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Professor Reveals Pervasive Antisemitism at University of Toronto Medical School
(JNS) David Swindle - Dr. Ayelet Kuper, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, served from June 2021 to June 2022 as senior advisor on antisemitism for the Temerty Faculty of Medicine (TFOM), a position created in response to increasing antisemitism on campus. Kuper on Dec. 5 published her findings in the Canadian Medical Education Journal, describing antisemitic statements and viewpoints she experienced herself, and noting her family's need to conceal their Jewish heritage. Kuper relates how Covid-19 prompted antisemites to blame Jews both for the virus and for promoting vaccines. She also said, "I was told dozens of times that the current environment of growing antisemitism at TFOM was triggered by the war in Gaza in the spring of 2021, which implies...that the cause of TFOM's 'antisemitism problem' is Israeli government policy." Kuper points out that rising Canadian antisemitism preceded Israeli actions in Gaza, noting that "hateful attitudes about Jews have been on the rise at TFOM for at least three years." She describes a "now-common strategy" in which Jews who counter antisemitism are accused of racism and lying in order to harm Palestinians. The term "Zionism," she writes, is frequently redefined by opponents of the Jewish state as inherently racist - in an attempt to deny the belief held by 86% of Canadian Jews that caring about Israel is either essential or important to being Jewish. Kuper writes that colleagues have insisted that her refusal to denounce Israel as a Jewish state means that she is a racist and that any antisemitism she experiences is deserved.