By MYRON LOVE In a thorough-going analysis of antisemitism and anti-Zionism on North American campuses, Rachel Fish Ph.D., this year’s Jewish Heritage Center of Western Canada Sol and Florence Kanee Distnguished Lecture Series speaker, left her audience of at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue on Thursday, April 30 with some hope that the situation is actually improving.
The Sol and Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture series was inaugurated by the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada in 2006 to celebrate Sol Kanee’s 95th birthday.  In welcoming the audience at that first lecture, co-chair Harold Buchwald paid tribute to Kanee, who died on April 23, 2007, at 97, as a man who “cast a giant shadow” on world Jewish history in the second half of the 20th century.  The former resident of Melville, Saskatchewan, who spent almost all of his adult life in  Winnipeg, was a leader in the development of Israel and the Free Soviet Jewry movement as well as a “macher” in our Jewish community and across Canada.
Previous Sol and Florence Kanee lecture series speakers have included: historian Sir Martin Gilbert,CNN’s Jake Tapper, South African jurist Albie Sachs, New York Times columnist Brett Stephens, human rights advocate Irwin Cotler, former Mossad Director Efraim Halevy, Haaretz writer Ari Shavit, and Honest Reporting’s Mike Fegelman, (Ed. note: Now there’s an interesting juxtaposition: Ari Shavit and Mike Fegelman. I wonder what would be the odds of the Jewish Heritage Centre ever inviting someone as critical of Israeli government policy as Ari Shavit here again – or for that matter Efraim Halevy, who has also been a staunch critic of Israeli policy toward Palestinians.)
The evening began with a welcome from Rabbi Carnie Rose, the Shaarey Zedek’s senior rabbi.  Rose was followed to the podium by Harlan Abells, the president of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, who issued a special thank you to the evening’s gold sponsors – the Asper Foundation and MaryAnn Kanee (Sol and Florence Kanee’s daughter-in-law), while also acknowledging the lectures series’ many other  generous sponsors.
“We would also like to take a moment,” Abells continued, “to remember a longtime board member who passed away recently – Mel Myers, KC, of blessed memory. Mel was a true powerhouse of a man and a guiding light to our organization. We appreciated his wisdom, guidance, and steadfast support, and will truly miss him.’
In his memory,  Abells reported, his family has established the  ‘Mel Myers Endowment Fund’ (in support of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada) at the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
He pointed out that the Jewish Heritage Centre collects and preserves the records, artifacts and traditions of our community. “We play an integral role in the life of our community,” he said.
“In fact, we are the custodians of our collective memory, identity, and cultural heritage. Thanks to us, the stories of the people – the events – the news – are preserved for today’s and future generations. Our collection includes a treasure trove of more than 70,000 photographs, beautifully illustrating more than 125 years of community life. We also provide essential education and training on the Holocaust and antisemitism to teachers, students and the general public throughout the year through our programs and training sessions.”
In introducing the guest speaker, Abells noted that Rachel Fish is currently the Director for The Brandeis University President’s Initiative on Antisemitism as well as an associate research professor at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, and teacher of Israeli history and society at The George Washington University, where she is Visiting Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
She is the co-founder of the nonprofit “Boundless,” a think-action tank partnering with community leaders across North America to revitalize Israel education and take bold collective action to combat antisemitism. 
The theme of her timely lecture was “How the Academy Has Created a Fertile Ground for Antisemitism,”  a topic in which she is well versed. 
Fish observed that antisemitism and anti-Zionism on North American campus are not new phenomena.  She recalled that she first experienced antisemitism in academia as far back as 2001 when she began her studies at Harvard’s Divinity School.
“Orientation day was September 11, 2001,” she remembered.  “Unlike other Harvard faculties, there were few Jewish students in the Divinity School. In the lecture hall for orientation,  a faculty member and future Dean of the Divinity School said that although he was not yet aware of all the details behind the attacks, he was certain that American support for Israel was behind 9-11.
“To me, I could see that it was already apparent where campus trends were going,” Fish said.
She explained in detail the ingredients that have combined to create this toxic stew of  antisemitism and anti-Zionism –  a mix of modern neo-Marxism, post-colonialism, Orientalism and post-modernism. The superficial framing that emerges is that Jews are identified as “White,” and “Palestinians” as “People of Colour” – so Israel is deemed to be negative because it is a country of “White People” and, therefore, is perceived as a “settler-colonist” enterprise that oppresses people of colour.. Further, therefore, any Jews associated with Israel are also portrayed negatively.
She further pointed out the lingering contributions to this by the former Soviet Union – which introduced the ideas that Zionism is “racist” and that Israel is an apartheid state.
While the situation may seem dire, Fish did report that a recent survey found that, while 3% of American university students are extremely hostile to Israel, and another 30% are hostile toward Israel and hostile toward Jews, two-thirds of students are indifferent.
 The problem is that faculty – mainly in the humanities, has become a monoculture where intellectual diversity is suppressed.  Some professors use their classrooms as a bully pulpit to promote their extremist views, while any faculty members who may dare to challenge the current zeitgeist risks being ostracized, may have difficulty getting published, risk losing out on grants and, ultimately – their jobs.An additional problem that she commented on is that a lot of people don’t really know what Zionism is and how it relates to Judaism.
 On the positive side, Fish observed, compared to the situation in 2002, Jewish activists are fighting back and making some headway.  “There are a lot of people doing serious work to change the university environment,” she reported.  ‘There are several organizations over the last ten years that have been working  on multiple levels to bring about change.
“There is still a lot of work to be done though,” she cautioned.
Fish further pointed out that, despite the hostility to Israel on many campuses, there are still joint research ventures taking place between Israeli universities and counterparts in North America,  Israeli researchers are still welcome to share their findings with North American colleagues, and Hillel chapters continue to function – largely without incident. 
“Our people have found a home in many societies and we have pursued our love of learning,” Fish noted.  “We cannot allow our institutions of higher learning to be hijacked.  We must remain vocal though, and hold university administrators’ and board members’ feet to the fire.”
 As for her own career, Fish said that she is determined to continue to pursue her career, both inside of academia and beyond, because she believes that education matters. “As well,” she concluded, “I appreciate the opportunities that teaching at the university level gives me to share what I have learned at public forums such as the Kanee Lecture.”
One other highlight of the evening was a special presentation by JHCWC board member and Past President Dan Stone to Stan Carbone, who is retiring after 25 years as the Director of Programs and Exhibits.