Medical education in Canada has become politicized and tolerant of antisemitism, Dr. Ted Rosenberg told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday in a conversation about the rising antisemitism in his field that led to his decision to resign from his role as clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia.Rosenberg ended his 30-year position at UBC over what he said was the administration’s refusal to recognize and address the conditions on campus that left Jewish students and faculty feeling unsafe.Following the launch of the Israel-Hamas war after the Gazan terrorist group carried out a pogrom in southern Israel, over 220 UBC medical students signed a petition demanding that the administration call for a ceasefire.“We truly believe that calling for a ceasefire is the correct thing for UBC to do and will fall on the right side of history,” said the letter, adding that while they did not condone Hamas’s actions or antisemitism, taking such a stance would “send a strong message of support for Palestinian civilians who are being killed in collective punishment through the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.”
Not willing to sign the petition
Rosenberg said the petition that portrayed Israel as a “settler colonial state” was “historically inaccurate” and that its publication led to polarization on campus. He related how a Jewish resident in pediatrics who would not sign it was lambasted on social media by students and faculty. He knew a victim who was murdered at the Supernova festival
He knew a victim who was murdered at the Supernova festival, and reportedly attempted to appeal to department heads and the medical department’s Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI), but his appeal was apparently dismissed because the bullying occurred off campus and after hours.
The student petition’s language and allegations, as well as the bullying in the letter, worried Rosenberg, who did “a lot of teaching, personally.” He and other faculty members wanted to engage in dialogue with the students on the matter but were dissuaded by the administration due to what they said was a power imbalance.In a November 29 letter to Dr. Dermot Kelleher, dean of the medical faculty; UBC president Benoit-Antoine Bacon; and REDI executive director Rosalyn Goldner, Rosenberg described the petition’s rhetoric as delegitimizing and demonizing. He asked the administration what steps they were taking to ensure a respectful environment and why they did not adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which addresses anti-Zionist antisemitism.Kelleher responded on December 5, assuring Rosenberg that any form of racism and hate would be addressed and that the university would provide emotional support to those who required it.Meanwhile, according to Rosenberg, the tensions boiled over into classical antisemitism. One assistant professor created a post using iconography about the murder of Christ and the death of Palestinians. Rosenberg said that accusations of Jews as “Christ-killers” led to centuries of pervasive antisemitism. Another staff member accusedIsrael of stealing Palestinian organs, which Rosenberg said was a “modern-day blood libel.” He added that there were instances of students calling for an intifada.Over 280 staff and students, including Rosenberg, sent Kelleher and Bacon another letter on December 14, expressing concern “about the politicization and polarization within the medical school largely due to events occurring in Israel and Gaza. This is resulting in hate speech, student intimidation, and the feelings of many students and teachers that they are working in a toxic environment.” The letter called for a clarification of policies on hate speech and incitement to violence, education programs to combat antisemitism, and the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.Rosenberg felt that the administration’s December 5 letter did not address any of his concerns. He resigned in protest on January 1 with another letter, saying, “I truly hope that the Faculty of Medicine and UBC will recognize this serious threat of antisemitism/Jew-hatred and the dangers of politicization and polarization of the faculty and student body.”Rosenberg shared his resignation on social media, leading to attention from local politicians and meetings with REDI. However, he said, the administration did not accept or publicly agree that antisemitism was an issue on campus.
He highlighted another incident that he said demonstrated a blind spot when it came to Jews: An official faculty poster for The International Holocaust Remembrance Day universalized the genocide during the Shoah that was directly aimed at the Jewish people, he said.
Choosing to brush over Jews and antisemitism
Similarly, he explained, the UBC poster didn’t mention Jews, and there was barely any mention of antisemitism.
The Jewish physicians and students who had banded together and sent the open letter to the administration “as a group were appalled,” said Rosenberg. When donors and alumni were alerted to the poster, it led to a change.The unity of the group has raised morale and allowed the Jewish community to fight back, but “since October 7, we’ve all lost a lot of friends.”Rosenberg described a “pervasive tolerance of antisemitism” in Canadian medical educational institutions,” as “every other faculty of medicine is having the same problem. I’ve been in touch with my colleagues across Canada.”The source of the problem, according to Rosenberg, is that “they don’t want to recognize Jews as a vulnerable group” because they’re seen as white, privileged, and settler-colonial, a thorny status in a country still grappling with its own history. Programs have been brought in to “decolonize” educational institutions, leading Jews to fall into “the crosshairs of intersectionality” as social justice has seemingly become more important than medical practice.
Antisemitism in the medical world
“I believe that we need to depoliticize medicine,” said Rosenberg.It isn’t possible to practice medicine properly in such an environment, he explained. Doctors and nurses are expected to care for patients with a wide variety of beliefs, and that care should not be compromised by either side’s political positions. Practitioners also need to cooperate with one another to care for patients but polarization and community strife could interfere in cohesion.“Imagine a Jewish patient going to a doctor who’s posting about Jewish apartheid,” said Rosenberg, adding that it would create a lack of trust. For example, he said his brother was mistreated while undergoing an eye procedure. He was asked if he was Jewish, and when he said yes, the doctor had a change in demeanor; the patient was denied a proper anesthetic and ignored when reporting his discomfort. Later, according to Rosenberg, when his brother complained about the experience, the hospital told him that due to many incidents concerning that particular medical practitioner, “he’s not with us anymore.”Nevertheless, antisemitism has become a problem in Canada, Rosenberg bemoaned.