‘Freedom of expression has limits’: Canadians call on York University to dismiss student body after Palestine support statement

York University denounced the public ‘statement of solidarity with Palestine’ issued by three student unions in which they referred to the attack by Hamas on Israel as “a strong act of resistance.”

York Federation of Students, The York University Graduate Students Association and the Glendon College Students Union issued a statement on Thursday in which they referred to Israel as “so-called Israel” while appearing to applaud the attack by Hamas.

The university condemned the “inflammatory statement” and called upon the heads of the student bodies to rectify their collective statement.

“We call upon the executives of the York Federation of Students, York University Graduate Student Association, and the Glendon College Student Union to immediately clarify that they firmly reject any acts of violence or discrimination against Jewish students or other members of the community, and to reaffirm their commitment to non-violence and the safety of all of their members,” the university posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The institute’s response, while welcomed, was not seen as enough by people online, with many calling for the expulsion of the students responsible.

“As a parent paying tuition to @YorkUniversity I would hope you are doing more than this tweet. Those students should be expelled at the very least,” posted a disgruntled user on X.

“Hate speech if not crime. Expel is the answer,” said Chantelle Bryson, who is a Lawyer as per her X bio.

"Freedom of expression has limits and comes with responsibilities."

The time for clarification is long past. Their letter was crystal clear.

Now is the time for consequences. @YorkUniversity needs to expel these students if it ever hopes to stamp out antisemitism on its campus,” wrote another user.

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather shared his disbelief at the latest developments unfolding at York University.

“Jewish communities across the country are very alarmed by threats made by Hamas. It has been disgusting to see demonstrations within our own country celebrating a terrorist group and its murderous activities and statements like the one from York University’s student union which I have denounced,” Housefather told Yahoo News Canada.

When asked if the calls to expel students is justified, the Liberal MP responded saying “I have not called for that. I would just say these people should not be leaders of the students association.”

Canada on edge over threat of hate crimes to Muslim, Jewish communities

This comes as major cities across the United States and Canada boost security following calls for a global day of “anger” by a former Hamas leader in the wake of the ongoing war in the Middle East, according to The Guardian.

"[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday," Meshaal, who currently heads Hamas's diaspora office, former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said in a recorded statement sent to Reuters.

The so-called global day, which has also been dubbed as the “Day of Rage” by users online, called on the Muslim world to carry out protests on Friday in support of the Palestinians in their fight against Israel.

The Toronto Police on Wednesday assured the public in a media address of “a high visibility presence of officers across the city” amid the increasing tensions between the Israeli and Palestinian communities.

“Since this past weekend, all officers have been advised to have their uniforms ready and be available for deployment, and this morning I spoke with all Unit Commanders to underline this priority,” Chief of Police Myron Demkiw said.

On Thursday, the RCMP called for “increased vigilance” among Canadians saying they are aware of threats to the local Jewish community.

"Now is the time for increased vigilance. We will not tolerate any form of intimidation, harassment, or harmful targeting of communities or individuals in Canada," according to an RCMP statement released on Thursday.

“Any threats made towards Canadian citizens are taken seriously and investigated as warranted,” the statement said.

Yahoo News Canada checked if Toronto Police were implementing changes in their approach following the RCMP statement to which they said “our priority is the safety and security of Toronto residents, and our message to them has not changed. At this moment, we will not be commenting on information provided by the RCMP.”

Like Canada, the US too is being extra vigilant considering the passionate but divided communities coming face-to-face in the last few days, especially at colleges and University campuses.