Eye on a Crazy Planet: Anti-Semitism and a Classroom ‘Jew Count’ at University of Toronto’s Social Work Faculty
“I was flabbergasted” Chambon disclosed. “She told me ‘racialized’ students come from underprivileged backgrounds and were justified in not wanting to be around old Jews because they are rich and would make them uneasy. I couldn’t believe my ears. I took some paper and wrote down what she said in front of her. Bhuyan then said the donor plaques at the university were all from rich Jews, which she felt proved her point. Aside from being factually wrong, it reflects an attitude that polarizes groups and reinforces stereotypes that do not belong in the teaching of Social Work.”
It is important to remember that anti-Semitism, and racism in general, are not the exclusive preserve of the uneducated. Anti-Semitism is becoming more and more ingrained in academia, for reasons ranging from changing student demographics to a resurgence in left-wing anti-Semitic prejudice. I wish I had a solution to this intractable problem, but human frailty will always have the insecure looking for a scapegoat, and Jews have done yeoman’s service in that regard for millennia.
