Toronto Metropolitan University appoints retired judge to review open letter by legal students on Israel-Hamas war

Toronto Metropolitan University will be conducting an external review after more than 70 students from its law school recently signed an open letter declaring their support for “all forms of Palestinian resistance” and denying Israel’s existence while demanding that the school administration call for a ceasefire in the region.

The downtown Toronto university announced on Tuesday that it has engaged retired Chief Justice J. Michael MacDonald as an “independent expert” to oversee a “thorough, judicious” review of the letter “in a manner that respects the seriousness of the situation.”

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Among other things, the review will entail looking at whether or not its Student Code of Non-Academic Conduct has been breached and, if so, what “appropriate” actions should be taken.

“Given the impact of the open letter on TMU community members, our partners, and our stakeholders, we feel a formal external review is the best way forward. It will give TMU community members an opportunity to be heard, while taking into account the significant complexities of the challenges before us,” Mohamed Lachemi, the university's president and vice-chancellor, said in a Nov. 7 news release.

“We are extremely grateful to Mr. MacDonald for offering his guidance and expertise, and we look forward to receiving his determinations.”

The open letter in question was authored by a group called the “Abolitionist Organizing Collective” and was first posted online on Oct. 20, but has since been removed.

Among other things, it demanded that TMU’s Lincoln Alexander School of Law (LASL) reverse its “neutral” position on the Israel-Hamas war, which its authors charged “implicitly denies colonialism and upholds racism and Islamophobia.”

The letter further asserted that “’Israel’ is not a country” and claimed that Israel is responsible for the surprise Hamas attack that killed 1,400 of its citizens. In the wake of the attack, which also included the kidnapping of more than 240 civilians, the letter’s authors said that all forms of resistance against Israel are “fundamentally just.”

The Palestine Liberation Organization, which is internationally recognized as the representative of the Palestinian people, recognized Israel’s existence during peace talks in the 1990s, however Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Canada, still does not.

Most of those who signed the open letter did so anonymously, the majority only identifying themselves as LASL students.

The renamed Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), formerly known as Ryerson University in Toronto on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

The law school, in a statement shared on Linkedin, said that it does not endorse or condone the letter, adding that it condemns any and all statements that “promote or justify violence directly contravene (the school’s) values.”

“As educators and members of the legal community, we maintain our support for Israeli and Palestinian statehood and we stand with those who advocate for a peaceful, sustainable de-escalation and resolution of the conflict,” LASL wrote.

Toronto Metropolitan University also issued a statement in which it said that the letter doesn’t reflect its “values of inclusivity and respect.”

The university also acknowledged “the pain and distress” that the letter has caused and said that the language used in it “does not reflect the views of the law school” or “many” of its students, faculty and staff.

National Jewish organization B’Nai Brith has called on TMU to expel its students who signed the letter, which they said “(denies) Israel’s right to exist and (condones) terrorism.”

“Our law schools, who are training the next generation of officers of the court, must not tolerate students who publicly justify the most heinous acts of terrorism,” Michael Mostyn, B’nai Brith Canada’s CEO, said in a statement.

A number of legal groups, including several prominent practices as well as the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and the Legal Innovation Zone, have also penned letters denouncing the Oct. 20 letter and demanded that the university impose consequences on its signatories.

So far, TMU has not announced any plans to take disciplinary action against the students who signed the letter.

A rebuttal letter, which as of Nov. 7 has almost 600 signatures by lawyers, legal institutions, legal workers, and academics, is also making the rounds.

The authors of that letter said they’re “deeply concerned by the growing chorus of statements from lawyers, law firms and law schools that are conflating expressions of solidarity with Palestinians and criticism of the State of Israel as antisemitic and conduct unworthy of learning or practicing law.”

In it, they raise concerns about law students and lawyers who are being threatened with academic sanctions and job loss for their comments on the war.

“This chilling effect on freedom of expression and academic freedom has the hallmarks of a new McCarthyism. A failure of those of us in the legal profession to voice our opposition to this conduct will only accelerate the erosion of the very protections that make dissent – and therefore democracy – possible,” the letter states.

“It is vital that the space for scholarship, speech and activism in defence of basic human rights be preserved.”