Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes the significant decision by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) to censure the University of Toronto for violating academic freedom. Representing 70,000 faculty and academic staff across Canada, the CAUT voted 79-0 to censure the university for revoking a job offer to Dr. Valentina Azarova after a major donor complained about her scholarship on the Israeli occupation of Palestine. In practical terms, imposing censure means that the CAUT will encourage academics in Canada and around the world to boycott the University of Toronto, and to turn down any jobs, speaking opportunities, conferences, or honours until the problems of academic freedom have been resolved.

Montreal, March 31, 2021  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is deeply concerned about new revelations showing how a pro-Israel lobby group tried to interfere in a confidential University of Toronto hiring process. This interference seemingly sought to sabotage the hiring of a critic of Israel, according to a report released this week into the University of Toronto’s alleged mistreatment of job candidate Dr. Valentina Azarova. The Cromwell report exposes the behind-the-scenes efforts by pro-Israel actors to interfere against Dr. Azarova’s candidacy on the grounds of her scholarship critical of Israel’s occupation, although it concludes – unconvincingly – that such efforts did not play a deciding role in the UofT’s decision to cancel the hiring of Dr. Azarova.