Students and a Jewish teacher at Concordia University have filed a class-action lawsuit against the school for not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism, seeking $15 million.
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Two students and a professor from the English-speaking University of Montreal filed the class action lawsuit at the Montreal courthouse this Thursday. Due to the nature of the complaint, they asked to remain anonymous.
“The plaintiffs fear being publicly identified with this lawsuit, which could lead to intimidation and attacks,” says the document seen by Le Journal.
According to them, many students were physically attacked within the institution simply because they were Jewish. In particular, they take the example of a fight with pro-Palestinian students on November 8 during a rally in support of the Israeli hostages.
The anti-Semitic acts cited in the lawsuit date back to 2002, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahou visited Concordia for a speech and a riot broke out that resulted in attacks on scores of people, including a “Holocaust” survivor, it says in the document.
neglect
In the class action lawsuit, the students and professor allege that Concordia University acted negligently, specifically by failing to investigate anti-Semitic incidents, by failing to train school staff to deal with incidents of this nature, and by failing to instruct professors to do so can provide a safe place to learn, but also fail to take the necessary disciplinary action to stop anti-Semitic acts on campus.
This appeal is addressed to all current Jewish students and professors, but also to those who have studied or worked at Concordia in the last three years.
Damage
According to the applicants, the university’s anti-Semitic actions and inaction are having a real impact on their mental health. They say, for example, that they have recurring nightmares, but are also afraid to be in public places or on campus or even to “identify as Jews” and practice their religion.
For these reasons, the class action lawsuit seeks $10 million in general damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
The filed application must be approved by a judge in order to move forward.
– With Michael Nguyen
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