Toronto (March 2, 2020) - Less than two weeks after Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center(FSWC) sent a letter to McMaster University President David Farrar calling for action against Norman Finkelstein speaking on campus, the student group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights announced that the Israeli Apartheid Week event featuring Finkelstein has been cancelled.

“By allowing speakers such as Finkelstein to express their hateful views on campuses, universities are contributing to the antisemitism and hostile,divisive environments Jewish students are experiencing now more than ever before,” said FSWC President and CEO Avi Benlolo. “We are pleased that Finkelstein is no longer scheduled to speak and call on all university leaders to work on ensuring all individuals are vetted before being welcomed to speak to students on campus.”

Last year at the University of Toronto, Finkelstein – a notorious anti-Israel provocateur– told his audience that Israel has no right to practice self-defence regardless of how extreme the terrorist threats at its border, even if the lives of Israeli civilians are in immediate jeopardy. 

In the letter to McMaster’s president, FSWC wrote, “Anyone who denies Israel the basic legal and natural right to defend itself from murderous attacks against its civilians demonstrates a basic disdain for the value of Jewish life. Under no circumstances should Finkelstein enjoy the privilege and prestige associated with speaking at McMaster or any other Canadian university.”