Yuni Kim
Assistant News Editor
York history professor David Noble is not pleased with the university’s Hillel@York Jewish student group, and he’s letting York president Mamdouh Shoukri know about it.
In an Oct. 8 letter to Shoukri, Noble asked the president to end the student club’s advocacy on behalf of the state of Israel.
“[Hillel@York] serves as, in effect, an agent of a foreign government,” Noble says in the letter. “In the case of Hillel@York [corruption of the educational mission of the university] is already well underway, with York University’s tacit approval […] York University must formulate and adopt policies that would prohibit all such activities on behalf of foreign governments on campus.”
Alex Bilyk, director of media relations at York, said that Shoukri will respond to Noble’s letter in due course.
Hillel@York president Brandon Crandall said he was unable to comment on the letter because he has not seen the document.
Excalibur made several attempts to contact Noble, but received no response at the time of publication.
Noble is still pursuing a 2006 lawsuit against the York University Foundation and former York president Lorna Marsden for defamation, inspired by a press release the university sent out Nov. 19, 2004 denouncing statements Noble made in a public pamphlet.
The pamphlet, titled “The York University Foundation: The Tail That Wags The Dog,” was distributed to one of his classes in 2004, and alleged the executive decisions made by the foundation’s president and board of directors appear to reflect pro-Israel interests.
In response, the foundation called Noble’s publication “highly offensive” and said it “singles out certain members of the York community on the basis of their ethnicity and alleged political views.”
The defamation lawsuit, worth a total of $25 million, was originally filed against the York Foundation, then-York president Marsden, the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the United Jewish Appeal of Greater
Toronto and Hillel of Greater Toronto. The advocacy groups also sent out a press release condemning Noble’s actions.
Noble abandoned the case against the CJC, worth $6 million, on Oct. 5. “He just let it go,” said Bernie
Farber, chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress. “We were always of the mind that this was a lawsuit that was inappropriate and unnecessary. We were acting on behalf of our community, there was no defamation, and we stand by that.”
Farber added he was glad to have closure.
“We are all quite thrilled that it’s over with,” he said. “These things have a tendency to drag on for a lengthy period of time. But bottom line for us, it’s over and we move on.”
Noble also cited York’s press release in a $10 million grievance filed against York itself.
He won that case, though only for $2,500, in November 2007.
- Excalibur Archives//Terry Ting
