Jewish teachers file anti-Semitism complaint against BC Federation of Teachers

VANCOUVER — A group of teachers in British Columbia has launched a human rights complaint against their union, accusing the BC Teachers’ Federation of “engaging in and enabling anti-Semitism.”

Vancouver labor lawyer Paul Pulver, who represents BC Teachers Against Antisemitism, filed a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal over what he called “the erasure of Jewish and Zionist voices and opinions” within the union and in members’ workplaces.

Pulver said in an interview Tuesday that he did not want to share the complaint materials publicly so as not to violate the court’s process. He said the plaintiffs “want to stay in the background.”

“They’re worried about people retaliating against them. They’re worried about what they’ve already experienced and the potential for that to escalate,” he said. “Under these circumstances, these teachers are extremely upset. They are afraid”.

In a written statement Tuesday, the BC Federation of Teachers said it “appreciates the Human Rights Tribunal’s critical role in upholding the BC Human Rights Code and in upholding that process, and any members who may be involved would not comment before the court reviewed the issue”.

In a statement announcing the complaint, BC Teachers Against Antisemitism claims the union’s leadership caused “trauma and fear” among members who were “intimidated and shamed” by colleagues.

The statement said the union was “ostracizing” the teachers for being Jewish or for holding “currently unpopular views” about the Oct. 7 attacks on Jews, Israel and Hamas.

“I don’t think there are any professors in this group who would have a problem with legitimate criticism of Israel regarding its political or military decisions,” Pulver said.

“Where the difficulty lies … is when it goes beyond that and into anti-Semitic behavior, which unfortunately is what these teachers feel they are witnessing now.”

The statement says the complaint details more than two dozen examples of anti-Semitism either caused or enabled by the teachers union.

Pulver said the issue came to a head at the federation’s annual general meeting in March.

The statement said that before the meeting, the union president sent members anti-racism training materials that did not mention anti-Semitism, but provided a link to the materials, including a poster that read “Zionists F*ck Off.”

The group claims the meeting focused on “anti-Jewish and anti-Israel” voices and “excluded, harassed, silenced and prevented” Jewish teachers from speaking out against “anti-Semitic motions” proposed at the meeting.

Pulver said the plaintiffs want the tribunal proceedings to force the union to “apologize for the systemic discrimination to date” and for it to stop.

He said he also hoped the teachers’ federation would create policies to tackle anti-Semitism and “address any damage that has been done through damage if necessary”.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 2, 2024.

The Canadian Press