University of Alberta Forum was met by angry protesters – inside and out

By Regan Lipes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(AJNews) – An event billed as a Canadaland / University of Alberta Town Hall was held on October 14, at Lister Centre on the U of A campus. It was advertised as part of a public forum series – an event to hold civil conversations about how campus discourse has changed since the October 7, 2023 massacre by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel.

The vision for the U of A’s open forum dialog was an ambitious one, with bridgebuilding potential. The event was organized by Dr. Alexander Warren Marcus, the Belzberg Family and Jewish Federation of Edmonton Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies at the U of A and by Professor Emerita Dr. Felice Lifschitz who recently retired after teaching Women’s Studies, Gender Studies, and Religious Studies. The facilitator for the event was Jesse Brown publisher and founder of the podcast Canadaland who had flown in from Toronto for the event.

The forum was not intended for Jews specifically, or for supporters of Palestine, but the vision was for a diverse crowd to collectively acknowledge that life on campuses has changed for everyone: a solid place from which to begin a constructive dialog.

The event did not go as intended. It drew a crowd of protesters well before it started. Scheduled to start with a 5:30 reception, Gateway Reporter Leah Hennig noted that about 100 people had gathered outside of Lister Hall before 5 pm with signs. She wrote that event facilitator “[Jesse] Brown met protestors outside at around 5 pm. With his phone and a mic out, he confronted some protesters and invited them to join the event.” His interaction did not quieten the protesters – rather it seemed to embolden them to be louder and more confrontational.

I had taken an Uber from my downtown office to attend the event, and pulling up to the building, even my driver was nervous to get too close. Protestors with microphones chanted loudly: “Globalize the Intifada!” As I made my way to walk in, I was recognized and the aggressive mob began yelling “Shame Regan, Shame,” on repeat.  I ignored them and entered the building, knowing that the moment would not be served well by a confrontation.

When looking back at the atmosphere on campus during the event it was evident that civil dialog was not on the protesters’ agenda. This did not feel like peaceful protest but rather like an angry mob that could become violent at the drop of a hat. Students in the building using the recreational facilities were unsure about what the event was for, but reluctant to learn more because of protestor intimidation. The protesters were met with visible confusion by the residents at Lister Hall.

The atmosphere was charged and frightening because of the intensity of hatred being bellowed over the megaphones. The event itself, sadly, was attended by very few students.  The majority of those in the audience were members of the Jewish community, Jewish postsecondary educators, and of course, strategically planted protestors planning to disrupt the program. Quite poignantly, Dr. Lifschitz welcomed the audience and explained that she considers herself an ‘October 8^th Jew’, meaning that she felt her connection to Israel strengthen only after the massacre.  Jesse Brown was then introduced, and he suggested that if anybody felt the need to yell out “Free Palestine” they should do it then and get it out of their system; nobody did. To illustrate the change in campus discourse since 2023, he played a video depicting footage of protests and conflict from a number of Canadian institutions.

The most meaningful moment of the event was when one of Dr. Marcus’ students was brave enough to speak first. He explained that he did not feel strongly for either side and did not voice opinions because of a lack of deeper knowledge, but that over the past three years he has begun to feel isolated and has lost many friends because he would not pick a side to support. It was a monumental disclosure highlighting that even those who are completely removed from the conflict are still impacted. After acknowledging the young student’s comment, Brown, unfortunately moved on without reflecting on the significance of such an honest epiphany.  Sadly, as the tone of the evening descended into chaos, that courageous student decided to leave, and who could blame him.

The evening devolved into a shouting match. One woman who took the mic began insulting audience members for feelings they had candidly shared, and hostilely berated Dr. Lifschitz directly. She yelled obscenities before sneering menacingly at the organizers and taunting: “From the river to the sea,” as she stormed out dramatically to join her compatriots in the Lister Hall foyer where they had continued their protest. Inside, Brown did little to try to redirect the discussion, although this was certainly not a woman looking to engage in dialog.

Another disruption from a student presented an important point for consideration. He had anticipated the event being for students, staff, and faculty, and was disappointed to not be engaging with academics to discuss these sensitive issues. Despite descending into a belligerent tirade before storming out, he did raise this one important point, that Brown was certainly not approaching his facilitation as an academic would. The audience was overwhelmingly filled with community members. Dr. Marcus addressed this during the event commenting that he knows of many colleagues who would be able to contribute but are afraid to.

As an audience member I could see how Dr. Marcus and Dr. Lifschitz repeatedly tried to get the event back on track, but the situation had by this point declined into a shouting fest so many times that it could not be rescued. Meanwhile the blaring of the bullhorn raged on outside the room. In a reflective statement to Alberta Jewish News, Dr. Marcus noted: “We didn’t achieve our stated goal, which was to host a civil conversation on the subject of Jew-hate on Canadian campuses today. But the fact that things got so heated inside and outside of the room was an excellent illustration of why such conversations are more necessary than ever.”  While all this was boiling over inside, Hennig reported in the Gateway that outside the event: “A few residents joined the sit-in or brought water and food to protesters. Others appeared confused or laughed at the protest.”

Dr. Marcus commented: “Many of those who protested, and a number of people who participated in our discussion, seem convinced that to even acknowledge the harassment and violence Jews face today in Canada and around the world is to advance an illegitimate Zionist agenda, which they associate with all manner of evil such as the deliberate murder of children, and which they understand to be oppressing them here in Edmonton as well. Some dismissed harassment and violence against Canadian Jews as a delusion or openly justified it on the grounds of the Jewish community’s association with the Jewish state. The reality of this campus climate was worthwhile to clarify.”

At the end of the program peace officers offered to escort attendees out the back door to avoid having to walk past the protestors outside. Many took them up on their offer, but several did not. As community member Dan Rosenberg stated to the Alberta Jewish News in a later interview: “I live in Canada, and I was going to go out the front door.”

Rosenberg, who has dedicated his retirement to volunteer activities that encompass acts of kindness, found the open forum unsettling. He agreed that the most useful moment of the entire event was Dr. Marcus’ student who talked about losing friends from both sides. Thinking back to how he first entered the event, Rosenberg commented: “As I walked up to the venue I assumed there’d be protestors, but I heard the anti-zionist chanting. When you hear that it gets your guard up. When I hear anti-zionists calling for the elimination of the country of Israel and its citizens there’s no grey area. […] I don’t know how to conduct myself in war and Israel is battling an opponent that wants them destroyed.”

Looking back, Dr. Marcus has replayed the evening’s events in his mind countless times.  He explained: “My biggest disappointment is that members of the University of Alberta senior leadership, including those who gave us a micro-grant to fund the town hall, registered to attend but ultimately chose not to. As a result, they were not able to witness or experience the climate for themselves.” Indeed, the actions of the mob outside, and the aggressions of several audience members showcased anti-zionism in a haunting way. This was anti-zionism yelled out proudly by so many. These are sentiments that have begun to be accepted within mainstream society and continue to be repeated so often that they are normalized.

I am a person who remembers being on campus before October 7^th and I would have liked to hear from others like me from diverse backgrounds. I will also admit to being scared, so I respect and understand my colleagues who felt unsafe attending. What these types of protests achieve is not freedom of expression, but bullying. These types of aggressive demonstrations are meant to intimidate and instill fear.

Jesse Brown is a vocal advocate for awareness of antisemitism and anti-zionism and is recognizable for his contribution to Canada media. He has stepped down from his hosting duties at Canadaland to amplify his role covering the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict and the rise of antisemitism in Canada. However, he was not a calming influence at the event. Those who were familiar with his Canadaland podcast did not anticipate that he would be. Dr. Marcus explained his thoughts: “Jesse Brown can be combative, and I don’t think that’s the best approach to reaching rational people who truly want an end to the Israel-Palestine conflict and helping them see that threats against Jews in Canada do nothing to improve those prospects.”

Dr. Marcus noted: “Something that I shared with him during the event, and afterwards, is that I’m skeptical of how much can be accomplished in a single evening like this. To go anywhere valuable, such conversations need greater amounts of time.”

Dr. Marcus and Dr. Lifschitz had a good idea to facilitate a forum where students, staff, and faculty could come together and share their feelings about what it is like to be on campus now. Let’s hope they can find a path to move forward; we might not be ready for a “Jesse Brown” town hall series.