University of Toronto Faculty Association Votes in Favor of BDS Platform

On Friday, the University of Toronto Faculty Association approved a decision to divest from Israel, joining the BDS movement as Canada is experiencing a record-breaking rise in antisemitic hate crimes.

According to the UTFA, the move was driven by Israel’s alleged “illegal occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

With 52% of members voting in favor, the resolution urges the Ontario University Pension Plan to promptly establish a schedule for full divestment from any companies that either support Israel’s occupation or are involved in producing or supplying weapons that “there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may have been used by Israel in Palestine.”

A key advocate for the initiative was the group known as UofT Faculty and Librarians for UPP Divestment.

The group stated that all signatories remained anonymous, citing concerns over possible “penalty for taking a public anti-war, anti-apartheid or anti-occupation position.”

They also expressed anxiety about potential “doxxing,” especially targeting “indigenous colleagues, colleagues of color, [and] junior [or] precarious colleagues.”

The UPP, Ontario’s most extensive pension fund for higher education, has managed the University of Toronto’s pension assets since 2021 and includes members from Queen’s University, the University of Guelph, and Trent University, in addition to UofT.