’s right to exist — those 90% of Jews who are Zionists — as genocidal baby killers or white supremacist colonizers — are engaging in a vile and dangerous campaign to dehumanize us and incite violence against us.
Our institutions — police, schools, governments at all levels — have an obligation to confront this behaviour. Universities have a responsibility to confront it as part of their broader strategies to create safe environments for all — including Jews.
That’s why I believe that the University of Ottawa’s decision to create the role of Special Advisor on Antisemitism was groundbreaking. And while I may no longer be in it — I encourage the university to find another candidate to take on the responsibility.
I encourage all of you to write to the President of the University to ask him to replace me as soon as possible. I ask you to write to Premier Ford and to the Minister of Universities and Colleges asking them to compel institutions to have similar posts.
I ask this happen because unfortunately many of the institutions that are meant to foster diversity, equity and inclusion still systemically exclude Jews from their work. Until that changes, we need advocates who can defend our community from the specificity of anti-Jewish hate and discrimination we face.
When I first started preparing this speech my intent was to share a few things.
I wanted to tell you a little about myself.
I wanted to tell you how the role of Special Advisor came about and share my mandate and priorities.
I wanted to share with you some of the things we have done over the past couple of months. To share with you what I perceive to be some of our most significant risks and challenges, and our plans to address them.
I also hoped that today will not only be an opportunity for me to share with you, but to also listen to you — to hear your concerns and ideas on how to address the rising tide of antisemitism that all of us are facing.
While I will not have much opportunity in the future to bring this to senior administration at the university, I am scheduled to meet with President Fremont on Wednesday for a final debrief. Rest assured that I will share what I hear today.
I’ve had the privilege of meeting some of you before so I won’t spend much time telling you who I am.
I am a Jew.
I am a Zionist.
I am someone who was forced to flee Poland in 1969 because of an antisemitic campaign masquerading as anti-Zionism.
As a retired federal public servant who over the course of my career worked in national security, diplomacy, as well as culture and human rights, I have a broad perspective that I hoped to bring to the role of special advisor.
During my career I was a negotiator for Canada at the World Conference against Racism in Durban, the head of delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance when it adopted its definition of antisemitism. I also served as the first executive Champion of the Jewish Public Servants Network.
Since retiring, I serve as a member of the board of the Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship where together with friends from Federation we have done presentations on confronting antisemitism in Ottawa schools, as well as presentations to federal agencies such as Transport Canada, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency and others.
I feel a strong personal obligation to combat antisemitism. It is a responsibility to my family — both my ancestors and my nieces. I feel it strongly because I believe the antisemitism we are facing today is at a level unseen in decades. It is also a newly morphed contagion that is attacking the community from both the extreme right and left.
I did not seek out the role of special advisor. Nor was it my idea.
That honour goes to Hartley Stern a member of the University’s board of governors.
He and faculty such as Cary Kogan have been active in the efforts to combat antisemitism on campus for a long time. The challenges go back decades.
It was in the crucible of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and the wild backlash against Israel’s defensive war against Hamas, that the idea took greater shape.
Hartley had conversations with University of Ottawa President and Vice-Chancellor Jacques Fremont about the need for the senior officials of the university to have someone who could provide them with advice and guidance on the lived experiences of Jewish students, faculty and staff.
The onus falling on a few dedicated and committed individuals was not enough to address what are and continue to be key systemic challenges with antisemitism at the university.
Existing institutions including the office of human rights, the office of the Vice-Rector of Equity, Diversity and Excellence in Inclusion were seen as part of the problem.
Jewish students, faculty and staff who approached these organizations seeking support and redress when confronted with what they perceived to be antisemitic incidents, were often met with excuses, gaslighting, denial and an endless bureaucratic loop that resolved nothing.
As events over the early part of the year became more and more intense, the university’s president felt that he needed to do something.
To be blunt, I am not sure how my name came into the conversation — but I think it was Hartley and Cary.
During the early spring, I received an email from President Fremont asking me if I would be willing to have a conversation with him about the challenges of antisemitism at the university.
Until that point, my relationship with the university was only as a senior fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. My experiences as an Ambassador and as an Assistant Deputy Minister in Canada’s national security and intelligence community were the focus of my work.
To be frank, my social media posts about Hezbollah were rooted in this role — as a national security expert and former intelligence practitioner. My problem was that I did not disassociate that role from that of Special Advisor — but I digress.
My initial conversation with Jacques was general. He outlined his perspective of the issue and why he felt that a special advisor on antisemitism would help him manage the complexity of the problem.
We subsequently met in person where he shared his proposal for what the role would be. I told him I would reflect on it, consult with colleagues and members of the community and would get back to him.
I immediately pointed out a couple of concerns.
First — I had no interest in a position that was simply performative. I was not willing to be a token Jew that provided cover for ignoring the issue.
Second — I acknowledged up front that many in the anti-Zionist crowd would have profound difficulty with me and that I have taken strong, public stands defending Israel’s right to exist and its right to self-defence considering the horrific attacks of October 7th. I have never stopped speaking out about what I believe is right and had no intention to do so.
I knew that there was a risk my views and actions would present challenges — just didn’t think they would happen so quickly.
I was far from convinced that I wanted to do the task or that I was the right person for it. I had my doubts as did the thousands of detractors who wanted the university to fire me.
After speaking to a range of people, I drafted my own terms of reference that I shared with Jacques. These were largely accepted.
There are a few key elements of the mandate that I want to share with you.
While the position reports report to the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University, it was essential to me that my agreement with the university recognized that I was also accountable to you — Ottawa’s Jewish community. It was one of the reasons that today’s meeting was so important to me.
My mandate assured me regular access to the most senior leadership of the university to ensure that I provided them directly with advice and guidance on issues of antisemitism. It said I would meet with the President at least once a month to share what I heard.
The role would be to act as a liaison between the community and university authorities to inform them of incidents and concerns of the Jewish students, faculty and staff to ensure that appropriate solutions are found and to lessen tensions on campus.
I would act as a moderator when issues or challenges came up.
I would provide recommendations on how to make the University of Ottawa a safer campus for all students, faculty and staff.
The Special Advisor would provide input into training and other efforts to combat antisemitism on campus as part of an integrated approach to eliminating all forms of racism, discrimination and harassment.
It would be a resource person for members of the Jewish community on campus.
A key deliverable the university agreed to was a baseline study and follow-up studies to measure experiences with antisemitism on campus.
This study, together with the in-person interactions with the community would inform the development of a framework to combat antisemitism at the University of Ottawa.
Another element essential for me was to gain assurance in the consistent application of relevant sanctions for violations of codes of conduct related to racism, discrimination, harassment and intimidation.
Too often behaviours that if targeted at any other vulnerable community would result in sanctions and consequences, would be ignored or rationalized if they targeted Jews.
These actions were to be informed by using the same definition of antisemitism as the federal and Ontario governments — the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
My initial priorities were the establishment of safe spaces for Jewish students, faculty and staff. Over the course of the summer, I held a number of group as well as one on one meetings to hear concerns. I met with Hillel and with friends and colleagues here at the Federation. I met with donors and alumni. I met with others whose experiences with the University of Ottawa were affected by antisemitism. These meetings were in person and online.
I facilitated meetings with the President and in my regular interactions with him and his leadership team, shared the concerns that we heard.
Another priority was the development of appropriate policies that would provide guidance to professors in managing a safe return to class this fall in the aftermath of the encampment and the threat of further disruptions on campus that would disproportionately affect Jewish students, faculty and staff.
I met with senior university officials to share the specific concerns that both students and faculty raised.
The university developed a series of guidelines that were shared with Deans and professors that provided guidance in the event of disruptions and other inappropriate behaviours.
I provided an initial training session on antisemitism to the senior leadership team that would be making decision in the event of an incident. The session focused on providing a better understanding of who we are as a people — our diversity and history. It focused on the different forms of antisemitism — from its historic origins to its modern manifestations. And I described the long and inglorious history of antisemitism in Canada — which is too often forgotten today.
The pernicious view that Jews are white, privileged and oppressors has leached into the equity discourse and has led to an erasive antisemitism that refuses to include us in broader efforts to combat discrimination and foster respect and inclusion.
While concerns about intimidation, harassment and potential violence were prevalent throughout the summer, during a meeting I organized between the President of the University and Jewish faculty, no significant incidents were flagged.
It is important for us to maintain vigilance.
Another flashpoint that faculty and students have expressed concern about is the one-year anniversary of October 7th.
Plans for protesting the start of the war have already been posted on social media with the anti-Israeli extremists once again using hyperbolic and inciteful language.
I had the chance to meet with and flag community concerns to the university’s protective services about the anniversary and have received assurances from the administration that there will be no tolerance for hate on campus.
We shall see.
Another positive development over the course of my brief tenure were meetings with the head of security at the university who informed me that they are beginning the process of modernizing their security policies and tool kit.
They are aware of the specific challenges facing the Jewish community at the university and wanted to ensure that they consulted. The recommendation that they accepted was that there be engagement with Jewish students, faculty and staff to identify and integrate our community’s specific concerns into their revised strategic approach.
Lastly, in the couple of days before my resignation, I shared with the administration a proposal drafted by Cary Kogan for an attitudinal study of antisemitism at the university. It is one of the key deliverables I asked for as a condition of taking on the role. Am glad that the university now has a detailed proposal to consider.
The key to all of this is follow-up.
So here is where I apologize to you and the rest of the community. I am sorry that I couldn’t finish the job and see through the key deliverables I was hoping to achieve.
These are important projects, and we need to keep pressing the administration to follow-through. It is why finding a replacement for me is essential and hope that a community member will be selected who can do what I have not been able to do.
Finding a replacement for me will be one of things I speak to Jacques Fremont about when I see him next week, because the work is not finished.
Finally, I want to share some personal reflections.
Most people try to end speeches or interventions with a hopeful or positive note.
You will forgive me if the experiences of the past week have left me slightly more jaded and pessimistic.
We as a community will be facing increasingly difficult times. I am afraid that the 8-decade period of relative safety, harmony and inclusion as diaspora Jews in North America is coming to an end.
The echoes of this Gaza war, the unrelenting propaganda from both right and left, and a poisonous echo chamber of social media and artificial intelligence will amplify divisions and make Jews a more precarious minority in Canada and the USA.
Our children and youth have grown up in a golden age of Jewish existence in Canada and we must prepare them for challenges they are unlikely to understand and few of us — with the exception of our elders — have experienced.
I have spent a lot of time speaking about the anti-Zionist, leftist threat so far, but make no mistake the threat comes from all extremes and is being aggravated by the hollowing out of the political centre.
Whether it is Donald Trump pre-emptively blaming Jews for his potential loss, or the dominance of conspiracy theorists in the right wing in Canada refers to as “Globalist” — the scope of antisemitism in the west is growing and entrenching.
We need to spend more time building our own resilience. We need to focus our energies on supporting and uplifting one another. We need to teach our children and youth their history and prepare them far better for a world that sees them through a lens clouded by centuries of antisemitism that has been crystalized and weaponized in the crucible of modern information technology.
We need each other more than ever and we need those precious allies we have.
Without one another, our ability to navigate a precarious future will be far more difficult than we can imagine.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts.
I am happy to take your questions and comments.
